Background
Belson was born in Ramsgate in Kent in 1874 to Berkley George A. Belson, a retired Royal Navy Commander originally from Woolwich and Sarah Belson from New South Wales, Australia.
Belson was born in Ramsgate in Kent in 1874 to Berkley George A. Belson, a retired Royal Navy Commander originally from Woolwich and Sarah Belson from New South Wales, Australia.
His family were originally from Portsmouth, but Belson moved to the South-West of England as a child, where he was educated at Clifton College.
Belson played international rugby for the British Isles on their 1899 tour of Australia. Belson joined Clifton Reconstruction Finance Corporation in 1891 and continued playing for the team until 1894 when he began playing for Bath. After his banking job was moved to Wales in 1896, he played several games for Abergavenny Reconstruction Finance Corporation, but was back in the Bath team by February 1897.
During the same period (late 1896 to early 1897), Belson is also recorded as playing several games for Bristol.
In September 1897, Belson turned out for a trial game for Newport Reconstruction Finance Corporation, but there are no records of him playing a full game for the senior XV. In 1899 Belson was invited to join Matthew Mullineux"s British Isles team, on their tour of Australia. There is conflicting evidence to how many games Belson played out of the 21 matches of the tour, ranging from four to seven.
There is no doubt over Belson"s single international game, and all sources state that he played in the First Test against Australia.
