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Born on Christmas
day 1886 in Wooton Warren, Warwickshire, Lancelot Andrew Noel Slocock was the
third son of the Reverend F H Slocock and his wife Judith. Slocock was educated
at
Marlborough
College
in Wiltshire, soon showing talent as an all round athlete playing in the rugby
fifteen as well as the cricket and hockey elevens. With his school days behind
him Slocock continued to make a name for himself on the rugby pitch, rapidly
building a reputation as a lineout jumper for his club
Liverpool
. After a sound performance in the North v South match, one of the main
England
trials at the time, Slocock was picked to make his
England
debut against the touring South Africans in a match that was to be held at
Crystal
Palace
in December 1906. His selection, however failed to pass the hurdle of the
bureaucracy at the Rugby Football Union and due to a clerical error Slocock was
omitted from the side with his position taken instead by Arnold Alcock, a
medical student at
Guys
Hospital
, who although a fair club player was by all accounts hardly an international!
Although this
must have been a bitter pill to swallow amends were soon made. Slocock was to
face
South Africa
in the next match of their tour against
Lancashire
, a county for whom Slocock would eventually win fourteen caps. In this match
held at
Manchester
on December 12th 1906 he scored a try and the tourists were made to
work hard for their victory. For
England
’s next match, held at
Richmond
against
France
on January 5th 1907 the Rugby Football Union’s selection process
this time ran true and Slocock was again selected for a debut cap. As if to
prove a point Slocock again crossed the line to score in a match where the
French played well, but were no match for the size and poise of the English
which told in the end with a comfortable forty one points to thirteen victory.
After his try
scoring debut Slocock was selected for the rest of
England
’s 1907 international season. The next match saw
England
travelling to
Swansea
on January 12th to take on a much fancied Welsh side and even with
these expectations aside
England
played a generally poor match with the twenty two points to nil loss being far
worse than had been expected. Slocock himself did all that he could in
adversity. As the Times recorded “the
English forwards had periods of relative success, and the efforts of some of
them, notably L.A.N. Slocock…. deserved a better fate.”
England
next traveled to
Dublin
on February 9th. Although they gave a better showing than against
the Welsh the match was again lost by seventeen points to nine and despite a
gallant display in the second half, where Slocock again scored, the Irish were
already too far ahead to alter the result.
England
’s final match of the season found them again at home to face
Scotland
on March 16th, with the match this time held at Blackheath. The
Scottish were expected to be victorious in this match, a feat that they duly
achieved by three points to eight, also claiming the championship in the process
as well as retaining the Calcutta Cup. The
England
pack played well helping to keep the match at a scoreless draw at half time
before
Scotland
’s strength began to show and although defeated it was generally considered
that overall
England
played well in the match.
After the
disappointments of the 1907 season Slocock’s services were again retained by
England
for the whole of 1908. The first match of the campaign on January 1st
required travelling to
Paris
to play the French at
Colombes
. The conditions for the match were poor with snow over the French capitol until
one hour before kick off.
France
fielded a better side than had previously been seen and they played with gusto,
but even so the English were expected to win with ease. The Final victory by
nineteen points to nil was, if anything, faintly disappointing.
England
, still without a home to call their own, next moved to Ashton Gate in
Bristol
to meet with
Wales
on January 18th. Although the match was spoiled by fog
England
were congratulated on making such a fight of the fixture in a free flowing game
that provided nine tries in total. It was a far better performance than the
previous match with
Wales
. The English forwards took their time to settle into this game despite being
regarded as the strongest pack that had been selected for some time. In all the
eighteen points to twenty eight loss was no disgrace against a
Wales
side that would go on to win the grand slam that year.
Richmond
was the next step for a match against
Ireland
on February 8th. During a hard game, “a
players’ battle marked by great pace and much severe forward work”
England
’s strength ground down
Ireland
’s greater flair in a thirteen points to three victory. The last match of the
international season was against
Scotland
at Inverleith on March 21st. As well as the last game of the season
it was to be Slocock’s last game for
England
. After a busy two years where he had been ever present in the English pack,
whilst also finding the time to be secretary of his home Liverpool club for the
1907-8 seasons this was to be Slocock’s swansong and he was further given the
honor of captaining the England side for the match. Held in good weather the
contest proved to be one of the best Calcutta Cup games for some years marked by
open play by both sides.
England
put up a gallant display and were not overcome until near the end, Slocock also
scoring a final try for his country. The sixteen point to ten final scoreline in
Scotland
’s favor was considered to be a fair one. It may have again been a mediocre
season for
England
but they emerged with credit for the way that they fought in all their matches.
Slocock’s
premature and enforced international retirement was due to his blossoming career
in the cotton trade which required frequent trips abroad, most commonly to the
United States
. In these amateur days business generally took priority over sport, and so it
was with Slocock, although life carried on. Married in 1912 to
Lena
, they had one son, Anthony, born in 1914. Slococks profession had taken him and
his family to
Savanah
,
Georgia
, and it was from here that he returned with war raging in
Europe
to do his bit.
Slocock was
commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 1/10th Battalion of the
Kings (
Liverpool
) regiment. This was a Territorial Battalion, more commonly known as Liverpool
Scottish. Slocock arrived in
France
in January 1916 to join his battalion. The 1/10th, part of the 55th
division was shortly afterwards to take part in the
Somme
offensive, one of the bloodiest campaigns in history. With the failure of the
initial huge pushes of July 1916 by August both sides had settled into a war of
attrition. It was considered imperative by the British General Staff to capture
land along the front to present a straight line of attack prior to the next big
push. This would allow the preferred tactic of a creeping artillery barrage from
behind which the infantry could advance. To gain this land some ninety attacks
of battalion strength or above were made between July and September 1916. The
capture of the
village
of
Guillemont
was a central objective. The first attacks in this area on August 8th
had failed and was followed by further attacks on the 9th, two of
them made by the 1/10th Battalion of the King’s Regiment. Second
Lieutenant Lancelot Slocock whilst leading his men in one of these attacks was
killed in action. His fate was shared by another former international, Lance
Corporal J A King, who was also serving with the 1/10th Battalion,
two of the eighty two thousand casualties incurred in this part of the campaign,
sacrificed to gain a total advance of one thousand yards.
Sources
"The
Complete Who's Who of England Rugby Union Internationals", R Maule,
Breedon 1992
The
Times Online Digital Archive
Wikepedia
www.1914-1918.net
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The
Rugby History Society