John Anthony Sydney Ritson

Ritson was born in 1887 in Chester-le-Street, Durham to W. M. P. Ritson, of Gullane, East Lothian. He was educated at Uppingham School, later matriculating to Durham University, where he attended Armstrong College. At Durham he graduated with distinction in mining and surveying. In 1912 he gained a First Class Certificate of Competency as Manager of a Mine and the following year took on the post of junior mines inspector, and factories and workshops inspector, in Scotland. Ritson's career as an inspector of mines was placed on hold when he was called for active service with the outbreak of the First World War, where as a former soldier he was recalled to the Durham Light Infantry serving in the Territorial Army. At the end of the war Ritson returned to Scotland where he continued his work as a mining inspector. In 1921 he was given his first post as a senior inspector working in Penarth in the South Wales Division. Ritson took over the post at Imperial College from Professor S. J. Truscott, who had desired that the department focus more on coal and iron mining. Ritson's background in coal was seen as taking the Royal School of Mines in the correct direction but his lack of practical understanding of hard rock metalliferous mining resulted in him spending time in copper and gold mines in South Africa before being allowed to take up the post. Ritson remained at Royal School of Mines until 1952 when he was succeeded by J.C. Mitcheson, and in 1955 he was made a fellow of Imperial College in recognition of his work. He was dogged by ill health in his later life, due to an injury sustained during his service during the First World War. Ritson died in 1957 at the age of 70. ==Rugby career==

Ritson was a keen rugby union player as a youth and as an adult he played club rugby as a forward for Northern Football Club. In 1908 Ritson was approached to join and Anglo-Welsh team, a fore-runner of the British and Irish Lions, to tour Australia and New Zealand. He was reselected for the next and final game of the championship, when England faced Scotland at Edinburgh. In the match he scored his first international points with one of four English tries, set up for him by "Cherry" Pillman. The win gave England their first Championship title since 1892. He also played at county level, representing Northumberland. England played in five international matches in 1913 and Ritson represented his country in all. The first game was against South Africa in their 1912–13 tour of Great Britain. Although England started the match stronger, the South African pack dominated in the second half to win the match. Two weeks later England began the 1913 Five Nations Championship with a game against Wales. A fairly inept Welsh performance saw England win 12–0 to begin the tournament with a victory. Ritson faced France for a third time in his career, when the French came to Twickenham. As in his previous two encounters Ritson finished on the winning side as a strong English first half turned into a rout as the French team disintegrated to lose 20–0. Two weeks later England travelled to Lansdowne Road to face Ireland, their fourth game in just six weeks. England wore down the Irish in the first half to open up a nine-point lead, with Ritson scoring his second international try to open the scoring. The game finished 15–4 to England which opened up the prospect of the country's first possible Grand Slam if they could secure a win over Scotland. Ritson started the game against Scotland, his final international match, in a fairly unchanged England side. The game was dominated by strong defensive play from both teams which resulted in just a single score, an England try from prop Bruno Brown. This gave England the win and made Ritson a member of the first English Grand Slam team. Ritson ended his international career with nine games, and never on the losing team in a Five Nations Championship match. International games played British Isles • 1908 England • 1910, 1912, 1913 • 1913 • 1910, 1913 • 1913 • 1913 ==Military career==

In 1916 while a captain in the Durham Light Infantry, Ritson was awarded the Military Cross. The following year, acting as a temporary lieutenant colonel, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). On 15 April 1917 he was placed in charge of the 12th Battalion of the Scots Guard, replacing Lieutenant Colonel Harold Underhill Hatton Thorne, who had been killed at the Battle of Arras. Ritson remained in charge of the 12th Battalion until 15 July 1918. Ritson was later awarded a Bar to his DSO, and was Mentioned in Despatches four times during the war. ==Written works==

• Modern Machine Mining in Great Britain (1938) • Mine Supports During War Time (1940) with A. M. Bryan and M. A. Hogan ==Bibliography==