Thomas Arthur Nelson

Thomas Arthur Nelson MID (22 September 1876 – 9 April 1917) was a Scotland international rugby union player. He later became a book publisher in his family's firm of Thomas Nelson and Sons. He was killed in the First World War.[1]

Thomas Nelson
Birth nameThomas Arthur Nelson
Date of birth(1876-09-22)22 September 1876
Place of birthEdinburgh, Scotland
Date of death9 April 1917(1917-04-09) (aged 40)
Place of deathArras, France
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1896-1900 Oxford University ()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1898 Scotland 1 (0)

Background
Abden House, Edinburgh
The grave of Thomas Nelson, Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh

He was born on 22 September 1876, the son of the publisher Thomas Nelson and his wife Jessie Kemp.[2] The family lived in the house of their grandfather Thomas Nelson: Abden House on the south of Edinburgh, the grandfather having died in 1861.[3] His father built a new house, St Leonards, in the grounds of Abden House and the family moved there on its completion in 1890.[4]

Nelson obtained an estate at Achnacloich, on the shore of Loch Etive near Oban. He spent a considerable part of each year there.[5]

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

He was educated at Edinburgh Academy, where he became a rugby union player.[6] He played for a combined Edinburgh Academy - Watsons College schoolboy side in January 1895.[7]

He then went to study Classics at Oxford University, where he befriended John Buchan. Nelson played rugby union for Oxford University,[8] playing for them from 1896.[9][10] He captained the side in 1900.[11]

Provincial career

Nelson was named in the Anglo-Scots side to face South of Scotland District on 25 December 1897.[12] The match was called off.[13]

He was originally named in the Provinces District side in December 1898, but his selection fell through.[14] It was remarked that Nelson was not expected to turn out for the Provinces District in their match against Cities District on 14 January 1899.[15]

International career

Nelson was capped for Scotland in 1898.[8] He rivalled Allan Smith for a place in the international side. It was thought that Nelson would get a place at Centre in front of the Smith for the Ireland match as Smith was struggling for fitness.[16] Smith started that match, but Nelson played alongside Smith at Centre for the match against England.[17]

Publishing career

The John Buchan novel The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) is dedicated to him. Nelson and Buchan had been friends since Nelson was an undergraduate at University College, Oxford.[18] He became head of the family publishing firm of Thomas Nelson and Sons, which employed Buchan as literary advisor and was one of the writer's publishers.[19]

He was noted as a benevolent owner of the company. The publishing house had an athletics club and Nelson gave over a portion of his family estate so that the club could use it. The company was noted as a pioneer in looking after the health of its employees at the time; by employing an official to look after their health.[5]

Military career

At the First World War, Nelson became a Captain with the Lothians and Border Horse attached to the Machine Gun Corps.[8] He then moved to special service.[20]

Death
Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery

Nelson was killed on 9 April 1917 on the first day of the Battle of Arras in World War I[21] He was killed by a stray shell.[5] He had been on the front for 18 months.[5]

He is buried in Faubourg D'Amiens Cemetery, near Arras, grave reference VII.G.26,[22] He is also memorialised on his parents grave in Grange Cemetery in south Edinburgh.

The Hull Daily Mail headlined A Publishers Fortune detailing that Nelson of Achnacloich in Argyll left an estate of £470,782.[11] £219,300 of that estate represented his holding in the publishing firm.[23]

Family

In 1903 he was married to Margaret Balfour, daughter of the Liverpool merchant, Alexander Balfour.[24][25] They had six children, including Alexander Ronan Nelson (1906–1997) and Elisabeth Nelson (1912–1999), who married Lord Bryan Walter Guinness, then becoming Lady Moyne, Elizabeth Guinness.[2]

Following his death Margaret married Paul Lucien Maze (1887–1979), a Frenchman, and became known as Margaret Balfour Nelson Maze.[26]

References
  1. "Thomas Arthur Nelson". ESPN scrum.
  2. "Thomas Arthur Nelson, III" at Geni.
  3. Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1866.
  4. Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1890.
  5. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  6. Public Schools and the Great War, Seldon and Walsh.
  7. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  8. Bath, p. 109.
  9. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  10. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  11. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  12. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  13. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  14. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  15. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  16. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  17. "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - Tommy Nelson - Test matches". ESPN scrum.
  18. Adam Smith, Janet (1979). John Buchan and His World. Thames and Hudson. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-500-13067-1.
  19. John Buchan and His World. pp. 51–52.
  20. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  21. John Buchan and His World. p. 65.
  22. "Captain Nelson, Thomas Arthur", CWGC.
  23. "Register | British Newspaper Archive". www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  24. "Alexander Balfour, of Liverpool" at Geni.
  25. "Captain Thomas Arthur Nelson",
  26. "Paul Lucien Maze" at Geni.
Sources
  • Bath, Richard (ed.), The Scotland Rugby Miscellany (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007, ISBN 1-905326-24-6)
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