Edgar Mobbs: A rugby icon in the First World War

This talk by Graham McKechnie was delivered 'live' to an online audience. In this, Graham talks about Edgar Mobbs and recount the life of this extraordinary sportsman and many of his team-mates who also went to war.

 Edgar Mobbs was a superstar of rugby – a huge celebrity in his home town of Northampton and beyond. He was a charismatic leader - captaining both Northampton Saints and England – as well as being one of the most exciting wingers the game had known. And he went on to become one of the First World War’s best known soldiers.

Having been turned down for a commission on account of his age, he raised a company of men, joined as private and went on to rise through the ranks to command the 7th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment. On 31 July 1917 he was killed while attacking a machine gun post in Shrewsbury Forest and the legend began.