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Prince Alexander
Sergeevich Obolensky was born in
St Petersburg
on February 17th 1916. His parents, Prince Sergei, a Captain in the
Imperial Horse Guards, and Princess Luba were very much part of the doomed
Russian aristocracy. As revolution took hold in
Russia
and the communist forces advanced the family was forced to flee their native
Russia
in 1919 to avoid the fate that awaited other members of the Imperial family,
eventually seeking asylum in
England
they settled in Muswell Hill,
London
.
In 1929 at the
age of thirteen Obolensky was sent to boarding at school at
Trent
College
in Derbyshire. It was here that the young Obolensky had his first taste of
rugby soon showing his aptitude for the game by being selected in 1932 for the
school first fifteen at the age of sixteen, helping them to an unbeaten run
scoring 539 points whilst conceding only 22 and during the course of one famous
season scoring forty nine tries. From Trent College Obolensky progressed to
Brasenose
College
,
Oxford
, reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Whilst his academic application
may have been called into doubt, he eventually took a fourth, his growing
prowess on the rugby field could not be questioned. Awarded his first Blue for
Oxford
in 1935, his freshman year, he made a try saving tackle during a match that
ended in a scoreless draw. A second Blue followed in 1937, with the Varsity
Match of 1936 being missed due to injury. This aside the 1936 season proved to
be remarkable for the young Prince.
Obolensky’s
selection for
England
to play
New Zealand
on January 2nd 1936 caused great controversy within the game of
rugby union. At the time Obolensky was, at least officially, still a Russian.
His selection was dependent upon his assurance that he would become a British
Citizen, a process that he had already begun and was completed a few weeks after
the match. During the pre match introductions the Prince of Wales, who would
later briefly become King Edward VIII, asked Obolensky ‘By what right do you
play for
England
?’ Obolensky replied ‘I attend
Oxford
University
…Sir’ and so with the future monarch put firmly in his place he could turn
his attention to the not insubstantial hurdle of the
New Zealand
team.
The Match, and
Obolensy’s part in it, has passed into the folklore of English Rugby.
England
had never before defeated
New Zealand
, and were frankly not expected to do so
on this occasion. After the spectacle was over the Times described it as “a
remarkable match, with a still more remarkable result.” Certainly the
expectant seventy two thousand crowd received more than they could have dared
hope for. Obolensky scored two tries, both in the first half of the match. For
his first try he sidestepped Gilbert, the
New Zealand
fullback, at pace to touch down. His speed and agility should not have come as
a surprise to the visitors as he had scored a very similar try for
Oxford
University
against them earlier in the tour. As good as this was it is for his second try
that Obolensky is probably best remembered. Taking the ball on his own right
wing he cut across the field to touch down just inside the left corner flag,
outpacing the entire
New Zealand
defensive cover in the process. This was a highly unorthodox movement for the
time and caught
New Zealand
unawares. For whatever reason they could find no way to counter
England
and the thirteen to nil final score line brought with it
England
’s first victory against the All Blacks. It would also be their last until
1973.
Obolensky’s
fame, which has endured time far better than many of his contemporaries who
attained far more international recognition, rests in no small part on this
match. The fact that it was widely covered by newsreel footage and is still
often shown today may well have contributed to this. Other factors such as his
unusual lineage and unorthodox play no doubt also played their part. Seen as a
romantic figure many women were found amongst his fans, and he was often seen as
the playboy prince who prepared for a match of rugby with a dozen oysters. On
the other, more thoughtful, side whilst still a student he contributed to the
book ‘Be Still and Know:
Oxford
in Search of God’ published in 1936. His enigma may well have contributed to
the publics enduring fascination with him.
Obolensky
continued to play for
England
for most of the rest of 1936, winning a further three caps, but failed to
better his debut as he rarely saw another pass for the full
England
side. During a tour of South America that summer with an English representative
fifteen he reportedly scored seventeen tries during the 82-0 destruction of the
Brazilian side, but even this was not enough to convince the selectors to
continue their faith in him and he never played for
England
again.
After graduating
from
Oxford
in 1937 club rugby now became the focus of Obolensky’s sporting life. In his
short career he played seven times for the Barbarians, including perhaps
prophetically twice in the Edgar Mobbs Memorial game against the East Midlands,
as well as spells at
Chesterfield
and
Leicester
. He was best known as a member of
Rosslyn
Park
, whose red and white hoops he wore until the outbreak of war and here at least
he remained a favorite of the crowd.
Obolensky had
been commissioned into the Royal Air Force Auxiliary in 1938. Again the duality
of his nature can be seen in this choice. On the one hand, superficially at
least, a wish to be the dashing fighter pilot. On the other a more sober wish to
avoid the dire fate of his native
Russia
befalling his adopted
Britain
. Whilst at
Oxford
had voted to ‘fight for King and Country’ when the Student Union had
famously voted against the proposition. Whatever had driven his choice to join
the Royal Air Force Obolensky was called up to active service in 1939.
Britain
was at war, but following the fall of
Poland
the so called phony war was in progress with a lull in the fighting until the
German forces attacked the low countries in May 1940. This left little for the
young pilots of the Royal Air Force to do but train and fly defensive patrols
for the all too obviously approaching storm. Despite
this Obolensky still found time to play rugby, turning out for the joint English
and Welsh side that beat their Irish and Scottish counterparts by seventeen
points to three at
Richmond
in December 1939. All proceeds from this match were donated to the Red Cross,
as was the case when he later played for an England XV that beat the Welsh by
eighteen points to nine at
Cardiff
in March 1940, scoring one of his by now signature solo tries crossing the
pitch to touch down.
Despite the games
more pressing matters were afoot and Obolensky was posted to 504 Squadron, newly
equipped with Hawker Hurricane fighters. A few days prior to the outbreak of war
the squadron was transferred to Digby, using Martlesham Heath as it’s forward
base. It was here that Obolensky was killed in his Hurricane L1946 on 29th
March 1940, just three days after his promotion to full Pilot Officer was
gazetted. Although there were rumors that Obolensky had been engaged in
aerobatics at the time of his fatal crash officially he was killed as his
hurricane overshot the runway during a training accident. Obolensky had
previously admitted that he found landing the hardest part of his flying duties.
Alexander Obolensky, also known as ‘Obo’ or ‘The Prince’ and the first
former
England
international to fall in World War Two was buried at
Ipswich
’s war cemetery. At the time of his death he was twenty four.
Sources
"The
Complete Who's Who of England Rugby Union Internationals", R Maule,
Breedon 1992
"A
Game for Hooligans", H. Richards, Mainsteam, 2006
The
Times Online Digital Archive
Wikepedia
www.oxforddnb.com www.youandyesterday.co.uk
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The
Rugby History Society