Benjamin GRONOW 1887 – 1967.
Ben Gronow was one of the best rugby league forwards in the world during the mid 1920’s, and was the only player from an English club to move to Australia in the first 50 years of the game Down Under. In December 1909, at Newport, Ben Gronow played in his first international trial match and so impressed the Selection Committee that he was “capped” for the Wales v. France match, played at Swansea on the 1st January 1910. In this match he scored a try. Next he played against England at Twickenham, the match which celebrated the opening of the Twickenham ground. As he also played against Ireland and Scotland, Ben represented his country in all her international matches that season.
In 1915 Ben joined the War effort and was transferred to the Army Service Corps M2/103369 and was raised to the rank of Serjeant, in charge of a motor depot at Ypres. In 1920 Gronow was one of five Huddersfield players selected for the Australian Tours. When he retired he settled in Yorkshire and in the 1930s became the coach at Morley Rugby Union Club. Ben was survived by three sons (his other son like him a Serjeant in the Royal Army Service Corps died in Egypt in 1943 and is buried in Heliopolis War Cemetery.)
