Patrick_Munro
Patrick Munro
Scottish politician & Scotland international rugby union player
Patrick Munro (9 October 1883 – 3 May 1942), also known as Pat Munro, was a Scotland international rugby union player and later a British Conservative politician.[2]
| Birth name | Patrick Munro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1883-10-09)9 October 1883 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Partick, Glasgow, Scotland[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 3 May 1942(1942-05-03) (aged 58) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Palace of Westminster, London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 59th President of the Scottish Rugby Union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1939–1942 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | William Halliday Welsh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Harry Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Incumbent | 1931–1942 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parliamentary group | Conservative Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Llandaff and Barry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cause of death | Killed in action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Jessie Margaret Munro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Awards | Order of the Nile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch/service | Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Private | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit | Palace of Westminster Home Guard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Battles/wars | Second World War | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Amateur career
He was educated at Leeds Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he held an Open History Scholarship and graduated with 2nd class Honours in History. He was also awarded a Half Blue for High Jump in 1906 and President of the Vincent's Club (the club for Oxford Blues) in 1906–1907.[3]
He played for Oxford University RFC.[4]
Munro was a Rugby Blue in 1903,[3] 1904, 1905 (and Captain in 1905).[citation needed].
He also played for London Scottish FC.[4]
Provincial career
He played for the Whites Trial side against the Blues Trial side on 21 January 1911, while still with London Scottish.[5]
International career
He was capped thirteen times for Scotland between 1905 and 1911,[2][4] and was also a rugby international for Scotland in 1905, 1906, 1907 and 1911. Munro captained the team in 1907 and 1911.[2]
Administrative career
He was President of the Scottish Rugby Union for the period 1939 to 1942.[6]
Sudan
He joined the Sudan Political Service in 1907, and was Governor of Darfur Province in 1923-1924 and Governor of Khartoum Province from 1925 to 1929.[3]
He was mentioned in dispatches in 1919 and awarded the Order of the Nile (3rd class) in 1929.[3] He was a Member of British Delegation to the Capitulations Conference in Montreux in 1937.[7]
Member of Parliament
He was Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Llandaff and Barry from 1931 until his death. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Capt. Euan Wallace when he was Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1935 and then Secretary for Overseas Trade. Munro went on to be a Junior Government Whip in 1937, resigning in March 1942.[3]
He joined the government payroll as a Junior Lord of the Treasury later that year and served until his death.[8]
Munro, a private in the Home Guard, died on 3 May 1942 whilst taking part in a military exercise at Westminster.[9][4] The exercise was a simulation of a landing by airborne troops in central London in tandem with fifth-column activities as a test of Home Guard defences.[10] As a member of the Palace of Westminster Home Guard, Munro was acting as a runner and was in the Liberal Whips' room with two company colleagues. It was there that he collapsed suddenly and died before he could be taken for aid.[3]
He is buried Cathedine (St. Michael) Churchyard in Brecknockshire under the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.[9]
Munro was the fifth son of Patrick Munro[3] and Mary Helen Catherine Dormond.[11]
Munro was married in 1911 to Jessie Margaret Munro of Bwlch in Wales.[3][9]
- Scotland's People 1883 MUNRO, PATRICK (Statutory registers Births 646/3 1371)
- Scrum.com player profile. Retrieved 20 February 2010
- "Obituary". The Times. No. 49226. 4 May 1942. p. 6.
- Bath, p. 109.
- "Scottish Rugby Record 2018/19" (PDF). 16 August 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- "Mr Patrick Munro (Hansard)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
- "Casualty - Private Patrick Munro". www.cwgc.org. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
- "Invasion of London". The Times. No. 49226. 4 May 1942. p. 2.
- "Munro, Patrick, (9 Oct. 1883–3 May 1942), MP (U) Llandaff and Barry, Glamorgan, since 1931; Junior Lord of the Treasury, 1937–42 |". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u229607. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- Sources
- Bath, Richard (ed.) The Scotland Rugby Miscellany (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ISBN 1-905326-24-6)
- Massie, Allan A Portrait of Scottish Rugby (Polygon, Edinburgh; ISBN 0-904919-84-6)
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Llandaff and Barry 1931–1942 |
Succeeded by |