Tag: ill health

On the following Friday the Eton eleven came down. They played hard for more than [an] hour without any success on either side, till a length just as they were going to finish, one of the Eton men (Lyttleton) was thrown heavily. He fell with his arm twisted under him and was helped up with a broken arm. A doctor was luckily on the ground, who bandaged it up temporarily then advised his immediate removal to the hospital. It seems, that the poor fellow has broken the small bone of the arm, which, though not as bad as the main one, is sufficient to keep his arm in a sling for some time to come. I can only add that the game was immediately stopped; that we (the Westminsters) were unutterably grieved at this accident, it is unnecessary to say. The pain must have been awful, but he bore it like a trump, and was not heard to utter a single complaint. I must not close this article without saying how pluckily and well our eleven played. There was not one under the mark. Everyone did his best, and I think the Etonians did the same. I don’t think an accident of the kind has ever occurred before at Westminster. At any rate not within the memory of any of the Old Westminsters who were looking on at the time. However it can’t be helped, accidents will happen, and I am sure that in this case, if it was nothing more than a pure accident, it was a bona fide ‘Spill’ shoulder to shoulder. No tripping up, or pushing. I hope Eton will come down next year. When we will show them again that we don’t mean them to consider themselves invincible. This match was a great improvement on last year’s, and those next year’s will improve on this, and that we shall lick Eton at football, and on the water.

E.R. Dowdeswell

Prin. Opp.