 Major B. I. Swannell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Blair Inskip Swannell[1] (1875-08-20)20 August 1875[1] Weston Underwood, Buckinghamshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Died | 25 April 1915(1915-04-25) (aged 39)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 177 cm (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 77 kg (12 st 2 lb)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Repton School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Military career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch |  British Army Australian Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service years | 1902–03 (UK) 1914-15 (Australia) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | First Lieutenant (UK) Major (Australia) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit | 35th Battalion (Buckinghamshire),Imperial Yeomanry (1902-03) 1st Battalion,Australian Expeditionary Force (1914-15) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conflicts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Blair Inskip Swannell (20 August 1875 – 25 April 1915)[1] was anEnglish-born internationalrugby union forward who played club rugby forNorthampton, and internationally for theBritish Isles and laterAustralia. He was invited to tour with the British Isles on their1899 tour of Australia and then their1904 tour of Australia and New Zealand. He played a total of sevenTest matches on these tours, and scored one Testtry – against Australia during the 1904 tour. After settling in Australia, Swannell played a single game for his new home when they faced New Zealand. He was viewed as a violent player, and this made him unpopular with other players. Former Australian captainHerbert Moran said of him that "... his conception of rugby was one of trained violence".[7]
During theSecond Boer War, Swannell served in theBritish Army in South Africa, rising to the rank oflieutenant.
During the First World War he transferred from the Australian Army to theAustralian Imperial Force in September 1914; and, retaining his rank ofcaptain, he served with the1st Battalion. Promoted tomajor on 1 January 1915, he was killed on 25 April 1915 while taking part in theLanding at Anzac Cove, during the first day of theGallipoli Campaign.[8]
Swannell was born inWeston Underwood, Buckinghamshire[9] on 20 August 1875 to William and Charlotte Swannell, and was the third child of at least five siblings.[10][11] His father was a farmer, who ran a 423-acre (1.71 km2) farm which employed 17 adults and children.[10] He was home schooled as an infant before beginning his formal education atRepton School.[6][10] After leaving school he attended theThames Nautical Training College where he gained qualifications as asecond mate.[2][12] He remained single throughout his life.[2][13]
In 1897 he made his first visit to Australia, as amate on aschooner.[14] On his return to Britain, Swannell joined theBritish Army and served in South Africa during theSecond Boer War,[15] where he was commissioned as alieutenant in the 35th Battalion (Buckinghamshire)Imperial Yeomanry on 20 January 1902.[16] He returned to the UK with his battalion on the SSOrotava in December 1902,[17] and retained the rank of honorary lieutenant when he resigned his commission on 3 February 1903.[18] It was reported that during his time in South Africa, he was personally recommended on the field for a commission byGeneral Lord Methuen.[19]
Swannell was a keen self-promoter, claiming a number of exploits that were so abounding, that his adventures were "too numerous to be recorded".[19] These claims included: fighting among the insurrectionists in Uruguay,[19] to have huntedseal down the South American coast and aroundCape Horn[14] as well asLabrador,[19] and to have played rugby in France, Germany, South Africa, India[19] andNorth and South America.[19][20] Many of these claims are unsubstantiated. One claim that is problematic, made by theFielding Star newspaper in 1909,[19] was that he took part in the Cape Frontier war. This cannot be a reference to theXhosa Wars as the last of that series of wars ended in 1879, when he was merely the age of four. An article from 1925, claimed he represented Wales and Argentina.[20]
After touring Australia with the British Isles team for the second time in 1904, he settled inSydney. A keen all-round sportsman he coached not only rugby but alsohockey, was vice-president of the Sydney Swimming Club,[14] and training senior military cadets forsurf life-saving examinations.[21] He also joined theAustralian Militia, and by 1914 had reached the rank ofcaptain and had passed the promotion exams for the rank of major.[2]
Swannell played as a forward, and in his last Test specifically atnumber eight.[3] He was an unconventional and hard rugby player, known for his violent play.[22][23][24] He would turn up for training in unwashed kit, and wore the same pair ofbreeches for every game, again unwashed.[22] His poor personal hygiene and overly violent playing style,[22] made him an unpopular character in the eyes of other players.[7]
Swannell first came to note as a rugby player when he represented English club teamNorthampton.[22] It was while with Northampton that Swannell was invited to tour withMatthew Mullineux's British Isles team,[6] on their1899 tour of Australia. Swanell played in 17 matches of the tour including three of the four Tests against the Australian national team, missing only the opening defeat.[3][25] Swannell scored in only one game on the tour, atry in a win over theNew South Wales Waratahs on 29 July 1899.[26]
Swannell returned to Britain with the touring team, and was reselected for the1904 tour, this time taking in Australia and New Zealand. Swannell played in 15 games, including all four Test Matches, three against Australia and the final Test againstNew Zealand.[25] In the third Test, Swannell scored his first and only international points, a try against Australia in Sydney. The British Isles were victorious over the Australians, but lost the New Zealand match, this was the first international game that Swannell had been on the losing side.[3] In the New Zealand clash, Swannell's violent playing style, was targeted by countering with equally rough play. He left the field at the end of the match with two black eyes, and bleeding, but with his spirit undaunted.[23][27]
When the touring British team returned home after the 1904 campaign, Swannell along with team-matesDavid Bedell-Sivright, and Dr.Sidney Crowther[28] decided to remain in Australia, to begin new lives, although Crowther later returned to England. Swannell joined club teamNorthern Suburbs,[29] based in Sydney. In 1905 he was selected to play for the Australian national team, even though he had already faced them as an opponent on six occasions. The match was against New Zealand, and was the first overseas tour the Australians had undertaken; Australia lost 14–3.[30] Wallaby captainHerbert Moran didn't mince words when speaking of Swannell inViewless Winds saying"Swannell was, for a number of years, a bad influence in Sydney football...his conception of rugby was one of trained violence"[7]
With his playing career behind him, Swannell continued his involvement with the sport by coaching at youth and school level, namely atSt Joseph's College where he coached the team to a number of championships.[4] He was an advocate for team training and in particular for forwards to rehearse scrummaging and break-down techniques.[31] He argued that the forwards won or lost the game.[31] In 1909, he became Secretary of the Metropolitan Rugby Union,[19] and in 1910 the club raised his salary from £200 to £250.[32] Financial stress on the club lead him to resign in 1911[33] to save expense, but he continued in an 'honorary position'.[34] He also served as a referee from 1911[35] to 1914,[34] earning praise for his ability to control the game.[36]
While in Australia, Swannell was often approached by the sporting press for his opinion on rugby matters. Particularly on clashes between British and Antipodean teams, including the1905 New Zealand tour.[37] He was vocal in his support for maintaining the amateur nature of rugby,[38] but did not side with Bedell-Sivright in denying that a stipend had been paid during the 1904 tour.[39] In 1908 he was also hired to write a series of articles for theStar on the topic of forward play, and scrummaging.[40]
Already in the Australian Army, with the outbreak of theFirst World War, Swannell transferred to theAustralian Imperial Force, retained his rank of captain, and was posted to Egypt, travelling on theSSAfric on 18 October 1914,[2][22][41] arriving in Egypt on 3 December 1914.[42]
Although his promotion to the rank of major was effective 1 January 1915, his elevation in rank was not formally gazetted until 24 April 1915.[43]
In April 1915, Swannell was part of the Australian forces that took part in theGallipoli Campaign — an attempt to capture theOttoman city ofIstanbul.
Swannell and his men from D Company of the1st Battalion,[44] transported on the troopship SSMinewasska, landed at the peninsula on 25 April, and were immediately involved in heavy fighting after being diverted to reinforce the12th Battalion.[22][45] In the buildup to the assault on the hill known as Baby 700, Swannell and his men were pinned down under heavy enemy fire. While attempting to show his men the best method of aiming their rifles, he was shot in the head and killed by a sniper.[22][46][47]
He is commemorated atBaby 700 Cemetery in Gallipoli,[48] and also with a plaque on the walls at Weston-Underwood church in Buckinghamshire.[9]
In April 2015 for the centenary of the Gallipoli landings, fellow Northampton Saints and England rugby internationalBen Foden, was featured narrating tributes to Swannell on both BBC TV regional news and Radio Northampton.[49] Foden penned and read the following message at the grave of Blair Swannell in Turkey:
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