William Percy Carpmael (1853 – 27 December 1936) was the founder and first president of the rugby union Barbarian Football Club. Carpmael was born the eldest of eight in Briscobel, Stretham in England.

Carpmael was educated at Christ's College, Finchley where he was a boarder, and later at Jesus College, Cambridge. On completing university he joined his father's firm of patent agents; Carpmaels and Ransford of Chancery Lane. He would eventually become senior partner of the firm.

While at Cambridge, Carpmael, or 'Tottie' as he was known, was a keen sportsman. He played cricket, rowed for the Lent Boat and was a keen steeplechaser; but it was rugby that he enjoyed playing the most. In 1885 he won his Blue in a varsity match as a forward. Due to Carpmael's close ties with his university the Barbarians, as a club, were also close to Cambridge and Blackheath.

In the early 1880s there were very few touring teams; clubs would travel to matches, but rarely would they undertake a schedule of matches that stretched over days. In December 1884, Jesus College undertook such a 'tour', playing four northern clubs over five days in Yorkshire. Carpmael was part of the touring team, and believed it to be a very successful venture.

In 1889 Carpmael himself organised a tour with Clapham Rovers, in which the team faced five or six clubs in the Midlands and Yorkshire areas. The next year saw a tour with the Southern Nomads and later the first Barbarian tour. On 8 April 1890 at Leuchter's Restaurant in Darley Street, Bradford; Carpmael took his Southern Nomads for a meal to put forward his idea of a touring rugby club. Later that night, at the Alexandra Hotel, the 'high-spirited' team agreed to Carpmael's plan and the Barbarians were formed. His idea was to create a touring team that would play the provinces at holiday times and not only contain Englishmen but players from Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Carpmael took the Barbarians very seriously and it was his dedication over the early years that created the foundations for a club that would last the coming decades. Not only would he organise and promote, but he also administered the club, writing up the club records on manuscript every season. He was the club's first Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, running the club from his father's business at 24 Southampton Buildings in Chancery Lane. In 1902 he resigned his role as secretary, but in 1913 he took up the role of club President.

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