Frank Tarr

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Frank Tarr
Birth nameFrancis Nathaniel Tarr
Date of birth(1887-08-14)14 August 1887
Place of birthIronville, Cheshire, England
Date of death18 July 1915(1915-07-18) (aged 27)
Place of deathnear Zillebeke, Belgium
SchoolUppingham School
UniversityUniversity College, Oxford
Occupation(s)Solicitor
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Centre
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1906–1913 Leicester Tigers 94 (727)
1907–1909 Oxford University ()
– Headingly ()
– Richmond ()
– Midland Counties ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1909–1913 England 4 (6)
----
Military career
Buried
First World War

Francis Nathaniel Tarr (14 August 1887 – 18 July 1915) was an English international

rugby union player. He played centre for the Leicester Tigers and, between 1909 and 1913, won four caps for England, scoring two tries. He also earned three Blues while reading law at Oxford
.

He later became a solicitor in

Leicestershire Regiment
. Tarr was one of 27 former England internationals killed in the war.

Early life

Born on 14 August 1887 at

Ronald Poulton-Palmer playing for Rugby School.[4] From 1906 to 1910 he read law at University College, Oxford.[1]

Rugby career

Tarr made his senior club debut for

Devonport Albion.[5]

In his first season at Oxford, Tarr played for the 'A' team, which also included another future England player

George Cunningham. The ball came to Tarr, who drew his opposite man, K. G. Macleod, and timed his pass to Vassall so that he, in turn, drew the Cambridge left wing near the half-way line and put H. Martin to run in a try from there.[8] Oxford went on to win 16–0.[8]

1907 University of Oxford Rugby XV. Frank Tarr is standing on the far right.

With Oxford having won the Varsity Match in 1906 and again in 1907,

Richmond RFC.[10] On 12 December, the 1908 Varsity Match resulted in a hard-fought 5–5 draw, the Cambridge pack having improved considerably since the previous year.[1] As it turned out, Vassall's persistent ankle injury rendered him useless just five minutes into the game.[11] The Times noted Tarr's performance saying: "FN Tarr, at left centre three-quarter, gave a magnificent display of defensive play."[1]

Tarr earned his first England cap on 9 January 1909 against the touring Australians at Rectory Field, Blackheath.[1] His opportunity came up with both Vassall and John Birkett injured. Also earning their first caps that day were Edgar Mobbs on the right wing and Alex Ashcroft, of Cambridge University, at fly-half. England took an early lead, when Tarr put Mobbs in for a try in the opening stages.[12] That try has been described by his contemporary, rugby journalist and author E. H. D. Sewell, as being "one of the very best ever scored, being perfect in execution from the moment Tarr first received the ball to the moment Mobbs touched it down for a try."[7] However, Australia took control of the game to win 9–3.[12]

Tarr was selected to play Wales the following week in Cardiff. Although England played better than expected, Wales were favourites to win and beat the visitors 8–0.

Five Nations tournament (now the Six Nations) and was a relatively easy side to play. England won the game comfortably 22–0, with Tarr scoring two tries,[13] one through good interplay with Mobbs and the other, a fine individual run. Despite the tries, Tarr was dropped from the England squad.[1]

For the 1909 Varsity Match, Cunningham announced his choice of Poulton at a meeting on 2 December which Vassall was unable to attend. Cunningham sent him a letter by hand informing him of the decision. When the note returned undelivered, Cunningham hesitated, at which point Tarr offered to give up his own place for Poulton but Cunningham stuck to his initial selection.[14] The game was played on 11 December, with Oxford at the start having the worse of it until one moment turned the game around: after the Oxford forwards got the ball back, Gotley, at scrum-half, sent the ball to Cunningham, who passed on to Tarr and he to his fellow centre Colin Gilray. He fed the ball to Poulton on the left wing still inside the Oxford half. Poulton then broke through the defence to score under the posts. With Oxford eight points ahead at the end of the first quarter, Tarr was forced off the field after breaking his collarbone making a tackle, and missed much of what was described by referee F.C. Potter-Irwin as "the fastest and most spectacular Varsity Match he had ever witnessed".[15] Oxford beat Cambridge 23–3, Poulton scoring five tries.[16]

After graduating a Bachelor of Arts, Tarr was articled to the solicitors firm of Owston, Dickinson, Simpson, and Bigg in Leicester, and was able to play more regularly for Leicester Tigers, then as now considered one of the strongest clubs in the country. After 15 appearances in his first four seasons from 1906, he went on to make 94 appearances, scoring 72 points, in total.[17]

In 1912–13 season, Tarr scored 6 tries in 6 matches in November & December 1912,[18] and was noted in the press as being back to best in March 1913.[19] Tarr played for the Midland Counties when they faced the 1912 Springboks at Leicester.[20] Tarr was called up again for England, having been dropped four years earlier, to play Scotland on 15 March at Twickenham, with his form and unselfish play highlighted.[21] Tarr was described as "judicious rather than brilliant" but "generally did the correct thing",[22] it was to be his last international appearance. England, meanwhile, only managed a 3–0 victory, but it was enough to regain the Calcutta Cup and earn its first Grand Slam.[16]

His final game for Leicester was on 27 December 1913 against Jed-Forest, due to injury to usual captain Percy Lawrie, Tarr was Tigers captain in the match.[23]

In May 1914, Tarr was elected as vice-captain of Leicester for the 1914–15 season.[24] After his death, he was particularly noted for his side step and ability to create tries for others, particularly Percy Lawrie the Tigers left wing & record try scorer,[25] as well as his tactical brain & knowledge of the game.[25][26]

Although Tarr spent the majority of his rugby career with Oxford and Leicester, he is recorded as representing club teams Headingley and Richmond F.C. and also Midland Counties.[27]

International appearances

Opposition Score Result Date Venue Ref(s)
 Australia 3–9 Lost 9 January 1909 Blackheath, London [28]
 Wales 8–0 Lost 16 January 1909 Cardiff [29]
 France 22–0 Won 30 January 1909 Leicester, England [30]
 Scotland 3–0 Won 15 March 1913 Twickenham, London [31]

Military service and death

Map showing the area south east of Ypres in which Tarr and his battalion were located.

While at Oxford, Tarr had served in the

dugouts were located between Lake Zillebeke and the Ypres–Comines railway line south-east of Ypres, Belgium. On the afternoon of 18 July 1915, Tarr, who was the acting adjutant of his battalion and whose name had been put forward for promotion to captain, had gone to the dugouts of the 5th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, towards Zillebeke, to liaise with the adjutant.[32] While the Germans were shelling the position, Tarr put his head out to tell some men to remain under cover when a splinter from a shell struck him in the face, killing him. If it had struck any other part of his body, he would have survived.[33]

Tarr was buried in the

Railway Dugouts Burial Ground that night, not far from where he was killed.[34]
Captain John Milne, in Footprints of the 1/4th Leicestershire Regiment, described Tarr as

"...the most attractive personality in the battalion, young, good-looking, full of charm, with an eye that always had a twinkle in it, a born leader, yet the kindest person possible, a Rugger international, the idol of the machine-gun section, which he commanded before he became adjutant. Everybody was heartbroken, for everybody would miss him they would not look upon his like again...."[33]

A memorial service was held for Tarr on 29 July 1915 was held at St Peter's Church, Leicester, with a large congregation of civilian, military and sporting attendees.

Leicester Football Club has ever sustained", and he was described as "the ideal footballer in both temperament and skill".[26]

Tarr was one of 27 England rugby players killed in the First World War. There are memorials to him on the family headstone in Welford Road Cemetery, at Uppingham School, University College, Oxford, the Oxford University rugby club and the Richmond Athletic Ground.[2]

See also

  • List of international rugby union players killed in action during the First World War

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g McCrery 2014, p. 68.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hagger 2014.
  3. ^ Sewell 1919, p. 192.
  4. ^ Corsan 2009, p. 98.
  5. ^ Farmer & Hands 2014, p. 56.
  6. ^ Corsan 2009, p. 1.
  7. ^ a b c Sewell 1919, p. 193.
  8. ^ a b Sewell 1919, p. 194.
  9. ^ Corsan 2009, p. 145.
  10. ^ Corsan 2009, pp. 149–150.
  11. ^ Corsan 2009, p. 153.
  12. ^ a b Corsan 2009, p. 154.
  13. ^ Corsan 2009, pp. 156–157.
  14. ^ Corsan 2009, p. 165.
  15. ^ Corsan 2009, pp. 167–169, 171.
  16. ^ a b c McCrery 2014, p. 69.
  17. ^ "A man to remember" (PDF). The Tiger (3). December 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  18. ^ Farmer & Hands 2014, p. 69.
  19. ^ "A tribute to F.N. Tarr". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 March 1913. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  20. ^ Farmer & Hands 2014, p. 63.
  21. ^ "Tiger Talk - F.N. Tarr honoured at last". Leicester Evening Mail. 8 March 1913. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Rugby Champions - England win match with Scotland". Sporting Life. 17 March 1913. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  23. ^ Farmer & Hands 2014, p. 70.
  24. ^ "Leicester "Tigers" - Club's Annual Report". Leicester Evening Mail. 23 May 1914. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  25. ^ a b "Lieut. F.N.Tarr killed - Struck by Shell in Belgium - A Famous 'Tiger'". Leicester Evening Mail. 21 July 1915. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  26. ^ a b "Death of Lieut. F.N. Tarr - Famous Tiger Killed in Belgium". Leicester Chronicle. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  27. ^ Maule 1992, p. 157.
  28. ^ "England v Australia at Blackheath". ESPN scrum.
  29. ^ "Wales v England at Cardiff". ESPN scrum.
  30. ^ "England v France at Leicester". ESPN scrum.
  31. ^ "England v Scotland at Twickenham". ESPN scrum.
  32. ^ a b Sewell 1919, p. 195.
  33. ^ a b Milne 1935, p. 39.
  34. ^ "Casualty Details: Francis Nathaniel Tarr". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  35. ^ "Lieut. F.N. Tarr - Memorial Service at St Peter's Church". Leicester Evening Mail. 29 July 1915. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

Bibliography

External links
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