Wisden on the Great War: The Lives of Cricket's Fallen 1914-1918

Contents

Introduction War is Declared Wisden’s Roll of Honour Deaths in 1914 Deaths in 1915 Deaths in 1916 Deaths in 1917 Deaths in 1918 Deaths in 1919 Deaths in 1920 Deaths in 1921 Deaths in 1922 Deaths in 1923 Death in 1924 Death in 1925 Death in 1937 Death in 1977 Deaths in 1978 Men Who Played First-class Cricket and Who are Commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission First-Class Cricketers Decorated for Gallantry 1914 – 1920 The Lost Generation

1 3 66 76 100 194 296 378 461 470 473 474 477 479 480 481 482 483

Acknowledgements

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Introduction

Readers of the 1917 Wisden were warned by editor Sydney Pardon in his Preface: “The 54th edition of Wisden’s Almanack is of necessity rather a mournful volume. Its chief feature is a record of the cricketers who have fallen in the War – the Roll of Honour, so far as the national game is concerned.”

The previous year, Pardon continued, “the wisdom of publishing Wisden in War time seemed very doubtful, but the experiment was more than justified, a small edition being sold out in a few days”.

Sales of that 1916 book were boosted by the tributes it contained to W. G. Grace, in particular, and to Andrew Stoddart and Victor Trumper, but many bereaved families of members of the less well-known cricketing fraternity who had died as comrades in arms also snapped up copies, to keep as cherished memorials to their loved ones.

Ever since, Wisden collectors have been paying the price of the increased demand allied to reduced print runs: original copies covering the years of the Great War attract a substantial premium.

But what resonance do the obituaries have for today’s readers, other than to emphasise the indiscriminate carnage of the conflict? A few brighter lights shine out from the gloom, among them the passing reference to the poet Rupert Brooke, who won his place in Wisden because in 1906 he headed the bowling averages for Rugby School; Percy Jeeves, because the cricketloving P. G. Wodehouse borrowed his name; and in the front rank of the game, Colin Blythe – his loss “the most serious that cricket has sustained during the war”.

The lesser lights have flickered to and fro and dimmed.

However, readers of this book, although they will mourn the loss of the 1,788 men whose obituaries appear in the wartime Wisdens, will discover

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many good reasons to celebrate their lives, brief and truncated though many of them were. Now those lives are presented in an ordered, accessible and readable way, with much new information and many remarkable stories of courage and coincidence.

For the first time, the obituaries have been arranged by the year of death.

Extraneous material mainly relating to schools matches has been deleted in favour of new information. Amid the carnage and confusion, errors inevitably crept into the original lists: details were wrong, there were cases of mistaken identity, and as we will discover, three men in fact survived their Wisden obituary.

There is a complete listing of the 289 men who played first-class cricket and fell in the war. Of these, 89 did not get an obituary in Wisden at the time, but their lives, and deaths, are now recorded here. In addition to the obituaries, there is a list of the 407 men who played first-class cricket and who were decorated for gallantry.

There is also a commentary on how each county was affected by wartime.

Although finances were stretched, the county clubs remained in existence thanks both to members who continued to pay subscriptions and, ironically, to the cost savings of not having to stage any cricket.

Ultimately, as Wisden intended at the time, “the chief feature is a record of the cricketers who have fallen in the War – the Roll of Honour, so far as the national game is concerned�. Our aim is to refresh the memory of the cohorts of cricketing soldiers, sailors and airmen who fought and died for their country, and who are commemorated in Wisden.

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War is Declared

When Great Britain declared war on Germany on Tuesday, 4 August 1914, a full programme of eight County Championship matches had finished its second day. At The Oval the previous day, a big Bank Holiday crowd of 15,000 had watched Jack Hobbs score 226 in 260 minutes as Surrey strengthened their position at the top of the table by amassing 472 for five against a perspiring Nottinghamshire attack; the day “furnished much enjoyment”, noted Wisden in its match report, although rain on the third day was to prevent a conclusion.

Wisden’s report of Kent’s game against Sussex began: “War being declared on the Tuesday, the Canterbury Week was, of course, shorn of most of its social functions.” And the account of the second match, against Northamptonshire, concluded: “Owing to the outbreak of the War, the attendance was extremely meagre.”

There were immediate changes to the fixture list. The War Office requisitioned The Oval, and Hobbs’s benefit match against Kent, starting the next Monday, was transferred to Lord’s where, ending inside two days, it “did not yield anything like the sum which could have been confidently expected in normal circumstances”.

The response of MCC was this statement issued on August 6: “The secretary of the Marylebone Cricket Club feels that no good purpose can be served at the present moment by cancelling matches unless the services of those engaged in cricket who have no military training can in any way be utilised in their country’s service. If it can be shown in what way their services can be used, the MCC would close their ground. Many out-matches have already been abandoned. Cricketers of England would be sure to respond to any definite call.”

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The Long Room at Lord’s was turned over to the production of hay nets for horses

1916 The RAMC left Lord’s, and the War Office used the buildings and practice ground as a training centre for Royal Artillery cadets. The Long Room was still used for making hay nets; about 12,000 were produced this year.

Nearly 100 military and school matches were played at Lord’s. “On several occasions wounded soldiers were entertained at tea during some of the more interesting military matches.”

“The Committee, feeling that an institution so important as MCC should not hesitate to respond to the appeal of the Government to subscribe to the 5% War Loan, arranged with the London and South Western Bank to take up £50,000 stock on behalf of the Club.”

Also on the financial side, it was thought that some 3,000 members were serving “with the colours”, and if they had all had asked for their subscriptions to be returned, the club would have been forced to pay back £27,000 over the

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three years. Fortunately, not many had asked for a rebate, and as a result the finances of the club were better than had been anticipated.

1917 The War Office had requested that the production of hay nets should be discontinued, as other arrangements had been made. “Subsequently this labour was employed in netting-bed stretchers. This, however, was of an intermittent character owing to a difficulty in obtaining string.”

Some 85 military and school matches were played, “and pitches were found for practice matches between teams composed of soldiers resting in the YMCA quarters in and near London”.

Two charity matches were played at Lord’s. The first, on July 14 between the English and Australian Army Elevens, raised £620 for St Dunstan’s Hostel for blinded soldiers and sailors; the £700 proceeds from the second, which pitted the Navy and Army against the Australian and South African Forces, benefited Lady Lansdowne’s Officers’ Families’ Fund. Colin Blythe played in both games: his final wicket in the match on August 18 was that of Charles Macartney, but he suffered the indignity of being hit for the winning six. A month later he was on his way to France; on November 8, he was killed instantly by a shrapnel shell at Passchendaele.

A stoolball match produced a donation for military hospitals.

During 1917 it was “considered prudent” to sell half the War Loan of £50,000, which realised £23,750, and in 1918 the loan was further reduced by £7,450.

The maximum membership of MCC had been fixed at 6,000 in 1910, but by 1917 the number had fallen to 4,944, so it was agreed at the AGM that the committee could elect 500 additional members over and above the normal 120 a year.

By the end of 1917, membership had risen to 5,466.

1918 Some 500 more members had been elected by the time of the AGM on May 1, 1918. A resolution was passed at the meeting authorising the committee to elect 200 more candidates, “and it was further decided that no candidate for membership shall be under 14”.

Lord’s hosted two of the three one-day matches arranged by Warner between an England XI and a Dominions XI in aid of the Lord Roberts

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Memorial Workshops and King George’s Fund for Sailors. Some 10,000 turned up on Saturday, June 29, and although the cricket proved “rather disappointing… financially the result more than fulfilled expectation”.

Wisden said: “No doubt want of practice accounted to a large extent for the comparative tameness of the batting,” but added that “People were obviously delighted to see so many of their old favourites in flannels again.”

Rain hit the gate for the second match a fortnight later and curtailed play, but the game “was honoured by the presence of the King”.

1919 With the war over, it was time for MCC to hand out the honours. “As a mark of appreciation for their services to the country, it is recommended that honorary membership shall be offered to Admiral Viscount Jellicoe, Admiral Sir D. Beatty, Field-Marshal Viscount French and Field-Marshal Sir D. Haig.”

The Royal Artillery cadets had moved out, and Lord’s sought to get back in shape: “It may not be possible to restore the ground and buildings to their normal condition this year, but every effort will be made to do so.”

The annual report continued: “Since the beginning of the war a Roll of Honour has been carefully kept. As the Committee are anxious that this shall be an accurate and complete record a list will be hung in the Pavilion and members are asked to give any information they can with this in view.

“Our collection of pictures which was removed from the Pavilion to Petworth, through the kindness of Lord Leconfield, as a security against hostile aircraft attacks, has now been returned.”

The best indication that all was now well came with the return of the annual dinner following the AGM, held for the first time since 1914; the company numbered about 70.

First-class cricket got under way again at Lord’s on May 16 when Middlesex played Nottinghamshire. Like all County Championship matches this summer, it was a two-day game. The Australian Imperial Forces team played Middlesex in a three-day match starting on May 26, which was immediately followed by the first MCC game, against Yorkshire; in the two matches, Patsy Hendren put the war, and the loss in 1916 of his younger brother John Michael, behind him with scores of 135, 63 not out and 214.

In the sections on counties that follow, the men listed are those that played first-class cricket for each county, with the date of their death. It

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should be noted that the 1916 Wisden does not contain any reports relating to 1915.

Derbyshire 1914 “A matter for extreme satisfaction was that the year involved no loss. The gates at the home matches were scarcely so large as in the previous season, but they were always fairly good, and the membership increased considerably, with the result that there were no financial embarassments [sic] in working the club. This is the more noteworthy when it is considered that owing to the outbreak of the War the attendances in August naturally showed a considerable falling-off.”

At Derby on August 4, the day war was declared, the home side were dismissed for 31 and 94 to lose by an innings inside two days to Essex, for whom Douglas and Tremlin bowled unchanged.

When the season ended with victory at Worcester on September 1, Derbyshire’s players rallied to the cause: “Naturally in so sporting a county many of the cricketers enrolled themselves in different capacities for the War. Capt Baggallay of course is with the 11th Hussars, and Chapman is assisting in the Government Remount Department. Curgenven, HughesHallett, G. L. Jackson, Taylor, the secretary, Blacklidge, the coach, and two or three of the professionals are assisting in various units.”

Capt Geoffrey Laird Jackson joined the Rifle Brigade: he had played four matches for Derbyshire from 1912–14, and three times for Oxford University in 1914. He went to France in October and was gassed; in April 1917 he was killed by a shell at Arras.

1916 “During 1916 Mr R. B. Chambers discharged the duties of secretary, Mr W. T. Taylor having joined the Forces and been rather severely wounded.

It was estimated that a sum of about £350 would be required to keep the Club going. Subscriptions came in very well, and the Committee hoped to have a balance in hand at the end of the year. Several matches were played during the summer for the benefit of the Red Cross Society and the St John Ambulance Association.”

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1917 “Mr R. B. Chambers writes that during 1917 members supported the Club very well. There being no matches of importance played on the ground the Committee only asked for half subscriptions. Derbyshire started the financial year with a credit balance of £97, and it was hoped that this sum would be increased. The Club has to deplore the death of Mr G. L. Jackson, who was killed in France on April 9. The pavilion was lent to the Royal Garrison Artillery as a temporary hospital, and during the year the ground was used for military cricket, football, and hockey matches.”

1918 “At the Secretaries’ meeting at Lord’s, Derbyshire qualified for the Championship, by arranging a sufficient number of fixtures.”

1919 “No county… got on so well with the two-days scheme as Derbyshire. Of their 14 county matches only two were left drawn – a striking contrast to the majority of county records. They won three matches… but as a depressing set-off they lost nine times… Apart from county cricket they enjoyed one very gratifying success, gaining a well-deserved, though altogether unexpected, victory over the Australian team.”

Unheralded, Guy Rolfe Jackson, whose elder brother was killed in 1917, made his debut in the match against Somerset at Bath in July. He was to go on to captain Derbyshire, and was invited to lead MCC to South Africa in 1927-28 but had to cry off through ill-health. * * * Frank Miller Bingham Charles Neil Newcombe Arthur Marsden Geoffrey Laird Jackson Guy Denis Wilson Charles Barnett Fleming

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May 22, 1915 December 27, 1915 July 31, 1916 April 9, 1917 November 30, 1917 September 22, 1918

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Worcestershire’s war memorial

Yorkshire 1914 Yorkshire completed their County Championship schedule of 28 fixtures, winning half the matches and finishing fourth. The war put paid to the Scarborough Festival in September.

The Yorkshire president, Lord Hawke, was also president of MCC, and Sydney Pardon wrote in his Notes: “The most memorable event in the season of 1914 was, to my thinking, the dinner given at the Hotel Cecil by the MCC in June to celebrate the centenary of the present Lord’s ground.

Nothing could have illustrated more forcibly the greatness of cricket. On every hand were men whose names are familiar wherever the English language is spoken. No other game or sport could have produced such a company. Half a century of English cricket was fully represented, and in every speech there was a note of unswerving devotion to the game. It was a peculiarly happy circumstance that Lord Hawke, who has played cricket

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all over the world, should, as president of the MCC for the year, have had the privilege of being in the chair. One may be sure that he appreciated the honour.”

1916 “In 1916 the County Club not only paid expenses but had a small balance, and gave something like £600 to the various grounds on which in normal times home matches are played. A sum of over £1,400 was received in subscriptions. All the county players are engaged on war work of one kind or another. This was made a strict condition of their continued engagement.

During the season they played one-day and half-day matches wherever fixtures could be arranged without interfering with munition work etc. All the matches were played for charitable purposes, some hundreds of pounds being raised. The War has caused Yorkshire the loss of one of their best players in Booth.”

The obituary of 2nd Lt Major William Booth (Major being his first name) concluded: “Tall of stature, good-looking, and of engaging address, Booth was a very popular figure both on and off the cricket field.”

1917 “In the annual report – issued in January 1918 – it was stated that £5,000 of the Club’s funds had been placed in 5 per cent War Loan, in addition to £1,000 of the Players’ Investment Fund. The balance sheet showed receipts to the amount of £1,724, members’ subscriptions coming to £1,204. There was a deficit on the year of £67 18s 9d. During the summer the services of the county players, when available, were again utilised for the purposes of assisting local clubs, and, judging from the many expressions of appreciation received, the committee feel that much good was done for the game in general besides materially helping various War charities.”

Wisden carries reports and scores of three matches played by Yorkshire in August, one of them against the Bradford League. “Thoroughly representative, the Bradford League would have included Hobbs and Woolley, as well as Barnes, J. W. Hearne and Llewellyn, but an injury kept Hobbs out of the game, and Woolley could not get leave from his military duties… The proceeds went to the Wounded Soldiers’ Comforts Fund.”

Clubs in the Bradford League continued to employ professionals throughout the war and games attracted big crowds: on a Saturday in July

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1916, there was a crowd of 4,800 at Undercliffe, whose professional was the former Hampshire allrounder C. B. Llewellyn.

1918 “During the summer of 1918, the same plan was followed as in the previous year, the county players being freely utilised in assisting local clubs and taking part in charity matches.”

Wisden has a section headed “Holiday matches in Yorkshire” giving details of seven games. In the first, against Yorkshire Council at Sheffield on Whit Monday and Tuesday in May, “Hirst and Rhodes both batted in their old form.” The other six matches were played in August.

At Scarborough, “Mr Arthur Sellers, whose last appearance in cricket above the club class had been for Yorkshire against the Australians in 1899, captained the county side in the absence of Lord Hawke, and showed that he had not forgotten how to bat”; he scored 31.

At Bradford, against An England XI, Percy Holmes and the Leeds captain F. W. Elam, who played two matches for the county in 1900 and 1902, enjoyed an opening partnership of 183. Opening for Capt P. F. Warner’s XI against the Bradford League, “Hobbs easily outshone all the other batsmen.”

He top-scored twice with 70 and 22: “In his second innings he was unlucky in having his wicket thrown down by George Gunn from deep square leg, in attempting a second run.”

1919 “Yorkshire won the Championship, but the result hung in the balance right up to the finish. On Saturday, August 30, Yorkshire and Kent were engaged in their last matches. After a blank day Yorkshire, still further hampered by rain, could not force a win against Sussex at Brighton, and Kent just failed to beat Middlesex at Lord’s. Had they won, Kent would have secured the Championship. Having regard to Yorkshire’s longer programme [26 matches] the actual result was all for the best, but the fact must be borne in mind that Kent [14 matches] met no weak opponents.” Whereas Yorkshire did, Wisden might have added.

Spectators were reminded of the halcyon prewar days of Hirst and Rhodes. “George Hirst opened the season in batting form that was nothing less than astonishing… This standard was far too high to be kept up, but later in the season he played many a useful innings.” As for Rhodes: “In such

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a run-getting season his record in county matches of 142 wickets for less than 12½ runs each was remarkable indeed.”

While Booth’s death in the war was noted, it was not until June 1919 that James Rothery, who played 150 matches for Yorkshire between 1903 and 1910, lost his long battle in a Leeds hospital against injuries sustained while serving as a private with the East Kent Regiment (The Buffs). * * * Major William Booth Fairfax Gill James William Rothery

July 1, 1916 November 1, 1917 June 2, 1919

Cambridge University The weather played a big part in the Varsity Match at Lord’s in July 1914, and Cambridge lost by 194 runs when, caught on a drying pitch, they were dismissed for 73 on the final afternoon.

Three of the Cambridge team were killed in the war. At the top of the order, Alban Arnold, who had already played for Hampshire, fell at the Somme in July 1916; “He would probably have developed into a cricketer of very high class,” according to his obituary.

“Among the bowlers of the team G. B. Davies stood alone. In such a dry summer, his record of 45 wickets for less than 15 runs apiece was remarkable.

Combining a high delivery with good length and plenty of headwork, he deserved all his success.” He was more than a bowler: he hit two centuries for Essex at the end of the season before going off with the Essex Regt to France, where he was killed in September 1915. Wisden said in his obituary: “There can be but little doubt that, but for the War, he would have developed into an England player.”

Another bowler, Kenneth Woodroffe, perished in May 1915 at NeuveChappelle, two months before his brother Sidney, who won a posthumous VC; a third brother, Leslie, died in 1916.

Wisden 1915 gave the names of the Cambridge “officers” for that year with the proviso “(If in residence.)” R. B. Lagden was to be captain, but it was as Capt Reginald Bousfield Lagden, of the Rifle Brigade, that he won the MC.

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He did survive the war, although he lost his elder brother, Ronald Owen, in 1915; the two brothers had been on opposite sides in the 1912 Varsity Match.

(Reginald was still only 51 when he was killed in a plane crash in 1944.)

Davies was listed as due to be hon. secretary but, as noted above, perished in 1915.

However, a surprising number of players from 1914 returned to Fenner’s in 1919. Wisden 1920 explained: “The Cambridge authorities approached the resumption of first-class cricket with a good deal of apprehension, no one having at the beginning of the year even a remote idea as to the players who would be in residence. So dubious was the outlook that when the season’s fixtures were arranged in February, the match with Oxford at Lord’s was marked provisional. However, everything turned out well.”

No fewer than five Blues from before the war returned to Cambridge after a gap of five years to continue their studies and their cricket. First-class cricket resumed on May 21 with a match against the Australian Imperial Forces team.

Ten of the Cambridge side lived at least into their sixties, the exception being the Hon. F. S. G. Calthorpe, who died in 1935, aged 43, five years after captaining England in a Test series in the West Indies. His Wisden obituary refers to his war service in the RAF, and mysteriously suggests he would have captained Cambridge in 1919 “had not the letter of invitation miscarried”.

In the event, the strong batting side was led by J. F. S. Morrison, and won four first-class matches but lost to Oxford.

Oxford University Wisden 1915 concluded its review of Oxford’s 1914 season: “In view of the War it is idle to speculate as to the future, but, all being well, the three freshmen, Knight, Howell and Bristowe, may do much for Oxford.”

Donald Knight celebrated his 21st birthday on May 12, 1915, when he was a precocious Wisden Cricketer of the Year. The profile ended: “Soon after the War broke out he joined the 28th London Regiment (The Artists).”

The 1917 Wisden devoted a page to The Artists’ Rifles Cricket Club, setting out Knight’s full record of 25 innings in which he scored 1,478 runs: “Sergeant D. J. Knight, of Surrey, was the crack batsman.” He returned in 1919 to win another Blue, five years after his first, and played twice for England in the first two Ashes Tests of 1921.

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Many civilians rounded up in Germany at the start of the war, together with merchant seamen from boats stranded in German harbours, spent years at the Ruhleben prisoner of war camp by Spandau, near Berlin. Internees formed their own cricket league – matches included a Ruhleben XI v Varsities XI and Lancashire v Yorkshire.

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Wisden’s Roll of Honour

Benny Green, in his Introduction to the Wisden Book of Obituaries, which covered the years from 1892 – when Wisden first ran a full obituary section – until 1985, explained why he omitted about one-fifth of the 8,614 notices that appeared in Wisden in that period.

He stated: “When the Great War brought its wholesale slaughter of junior officers, the duties of the editors became at once shocking and overwhelming. In the absence of any first-class cricket, Wisden for four years was little more than a catalogue of death. And, understandably convulsed with grief at the endless lists of the slain pouring in from Flanders, the editors appear to have resolved to bestow on as many young men as possible a sort of immortality which bore no relationship to what they had done on the field of play. It was as though some subaltern, blown to pieces within a year or two of leaving school, must at least be endowed with the limited life to be found in the pages of the Almanack.

“An analysis of those 8,614 deaths discloses the appalling statistic that ever since Wisden began recording the deaths of cricketers, one in every eight of the obsequies was brought about by events on the Western Front.

However, if the non-first-class entrants are dropped from the list, the carnage, although obscene, seems not quite as extensive. Some young men were accorded the due solemnity of an interment in the pages of Wisden on the strength of once having scored 50 for their school or taken six wickets in an inter-regimental match. These brave men, cheated though they were of life, hardly belong in a record-book whose avowed aim is to record the feats and fates of first-class cricketers.”

The wartime Wisdens are indeed “a catalogue of death”, but they form a valedictory “Roll of Honour” of the men, many only just out of school, who

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laid down their lives for their country. Green was correct in suggesting that the lists represent “an interment in the pages of Wisden”. The names of the dead do indeed lie buried in the many pages, like the words on gravestones in a cemetery. Just as the bare details of dates inscribed on a headstone tell us little of the life and works of the person buried, Wisden’s brief obituaries, especially those which only recite the achievements on a school cricket ground, reveal little about a man who has made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of his country. Also, some poor typography in the long lists of the dead serves to obfuscate the names further, like lichen on a headstone.

The Roll of Honour which follows strives to set the record straight.

All the names have been checked, and in almost every case it has been possible to give full first names where originally there were only initials.

With almost 1,800 obituaries over the six years of 1914 to 1919, mistakes were inevitable, and these have been corrected. As examples, the first military casualty alphabetically in Wisden 1915 is Capt Daniel Auchinleck, whose name was wrongly given as Auckinleck, and 2nd Lt Percy Braidford, who was killed in 1917, was listed in Wisden as “Bradford”. Double-barrelled names were commonly the cause of confusion. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website is a vital source of information, but it requires an exact name when searching.

Where possible, an age is added, with the caveat that here the CWGC may mislead, for example, by giving the age of a man born in 1895 and dying in 1915 as 20 regardless of the months of birth and death.

Band of brothers Extra information given in this book often refers to brothers who also fell.

In some cases, brothers are listed in Wisden in adjacent entries, such as Lts Edmund and William Mortimer, who were killed within two months of each other in 1915. 2nd Lt George Stranger was killed in April 1918, and his brother, Capt Harry Stranger, died of wounds the next month; but their adjacent obituaries do not mention a third brother, Frank, who was killed in March – the three dying within seven weeks of each other.

Others are listed years apart, such as 2nd Lt the Hon Vere Douglas Boscawen, who appears in the 1915 Wisden, and his brother, Major the Hon George Edward Boscawen, whose death is recorded in the 1919 almanack.

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deaths in 1914

DEATHS IN 1914 New information (for example, the first entry) is given throughout the obituaries in this font.

* Denotes man who played first-class cricket ** Denotes man who played first-class cricket but did not have an obituary in Wisden. This obituary is therefore new.

Reported in Wisden 1915 unless stated, eg {W1916}.

Deaths in the war and non-military obituaries were not separated this year. **LT-COL HENRY LAWRENCE ANDERSON (9th Bhopal Infantry) died of wounds on October 29 near La Gorgue, France, aged 47. He was born in Lucknow, India, on June 2, 1867, and educated at Dulwich. He played two fc matches for Europeans, both against Parsees, in 1892 and 1895. He joined the Yorkshire Light Infantry in 1888 and transferred to the Indian Army two years later.

CAPT DANIEL GEORGE HAROLD AUCHINLECK, of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, was killed in action on October 21. He was born on September 18, 1877, and was in the Winchester XI in 1894 and 1895… He was a useful batsman and a fair bowler.

Wisden wrongly listed his surname as Auckinleck.

2ND LT WALTER BALSHAW (Manchester Regt), killed on October 20, aged 24, was a good all-round cricketer who had played for Victoria University, Manchester. {W1917} LT MAURICE FREDERICK BLAKE (King’s Royal Rifles), killed September 14. New College (Oxford), Greenjackets and 60th Rifles XI. {W1918} 2ND LT THE HON VERE DOUGLAS BOSCAWEN, of the Coldstream Guards, who was killed in action near Ypres on October 29, was the third son of Viscount Falmouth and was born in 1890. In 1909 he was in the Eton XI, and in the drawn match with Harrow took three wickets for 21 runs in the second innings.

A brother, George Edward Boscawen (qv), died on June 7, 1918, aged 29.

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Felsted Eleven… He was an all-round athlete and played hockey several times for Cambridge University in 1912-13.

LT ALEXANDER FINDLATER TODD (1st Norfolk Regt) was killed in action at Hill 60, near Ypres on April 21. He was educated at Mill Hill School (1885–1892), where he was in the Eleven, and subsequently played occasionally for Berkshire, being a capital wicketkeeper. Playing for Beckenham v Streatham, at Streatham, in June, 1899, he was bowled three times in two overs by H. L. Dawson, twice in an over with no-balls. He was a famous rugby footballer, playing for Cambridge University in 1893–94–95, and later for England against Scotland and Ireland. In 1896 he was a member of the English Rugby XV in South Africa. He served through the South African War as a captain in Roberts’ Horse, and was wounded. He was born on September 20, 1873.

2ND LT JOSEPH SIMPSON McKENZIE TOMBS (48th Brigade, RFA) died on September 11, aged 27, of wounds received in Belgium. At Loretto he was in the Football XI and twelfth man at cricket. For many years he played for Rock Ferry, his best season being that of 1910, when he made 441 runs with an average of 23.21.

He was a journalist and a regular contributor to Punch. His younger brother, James, died on February 18, 1916.

2ND LT ALAN HAWTIN TOMPSON (4th Grenadier Guards), who fell in action in France on September 27, aged 35, was in the Charterhouse XI in 1898 and 1899, being captain the latter year… His chief scores that season were 144 v Butterflies and 105 v Free Foresters. Since 1900 he had been a member of the MCC. Not Thompson as in Wisden.

*CAPT FRANCIS WHITCHURCH TOWNEND (Royal Engineers) died on March 28, aged 29. He was born in Nova Scotia and educated at Dulwich, but left too young to be in the Eleven. He was a well-known Army cricketer, having appeared for the Royal Engineers against the Royal Artillery at Lord’s several times. He had also played for the Bombay Presidency, the Indian Army and the Free Foresters.

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Francis Townend

The Montreal Daily Star of April 16, 1915, carried a front page report headlined “Heroism of Canadian captain after German shell mutilated him” based on the account of an ambulance driver in France: “Captain Townend was with the Indian Engineers inspecting telegraph wires, when a shell burst in their midst. He was found in a shell hole with his legs apparently half-buried. He told the ambulance man to attend to the others first, as he was all right. When Captain Townend was moved they found he had been standing on the stumps of his legs, which were both shot off at the knee. He was perfectly conscious and calm, and, looking at his legs, asked quietly, his handsome face showing no pain, ‘Tie something tightly round both thighs to stop

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the bleeding.’ Another horrible wound was found in his arm. While it was being dressed, Captain Townend said: ‘I think I’ll give up football next year.’ As he was carried to the hospital where he died, he was perfectly collected, laughed, and quietly apologised for all the trouble. The driver adds: ‘I have never seen such courage before.

I felt as I left the hospital that I had seen a man.’

CAPT CECIL THOMAS TUFF (Royal West Kent Regt) was killed in action at Hill 60, near Ypres, on April 18, aged 29. He made many good scores for St Lawrence CC, Band of Brothers, and other Kent clubs.

Brother of Frank, below.

*2ND LT FRANK NOEL TUFF (Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles), born at Rochester on November 26, 1889, died at Malta on November 5, of wounds received in the Dardanelles on October 23. At Malvern, where he was in the Eleven for three years, he was the chief bowler of the side, medium-paced, in 1906, and headed the averages in each of the following seasons. At Oxford in 1909 he scored 29 not out and 36 and took three wickets in the Freshmen’s match, and in the next year obtained his Blue.

Against Cambridge he made 10 not out and obtained one wicket for 21 runs, but against the Gentlemen of England the same year his analyses were five for 28 and two for 18. He also appeared for Kent 2nd XI, Band of Brothers and Free Foresters, and played football for Malvern, Oxford and the Corinthians.

Brother of Cecil, above. Their father, Charles, was elected MP for Rochester at a by-election in September 1903 but lost the seat at the general election in January 1906. After his death in 1929 it was said that he never came to terms with the loss of two of his four sons.

2ND LT ARTHUR HARRINGTON SEYMOUR TUKE (2 Bn Northumberland Fusiliers) was born in June 1891, and killed near Ypres on May 7, aged 23. He had been wounded on April 15, but returned to duty. At Sherborne he was in the Eleven in 1910, scoring 195 runs with an average of 14.92. He was also in the XV. **PTE HUGH LATIMER TUKE (Auckland Regt, NZEF) died of wounds on HM Hospital Ship Sicilia off Gallipoli on June 7, aged 30. He was born on April 6, 1885, at Taradale, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand; his father was an archdeacon. His single fc match was for

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Hawke’s Bay against Auckland at Auckland in March 1905. He was offered a commission but declined as he wished to remain in the Hauraki Company. He was mortally wounded when he was among a group of volunteers who made an armed reconnaissance near the Turkish trenches at Quinn’s Post in order to check out the extent of the mines.

PTE THOMAS LANCELOT GAWAIN TURNBULL (Honourable Artillery Company) was killed near Ypres on April 15, aged 22. A left-handed, freehitting batsman, he was in the Harrow Eleven in 1909 and two following years, being captain in 1911. In his first season he was given his colours on the strength of an innings of 131 v Old Harrovians, on his first appearance for the school immediately before the Lord’s match, and his selection was thoroughly justified, as in the Eton game he hit hard for 40 on a rain-ruined wicket…

An officer wrote to his family after his death: “I have never met a better sportsman in the very best sense of the word. As you may imagine, conditions out here have, on occasion, been very trying indeed, but he was invariably cheerful and did his job in the most soldierly way – in short, he was a white man.”

*LT FREDERICK HARDING TURNER (10 (Scottish) Bn King’s Liverpool Regt), born on May 29, 1888, was killed in the trenches on January 10. He was educated at Sedbergh, where he was in the Eleven in 1904 and three following years, being captain in 1906 and 1907. He was tried for Oxford University in 1909, and that season was tenth in the first-class bowling averages, taking 17 wickets at a cost of 16 runs each. He did not obtain his Blue. Later he played for the Liverpool CC. In 1913 he obtained his Scotch rugby international cap.

He played in 15 rugby internationals between 1911 and 1914. He was killed by a sniper while improving wire defences in a trench near Ypres.

CAPT GERALD TURNER (5th Gurkha Rifles) fell in action in the Dardanelles on June 4, aged 29. In 1901 and the next three years he was in the Fettes XI, being second in the averages in 1903 with 32.37, and first in 1904 with 52.84 when he scored 174 not out v Lasswade and 121 v Blair Lodge. In 1905 he was second in the Sandhurst averages with 46.80. He was also a good rugby footballer, and… was in the Fettes XV.

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first-class cricketers decorated for gallantry 1914–1920

517

First-Class Cricketers Decorated for Gallantry 1914–1920

Compiled by Mike Spurrier + Killed in action, or died of wounds / illness * Bar F. H. ADSHEAD R. B. AIREY G. W. A. ALEXANDER H. S. ALTHAM

Worcs Hants Scotland Oxford U, Surrey & Hants

A. W. ANGUS R. A. ANSTRUTHER A. S. ARCHDALE G. ASHTON H. ASHTON P. ASHTON T. G. L. ASHWELL

Scotland Europeans Army & Services Cambridge U & Worcs Cambridge U, Burma & Essex Essex Oxford U

E. A. AYLMER R. R. C. BAGGALLAY

RN Derbys

+H. P. BAILEY J. BAIN B. E. BAKER

Barbados Rhodesia RAF

W. D. BARBER J. R. BARNES Hon R. G. BARNES J. D. BARNFATHER G. BARRY

Notts Lancs Oxford U Essex Services

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26.5.1917 3.6.1916 18.7.1917 1.1.1917 3.6.1918 15.2.1919 4.6.1917 1.1.1917 1.1.1917 1.2.1918 24.8.1918 27.10.1917 4.2.1918 22.1.1917 1.1.1917 1.1.1919 25.8.1917 26.9.1917 25.8.1917 4.3.1918 1.1.1919 14.1.1916 18.7.1917 1.1.1917 12.3.1919 2.4.1919

MC DSO MC MC DSO DSO DSO DSO MC MC MC MC MC* DSC MC DSO MC MC MC DSO AFC MC MC MC DCM MC

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518 +A. C. BATEMAN C. W. BEART J. N. BEASLEY A. W. B. BECHER

wisden on the great war

26.9.1917 MC 1.1.1918 MC 17.4.1917 MC 16.8.1917 MC 19.11.1917 MC* +G. BELCHER Hants 18.2.1915 MC G. F. BELL Oxford U & Derbys 3.6.1919 MC G. G. M. BENNETT Oxford U 3.6.1919 MC J. E. BENINGFIELD Natal 15.2.19l9 MC C. R. BENSTEAD Cambridge U & RN 24.9.1918 MC G. L. BETHAM Free Foresters & Europeans 3.8.1920 MC G. N. BIGNELL Hants & Europeans 13.2.1917 MC L. G. BLACK Hants & Canada 1.1.1918 MC W. R. BLACKTON Derbys 2.4.1919 MC R. N. R. BLAKER Cambridge U & Kent 2.4.1919 MC C. H. B. BLOUNT RAF & Services 14.11.1916 MC E. T. BODDAM Tasmania 3.6.1916 MC H. H. BOND Europeans 1.1.1917 DSO S. S. BONHAM-CARTER RN 22.7.1918 DSO L. C. BOSTOCK Army 3.6.1919 MC C. BOUMPHREY RAF 12.7.1920 DFC D. BOUMPHREY Wales 1.1.1918 MC J. BOWSTEAD Middlesex 18.7.1918 MC J. L. BOYD RN 25.10.1916 DSC D. A. BRETT Roshanara Club & Visitors 26.3.1917 MC (8.5.1934 EGM later GC) G. P. BROOKE-TAYLOR Cambridge U, Derbys & Argentine 9.1.1918 MC R. A. D. BROOKS RN & Hants 23.7.1918 DSO R. C. BROOKS Cambridge U 15.2.1919 MC W. T. BROOKS HDG Leveson Gower’s XI 14.1.1916 MC J. H. BRUNSKILL Dublin U & Ceylon 1.1.1917 DSO J. L. BRYAN Cambridge U, Kent & MCC 2.12.1918 MC J. N. BUCHANAN Cambridge U 26.9.1917 MC 3.6.1919 DSO E. T. BULLER Army 1.1.1917 MC F. W. BULLOCK-MARSHAM MCC 1.1.1916 MC 3.6.1918 DSO E. W. BURDETT Europeans 19.10.1916 MC (20.12.1932 DSO) J. W. BURDETT Leics 3.6.1918 MC F. H. BURNELL-NUGENT Hants 14.1.1916 DSO B. F. BURNETT-HITCHCOCK Surrey 9.12.1914 DSO M. B. BURROWS Army, Oxford U & Surrey 21.1.1920 MC 21.1.1920 DSO R. V. BUXTON Oxford U & Middlesex 15.2.1919 DSO G. C. CAMPBELL South Australia 1.1.1917 MC 19.11.1917 MC*

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Ireland Europeans Northants Gloucs & Europeans

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The Lost Generation

The generation lost to the Great War is exemplified by this photograph of the 1914 Oakham School team. Five of the eleven boys were dead by the end of the war.

From left, standing: John W. Haywood, cricket professional, returned to his post after war service.

Douglas Alexander Hall, Captain in the Yorks and Lancs Regt, was killed in 1916 aged 21.

William Reginald Hill, Lieutenant in the Durham Light Infantry, won the MC and Bar and died of wounds as a prisoner of war five days before the Armistice in 1918 aged 22.

John Charles Foster Wilkinson, Lieutenant in the London Regt and Royal Flying Corps, won the MC and served in WW2.

Francis K Thornton, no details known.

James Edward Atter, Private in the Leics Regt, was killed in 1916 aged 19.

Herbert Alfred Vincent Wait, Lieutenant in the Royal Berks Regt, was killed in 1917 aged 19.

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sitting: John Christian Prideaux Eamonson Metcalfe, Captain in the Lancs Fusiliers, won the MC and served in WW2.

Eric John Crisp (captain) was a Captain in the Royal Naval Air Service; he died in 1980.

Lancelot John Austen Dewar, Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Marines Light Infantry, was killed in 1916 aged 20. front: John Wilson, Captain in the KGO Light Cavalry, Indian Army, also served in WW2.

Arthur Percy Frank Chapman, aged only 13 in 1914, totalled 279 runs in 12 innings (27.90) and took eight wickets (35.50); he scored 200 in under two hours for the U14 XI against Stoneygate. He went on to Uppingham where he was a Public School Cricketer of the Year in Wisden 1919, and captained Kent and England. Under his leadership, England regained the Ashes at The Oval in August 1926 for the first time since the Great War. Of the five who died, three had brief obituaries in Wisden: Hall, Wait and Dewar. Dewar’s elder brother, David (‘Sonnie’), was killed in 1918 aged 24

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First published in Great Britain 2014 Copyright Š 2014 by Andrew Renshaw The moral right of the author has been asserted No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders of material reproduced in this book, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers would be glad to hear from them.

For legal purposes the list of illustrations on page 531 constitutes an extension of the copyright page John Wisden and Co An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square London WC1B 3DP www.wisden.com www.bloomsbury.com Bloomsbury is a trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing plc Bloomsbury Publishing, London, New Delhi, New York and Sydney A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 4088 3235 6 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Typeset by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby Printed in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

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