| Sammy Sampson | |
| Birth Name: | Ralph William Fraser Sampson |
| Birth Date: | 26 September 1913 |
| Birth Place: | Chile |
| Death Place: | Bishopton, Renfrewshire, Scotland |
| Ru Position: | Hooker |
| Amatyears1: | 1937-47 |
| Amatteam1: | London Scottish |
| Amatyears2: | - |
| Amatteam2: | Kelvinside-West |
| Amatyears3: | - |
| Amatteam3: | Co-Optimists |
| Ru Provinceyears1: | 1938 |
| Ru Province1: | Blues Trial |
| Ru Provinceyears2: | 1939 |
| Ru Province2: | Scotland Probables |
| Ru Provinceyears3: | - 1947 |
| Ru Province3: | Middlesex London Counties |
| Repteam1: | Scotland |
| Repyears1: | 1939-47 |
| Repcaps1: | 2 |
| Reppoints1: | 0 |
| Repteam2: | Barbarians |
| Repyears2: | - |
Sammy Sampson (26 September 1913 – 31 January 2003) was a Scotland international rugby union player.[1]
Sampson played for London Scottish.[2]
He played for the Co-Optimists.[3]
He played for Kelvinside-West.[4]
He played for Blues Trial against Whites Trial on 17 December 1938.[5]
He then played for Scotland Probables against Scotland Possibles on 14 January 1939.[6]
He played for Middlesex and London Counties after the Second World War.[7] He captained London against Australia in 1947 on Boxing Day.[8]
He played for Scotland twice in the period 1939 to 1947.[9]
He also played for the Barbarians.[3]
He joined the London Scottish Territorials in 1937. When the war started he was commissioned in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders 6th battalion, but he transferred to the Royal Air Force.[3]
He was a Spitfire pilot in the Second World War. He joined the 602 City of Glasgow squadron. He flew in the Dieppe Raid and destroyed two Focke-Wulfs and damaged two Dorniers.[7] [10]
He then joined the 131 County of Kent squadron, and downed another five Focke-Wulfs.[7] [10]
He was appointed to command the Free French wing, and taught them how to fly the Spitfire. He flew 189 operations in the war.[7]
After the war, he commanded the West of Scotland Air Training Corps.[7]
He wrote a book Spitfire Offensive: A Fighter Pilot's War Memoir recounting his actions.[3]
He was a managing director of Ault & Wiborg Company. This was a firm that supplied printing ink to newspaper groups.[7]
His family were based in Chile and were railway entrepreneurs in the country.[7]
He married Margaret Lenny in 1946. They met at a London Scottish ball that same year.[7]