Lewis Bradley (rugby)

Lewis "Lew" Bradley (1889 – 20 June 1918) was an English rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. He played club level rugby union for Cinderford R.F.C., Lydney RFC and Pontypool RFC, and club level rugby league for Wigan as a winger.[1]

Lewis Bradley
Personal information
Full nameLewis Bradley
Born1889
Ruardean, England
Died(1918-06-20)20 June 1918 (aged 29)
Somme, France
Playing information
Rugby union
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
≤1911–11 Pontypool RFC
Rugby league
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1911–18 Wigan 123 136 1 0 410

Background

Lewis Bradley was born in 1889 in Ruardean, Gloucestershire, England. He was the youngest of four brothers and two sisters born to John George and Ann Bradley.[2] He lived with his family at The Roebuck Inn (now closed and occupied by a residential development called Roebuck Meadows).[3]

Rugby career

Rugby union

Bradley began playing rugby with his local club, Cinderford R.F.C., and represented Gloucestershire at county level for the first time in 1908. He went on to play for Lydney RFC before moving to Wales to play for Pontypool RFC.[4] While playing rugby at Pontypool, Bradley also worked as a butcher.[5]

Rugby league

Bradley changed rugby football codes from rugby union to rugby league on 1 December 1911, signing a professional contract with Wigan.[2] He made his début on the following day in a 17–15 victory over Wakefield Trinity at Central Park. Scoring a try on his début, he was described by the Wigan Observer and District Advertiser as being "Quick off the mark he was often past his opposing threequarter before the latter realised Bradley had the ball. Shall we ever forget this speedy wing threequarter at Central Park? He was the idol of the crowd and it only seems like yesterday that he was dashing down the touchline, his long flowing hair blowing in the wind, those long raking strides, and that final natural swerve". At the end of his first season with the club, he played and scored a try against Huddersfield in the Championship Final during at Thrum Hall, Halifax on Saturday 4 May 1912, but Wigan went on to lose the match 5–13.

During the 1912–13 season, Bradley played and scored two tries in Wigan's 21–5 victory over Rochdale Hornets in the 1912–13 Lancashire Cup Final at Weaste, Salford, on Wednesday 11 December 1912, in front of a crowd of 6,000.[6] On Saturday 3 May 1913, he played in the Championship Final for the second season in a row, this time held at Belle Vue, Wakefield, but the team once again lost to Huddersfield.

Before the suspension of all competitive fixtures due to World War I at the end of the 1914–15 season, Bradley had scored an average of over one try per match (118 tries in 105 appearances), helping the team win the Lancashire League for four consecutive seasons. He also finished as the club's top try scorer in 1912–13 and 1913–14, with a total of 37 and 40 tries respectively.[7]

First World War

Bradley joined the Army in 1915, but continued to play rugby for Wigan while training, and also appeared for Leeds as a guest.[4] He made his final appearance for Wigan in February 1918, finishing his career with a total of 136 tries in 123 games.[7] During the war, Bradley served as a Driver in the Royal Field Artillery regiment 96th Brigade unit.[5]

On 18 June 1918, he sustained multiple shrapnel wounds while in action on the Western Front in France. Bradley later died from his wounds on 20 June 1918. He is buried in the Vignacourt British Cemetery in France, and he his honoured at the Wigan Cenotaph.

References
  1. Williams, Graham; Lush, Peter; Farrar, David (2009). The British Rugby League Records Book. London League. pp. 108–114. ISBN 978-1-903659-49-6.
  2. "A Try Scoring Machine" (PDF). Past Forward. No. 37. Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust. July–November 2004. pp. 18–19.
  3. "Forest of Dean Pubs - Placenames beginning with R". Gloucestershire Pubs. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  4. "Lewis Bradley - Tribute To A Cinderford Legend" (PDF). Gloucestershire All Golds - Official Matchday Programme. 6 September 2015. pp. 20–21.
  5. "Lewis Bradley". Wigan Archives. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  6. "1912–1913 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  7. "Lew Bradley". Cherryandwhite.co.uk. RLFANS.com.


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