| William Ritchie | |
| Birth Name: | William Traill Ritchie |
| Birth Place: | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Birth Date: | 11 March 1882 |
| Death Place: | Timaru, New Zealand |
| Ru Position: | Wing |
| Ru Amateurclubs: | Cambridge University |
| Ru Provinceyears: | 1903 1905 |
| Ru Province: | Anglo-Scots Provinces District |
| Ru Nationalteam: | Scotland |
| Ru Nationalyears: | 1905 |
| Ru Nationalcaps: | 2 |
| Ru Nationalpoints: | (0) |
| University: | St John's College, Cambridge |
William Ritchie (11 March 1882 – 22 May 1940) was a Scotland international rugby union player.[1]
He went to St John's College, Cambridge.
Ritchie played for Cambridge University.[2]
He played for Anglo-Scots against South of Scotland District on 26 December 1903, having played the day before for Cambridge University in their match against West of Scotland at Partick.[3]
He played for the Provinces District side against the Cities District side in January 1905, while still with Cambridge University.[4]
He was capped by Scotland twice, in 1905.[5]
He served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, in the 40th Reinforcements, New Zealand Field Artillery in the First World War.[6] He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM).[7]
Both his father and grandfather were ministers in the Church of Scotland.
His father John Macfarlane Ritchie (1842-1912) was from Orkney. His mother was Ella McLaren (1853-1932) from Glasgow. Both had emigrated to the Scottish expatriate city of Dunedin in New Zealand; and they married there in 1875. They had a number of sons, including William, and one daughter.[6]
William married Dorothy Cecil Dibbs (1883-1942) from Sydney, Australia in 1909. They had 3 children.[6] One son, Dennis Gordon Ritchie, was in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and died in a forced landing at Ardmore Airport in New Zealand in 1944. His body was pulled from the wreckage but he died in the hospital.[8]
William Ritchie died in Bidwill Private Hospital in Timaru. He is buried in Timaru Cemetery.[6]