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Robert
Lawrence Pillman was born the third and youngest son of Joseph Charles and Mary
Anna Pillman in
Sidcup
,
Kent
on February 9th 1893. His early education was gained close to home
at
Merton
Court
School
before he progressed to
Rugby
School
, the birthplace of the game that he would come to love. Whilst at Rugby
Pillmans flair for the game certainly progressed as he played for the first
fifteen before he left its halls and soon he would follow his brother to the
Blackheath club.
Charles
‘Cherry’ Pillman was at the time one of the leading exponents in the world
of the quick breaking wing, or a flanker in modern parlance. He would go on to
tour South Africa with the Lions in 1910, playing in two of the tests and
winning eighteen caps for England, an extremely respectable total for the time.
Robert would follow his brother onto the fringe of the pack and although his
playing career would no be quite as illustrious as his elder sibling he did find
success on the pitch.
Apart
from Blackheath Pillman went on to represent his County, Kent. This in turn led
to his first major representative match which came one level higher as he took
the field to play the touring South Africans for London Counties on November 16th
1912, joining his brother and a host of star players on the pitch. The South
Africans were having a fine tour. At this point they had been bested only once
by
Newport
and they would go on to win tests against all four of the home nations. It was
the second meeting of the two sides. Three weeks earlier at Blackheath’s
ground, the Rectory Field, the tourists had taken the day against
London
by twelve points to eight. For this second meeting to be held at Twickenham, it
was a far different
London
side that faced the South Africans. For the first game the backbone of the pack
had come from the London Scottish club, but these players had made themselves
unavailable for the rematch choosing club over division and were replaced
largely by Blackheath men, Pillman included. The match itself was a thrilling
encounter.
South Africa
took an early lead thanks to a Douglas Morkel penalty, but it was
London
who took a five point to three lead into half time thanks to a try by WSD
Craven that was converted by Francis Stone, both Blackheath men. In the second
half both sides played well, attacking in turn.
London
were awarded a penalty try as Craven was unintentionally obstructed going for
the line which Stone again converted. As time went on the better conditioning of
the tourists due to the game time that they were accruing in a gruelling
schedule began to tell and WH Morkel scored under the posts, the score the
conversion made by his namesake Douglas. This brought the South Africans to
within two points of the
London
team and although they tried desperately tried they could not find the final
score that they needed as
London
managed to just hang of for a famous ten points to eight victory.
Pillman’s
representative career now subsided again, but life continued. Outside of
Rugby
after leaving Rugby School Pillman elected to become a solicitor, being
articled to Messrs White and Leonard of Ludgate Circus. In time he would pass
the intermediate Law examinations of
London
University
and the Law Society. The other great sporting love of his life was golf, which
he could play off scratch and won the Gold Medal of the London Solicitors
Golfing Society.
In
1914 Pillman’s representative rugby career again took an upswing. He was
selected to play for the South of England in the first of the season’s trial
matches on December 6th 1913 at Twickenham. This was to be one of the
few times that he would take the field in opposition to his brother who was
playing for England that day and although the South’s pack were dominant as
the game progressed, and particularly in the first half, Pillman was not
recalled for a further trial, it perhaps being felt that one flying Pillman on
the flank was enough for any team. It took the misfortune of his brother Cherry
who broke his leg in the annual Calcutta Cup match against
Scotland
to give Pillman the chance to take the international stage as he was selected
for
England
’s final match of the season against
France
to replace his injured brother.
An
away fixture held at Stade de Colombes on April 13th 1914
England
travelled to
Paris
as firm favourites. Not only had the never succumbed to
France
but today were also playing to secure what would today be known as a second
consecutive grand slam. France at this time were far from the force in
international rugby that they are today and although they were steadily
improving they were no match for the England fifteen who ran in nine tries
during their comprehensive thirteen points to thirty nine victory. Although
England
started slowly and indeed it was France who scored the first try of the day, by
the second half they were in full flow and there was never any real doubt as to
the final outcome, a fact not taken well by the French crowd who heckled the
English players throughout. Even so it was a fitting end to a good two seasons
by the
England
team as Pillman took over from his brother in helping to secure the final
victory of the season. This first cap, however, was also to be his last. As the
season ended all too soon war began and Pillman would return to
France
under far less favourable circumstances.
Along
with many thousands of others Pillman followed his countries call to arms
enlisting as a private soldier in the tenth Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers on
September 1st 1914 just weeks after the outbreak of hostilities, his
brother Cherry would join the Dragoon Guards. There was still some time for
rugby, Pillman was forced to withdraw at the last minute after being selected to
play for the Barbarians against RAMC Aldershot at Old Deer park on 10th
April 1915, but more serious considerations were to the fore. Rapidly selected
for advancement Pillman was gazetted as a Second Lieutenant in the Queens Own
(Royal West Kent) Regiment in July 1915, swiftly being promoted to full
Lieutenant in October that year and Captain in January 1916. All too soon his
unit, ‘D’ company in the tenth Battalion of the Queens Own were sent to
action, arriving in
France
in May. Pillman soon volunteered for special duty and was appointed as Brigade
bombing officer, leading raids across no mans land supported by fifty
volunteers. It was hazardous duty. On one raid a member of his unit was gassed
in a German trench, Pillman carrying him three hundred years across no mans land
to safety. As the Somme offensive opened Pillman was hit on July 9th
1916 as he led his men back from a night raid near
Armentieres
, succumbing to his wounds a few hours later after just two months of active
duty at the front. Aged just twenty three he was one of sixty one members of the
Blackheath club who would not return.
Sources
"The
Complete Who's Who of England Rugby Union Internationals", R Maule,
Breedon 1992
The
Times Online Digital Archive
Wikepedia
www.1914-18.net
ww1.talk.co.uk
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The
Rugby History Society