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Edgar Roberts
Mobbs was born in
Northampton
on the 29th of June 1882, the third of six children born to Oliver
Mobbs and his wife Elizabeth. His father was a car salesman, a profession that
was to become a family tradition with both Edgar and his brothers Herbert and
Noel following In his footsteps. The young Mobbs was educated at
Bedford
Modern
School
, where he played cricket and hockey as well as three quarter at rugby. A knee
injury at the age of sixteen prevented him gaining his school colors on the
pitch and although highly regarded as a sportsman he gave little indication of
the heights that he would later reach due to an enforced five year absence from
the rugby field.
After leaving
school Mobbs player hockey for Olney and after 1903 with his knee now fully
healed he returned to rugby playing three quarter in quick succession for Olney,
Weston Turks and Northampton Heathens. Mobbs soon came to the notice of the
Northampton
club which he soon transferred to, within two seasons becoming captain of the
club in 1907 a post he was to hold until 1913, whilst also scoring one hundred
and seventy seven tries for the club.
By 1909 Mobbs was
serving as the
East Midlands
representative on the Rugby Football Union committee. A strong willed man he
had little time for the bureaucracy that was rampant within the game of rugby at
the time, and was not afraid to tackle the establishment when he felt it
warranted. Called before the Rugby Football unions professional inquiry
committee to answer general charges of professionalism in the
Midlands
as well as specific ones against Northampton Mobbs stood his ground and the
Saints were exonerated of all charges. He also later publicly berated the Rugby
Football Union for the poor treatment of the South African touring side that
visited
England
in the 1912-13 season. Although the tourists were grateful, sending him a
signed photo of the squad, this action would have won him few friends in
Twickenham.
A big man
standing over six feet tall, Mobbs was the epitome of an attacking three
quarter, more often than not playing on the left wing. His prowess was clear,
even in adversity and after
England
’s home defeat to
Scotland
in 1909 the Times said of him “He is a
determined runner with a strong hand off, and whenever he got the ball he seemed
dangerous.” The hand off was to become his trademark and during a spell
with Toulouse it became the custom for his opposite number to wear a cap as
protection, the top of the head being regarded as his favorite target. Later he
would send home postcards from
France
with a cartoon depicting him handing off the Germans in a typically forthright
fashion.
The success that
Mobbs found on the field at
Northampton
was soon mirrored at the higher levels of the game. By 1906 he was captain of
his soon to be beloved
East Midlands
side, a position that he retained until 1913. He also captained a joint
Midlands/East Midlands side that took on the touring Australians on December 2nd
1908, winning 16-5 at
Leicester
. This was the only defeat that the Australians faced in England that year, and
it was quite possibly due to his form in this game that he was selected to face
the Australians again in January 1909, although this time for a debut cap for
England. Although Mobbs was to score a try in this match, the first ever for
England
against
Australia
, the game was lost by three points to nine. Mobbs went on to gain seven caps
for
England
over the next year, scoring four tries for his country in the process. He also
captained
England
against
France
in the 3-11 away win in March 1910, probably the selector’s way of honoring
him in what was to be is final international. Mobbs playing career was, however,
far from over as he played for the Barbarians for the first time the following
year in their traditional Christmas match against
Leicester
. He was represent the Barbarians club a total of eleven times as well as
sitting on their committee. To keep him busy over the summer months he also
played cricket for Buckinghamshire!
Mobbs continued
to play first class rugby for
Northampton
,
East Midlands
and the Barbarians until 1913, when at the age of thirty one he decided to
retire. The outbreak of war the following year found him as manager of the
Pytchley Auto Car Company, having followed his father into the motor industry.
When he attempted to enlist in August 1914 Mobbs was initially refused a
commission as, at thirty two, he was over the mandated age limit. Not a man to
allow a trifling matter like this to get in his way he instead joined up as a
private soldier and the set about raising a company of two hundred and fifty
likeminded men in what would become known as the ‘Sportsmen’ or ‘Mobbs
Own’. These men came to form the backbone of the seventh battalion of the
Northamptonshire Regiment. Although he had no previous military experience Mobbs
soon settled into military life and advanced quickly, soon being commissioned
despite his age.
The outbreak of
war and military service soon tempted Mobbs back onto the rugby field. Using his
connections as a committee member with the Barbarians he arranged matches
against service teams with the aim of raising moral, funds for war relief and
not least assisting recruitment. After games against Leicester and the Royal
Army Medical Corps the by now Captain Mobbs played his final match before
departing on active service for the Barbarians against a Welsh XV held at
Cardiff in April 1915. With Wales fielding a team boasting thirteen
internationals they were the firm favorites to take the fixture, although the
Barbarians had obviously failed to read the script winning by twenty six points
to ten. The match raised two hundred pounds and doubtless also achieved it’s
aim of boosting recruitment for the Welsh Guards.
Arriving in
France
with his battalion in September 1915 Mobbs took part in the battle of Loos.
Soon wounded in action he took part in an
England
v
Scotland
exhibition match held in
Northampton
before rejoining his unit. Promoted to Major in March 1916, he assumed command
of the seventh battalion a month later, subsequently being promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel. After three wound and two mentions in dispatches during his
short military career Mobbs was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in
January 1917. After the battalion took severe losses at the battle of Arras
Mobbs himself was again wounded at
Messina
in June 1917. Characteristically he rejoined his battalion just three weeks
later. Just a month after this Mobbs was killed in action at
Zillebeke
,
Belgium
, during the battle of Passchendaele. Ordered to take his battalion of the
Northamptonshire Regiment along with the Sherwood Foresters to take two lines of
trenches the exact nature of his death remains contentious. With the first line
of trenches secure and whilst attacking the second some reports say that Mobbs
was marshalling his men when hit, others that he was single handedly attacking a
machine gun post, scribbling the position down for his Brigadier as he lay
dieing. Whichever is true it is certain that Mobbs was leading his me from the
front in a position it would normally be unusual to find a man of his rank.
Given who and what Mobbs was this should have come as no surprise. It is often
held that Mobbs would lead an attack by punting a rugby ball into no-mans land
before chasing the kick. His body was never found, lost in the Belgian mud.
Mobbs may have
gone, but he was far from forgotten. In 1921 the first Edgar Mobbs memorial
match was played between two of the great rugby loves in his life, East Midlands
and the Barbarians at
Franklins
Gardens
in
Northampton
, a memorial that fittingly endures until this day.
Sources
"Immortal
Harlequin", Ian Cooper, Tempus 2004
"The
Complete Who's Who of England Rugby Union Internationals", R Maule,
Breedon 1992
The
Times Online Digital Archive
Wikepedia
www.comeonyousaints.com www.oxforddnb.com
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The
Rugby History Society