Date of birth | 16 October 1891 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Hetton-le-Hole, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 22 August 1915 | (aged 23)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli, Turkey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 160 lb (73 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Military career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Allegiance | United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | British Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years of service | 1914–1915 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | Captain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unit | 6th East Yorkshire Regiment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Battles / wars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Memorials | Helles Memorial (panels 51–54) |
Arthur "Mud" James Dingle (16 October 1891 – 22 August 1915) was a rugby union centre and wing, who won three caps for England, and played for County Durham, Hartlepool Rovers and Oxford University.
He was born and raised in County Durham, attending Durham School, where he was head boy and excelled at many sports, especially rugby. He went on to study at Keble College, Oxford, playing rugby for the college and captaining the team in his final year. He played in the 1911 Varsity Match, in which he scored a try. He was first selected for England in February 1913, against Ireland, although he had not been picked for Oxford that year. After graduating, he returned to Durham School as a master. He played for Hartlepool Rovers, scoring 55 tries in the 1913–14 season, as well as four hat-tricks for County Durham, helping them reach the County Championship finals. He was picked for England against Scotland and France in the last international matches before the outbreak of the First World War.
Dingle, who had been a member of the Oxford Officers Training Corps, was gazetted second lieutenant in the 6th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, which took part in the Suvla Bay Landing of the Gallipoli Campaign on 6 August 1915. His battalion took Scimitar Hill on 9 August, with great loss of life, only to be forced to make a tactical withdrawal. On 21 August, the Battle of Scimitar Hill ensued, a disaster for Britain and her allies: Dingle was killed the following day, defending a trench that had earlier been captured. He is commemorated on the Helles Memorial to the missing dead.