Bernard Martin Thornton was born on 6 March 1881 in Northampton and christened by his father on Easter Day at St Sepulchre. (Born Northampton second quarter, 1881, 3b, page 52). Bernard joined Toye’s House, Wellington School in Autumn 1895 and left at the end of the Autumn Term 1897. He was made a House Prefect in the summer of 1897 and was a member of both the House cricket X1 and rugby XV – he represented his House XV in his first term at Wellington - and was the Librarian.

He seems to have been a useful cricketer, making the top score of 17 in a house match in summer 1897. BMT and his brother FET played once on the same house
rugby and cricket teams.

BMT was later to reveal that soon after he left Wellington – between 1898-89 - he was taught by one Dr J Webster Low, at 3 Hardwick Road, Eastbourne – Dr Low, an historian, seems to have been associated with Neuenheim College, Heidelberg, Germany.

He matriculated from Christchurch College, Oxford on 17 October 1899 (formally made a member of the university). He passed the then compulsory examination in Holy Scripture in 1901 but there’s no record of him passing any of the final exams required for a degree – he may have sat them and failed but it seems likely he was at Oxford until he was commissioned in 1902 into the Seaforth Highlanders.

BMT’s rugby career

After he left Wellington and while he was at Oxford – where he was captain of Christ Church College rugby XV (Gloucester Citizen, 22 June 1932) - BMT seems to have pursued a reasonably successful amateur rugby career with the Berkshire Wanderers. The first mention I can find of him came in the Reading Mercury of 10 March 1900, when they lost 23-0 at London Welsh. However, ‘for the visitors, Thornton played well’. They then lost 5-22 at home to RIEC Cooper’s Hill, reported the Reading Mercury of 24 March 1900. However, ‘Thornton scored a lovely try under the posts’ and ‘Thornton (among others) played a hard game for the Wanderers’.

Reading Mercury, 13 October 1900, reported that BM Thornton was fly half in the Wanderers game which they lost 3-19 to RMC Sandhurst.

Reading Mercury, 20 October 1900, reported on the Wanderers’ 11-3 win over Old Elthanians. ‘Thornton followed on smartly and after a grand effort, evaded the back and scored under the posts’.

Reading Mercury, 27 October 1900 – Berkshire Wanderers v London Welsh. ‘Thornton was the best of the halves’. ‘Thornton secured from a scrum and scored near the corner flag’.

Reading Mercury, 3 November 1900 – Berkshire Wanderers 14 Ealing 10. ‘Thornton was hardworking but not brilliant.’

Reading Mercury, on 17 November 1900, reported on two matches played by the Wanderers that week. Firstly, BMT played half-back for an Oxford XV, beating the Wanderers 20-10, and then just days later he turned out for the Wanderers, helping his side to a 6-0 win over United Engineering Colleges, London. One of his teammates passed ‘to Thornton (which) enabled that player to register a try near the posts’.

Reading Mercury, 24 November 1900 – the Wanderers entertained Royal Naval College, Greenwich and lost 5-6. However, the paper reported it was ‘one of the finest and closely contested matches seen at the Berks county ground at Reading this season. Towards the close of the game, darkness set in and just on the even of time BM Thornton of the Wanderers received a nasty kick and twisted his knee – he left the field. Thornton was again in fine form and his absence towards the end of the game was keenly felt’.

Reading Mercury, 19 October 1901. Royal School of Mines 0 Berkshire Wanderers 9. ‘Thornton made two strenuous efforts to add to the Wanderers’ total, being collared right on the line. Thornton was the best of the halves but both should make more openings for the three-quarters before passing.’

Reading Mercury, 23 November 1901: Wanderers 34 Rosslyn Park, London 3. ‘The passing at intervals was superb and the brilliant dashes of BM Thornton caused plenty of excitement and won great admiration from the spectators. The Wanderers’ forwards followed up well and playing with greater understanding enabled the halves, especially Thornton, the clever Oxford half, to keep the three-quarters constantly on the run.’

Reading Mercury, 7 December 1901: Wanderers 0 Surbiton 5. ‘The visitors pressed but BM Thornton relieved with a magnificent kick to touch’.

(Note: The Aberdeen Journal of 29 January 1902 showed that ‘BMT, gentleman (university candidate)’ was commissioned into the Seaforth Highlanders on 29 January 1902 and joined the 2nd Battalion which was then in South Africa. The battalion returned in February 1903. They were immediately posted to Dublin and were there for a year after which they returned to Aldershot – they then went to Edinburgh until 1909. Unfortunately, BMT seems unlikely to have gone to South Africa and, instead, underwent a tour of duty at Fort George in Scotland).

Reading Mercury, 1 February 1902: Berkshire Wanderers v Mr BM Thornton’s Varsity XV. The match was played at Berks county ground with a fifteen from Oxford kindly got together by Mr BM Thornton who has been a sterling player and staunch supporter of the Berkshire Wanderers for the past two years. Unfortunately, however, Thornton was unavailable to play owing to a broken thumb.’ (Note: it seems he may well have been en route to join up with the Seaforth Highlanders, aiming to fight in the dying stages of the Boer War, something that never happened).

Reading Mercury, 10 May 1902 – a report on Berkshire Wanderers FC season, 1901-2. ‘The most successful season since the club was started four years ago.’ (BMT played eight matches out of 20).

Reading Mercury, 11 October 1902: ‘BM Thornton (Old Wellingtonians) who has played for the Berkshire Wanderers for the past three seasons, has obtained a commission in the Seaforth Highlanders. He is now at Fort Regent, N.B., and hopes to play for the club occasionally later on.’ (It seems a little odd that BMT had been commissioned since January 1902 and yet the papers only reported the fact in October 1902! Perhaps it was a case that either the onus was on BMT not to report his commission publicly or perhaps the paper was complicit due to the ongoing war).