Albert Downing

Albert Downing
Birth name	Albert Joseph Downing
Date of birth	12 July 1886
Place of birth	Port Ahuriri, Napier, New Zealand
Date of death	8 August 1915 (aged 29)
Place of death	Chunuk Bair, Gallipoli, Ottoman Turkey
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	89 kg (14 st 0 lb)
School	Napier Boys' High
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Position(s)	Lock
Senior career
Years	Team
1909–1911	Napier Marist
1913–1914	Auckland Marist
1915	Trentham Military Forces
Provincial / State sides
Years	Team
1909–1910	Hawke's Bay
1911–1912	North Island Country
1913–1914	Auckland
International career
Years	Team
1913–1914	New Zealand
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	New Zealand Army
Years of service	1911–1915
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	Fifth Reinforcements; (Wellington Battalion)
Battles / wars	World War I Gallipoli campaign Battle of Chunuk Bair †; ; ;

Albert "Doolan" Joseph Downing (12 July 1886 – 8 August 1915) was a New Zealand international rugby union player, capped 26 times at lock between 1913 and 1914. He was born in Napier, and began his playing career for Napier Marist in 1909, from which he was selected for Hawke's Bay and for the North Island. He moved at the end of 1912 to Auckland and there joined Auckland Marist, where he was the club's first All Black, playing his debut match against a touring Australian team in 1913. He was selected for the highly successful tour of North America in 1913, playing in 14 of the 16 matches and scoring 6 tries.

While the All Blacks were on a tour of Australia in 1914, the British Empire declared war on Germany and the team collectively decided to enlist. Three of them were killed, Downing the first of the All Blacks in World War I. After enlisting in early 1915, he took part in the Battle of Chunuk Bair, part of the Gallipoli Campaign, and was killed on 8 August. Henry Dewar, a teammate from the US tour, died the following day at Anzac Cove.