John Tallent

Lieutenant-Colonel John Arthur Tallent CBE OBE (8 March 1911 – 14 April 2004) was a British Army officer and England international rugby union player of the 1930s.

Born in Chislehurst, Kent, Tallent was educated at Sherborne School and the University of Cambridge.^[1]

Tallent, a Blackheath centre, was a Kent and East Midlands representative player.^[2] He gained five England caps and marked his debut with two tries against Scotland at Murrayfield. In 1936, Tallent toured Argentina with the British Lions.^[1]

In World War II, Tallent served as second-in-command of a Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment with the Honourable Artillery Company. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his war service.^[3]

Tallent was a rugby master at Stowe School and also worked as a stockbroker in London.^[3]

A long-time rugby administrator, Tallent served as president of his former club Blackheath and had a stint as RFU president in 1959/60, then during the early 1970s was chairman of the Four Nations Unions Committee. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1961 New Year Honours for services to rugby.^[4]

• List of England national rugby union players
• List of British & Irish Lions players

• John Tallent at ESPNscrum