Playing the Game -Cricket and the Two World Wars

During the two world wars cricketers from all over the worldredirected their sporting energies and passion towards the wareffort. A huge number of them were never to return.

Cricket in the First World WarOn the outbreak of war in 1914 hundreds of amateurs playing

county cricket who held commissions in the TerritorialArmy joined their regiments, while many professionalcricketers had enlisted as volunteers before it was decided,as late as January 1915 that the following summer’sChampionship matches would not go ahead.

The buildings at Lord’s, Old Trafford, Trent Bridge and thecounty grounds of Derbyshire and Leicestershire weregiven over to accommodation for army units and military

hospitals, while many cricket clubs turned their groundsover to agricultural use to aid the war effort. Balls Park in

Hertford remained a hayfield until 1920.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

At Lord’s, MCC employees assisted outside their working hours,together with a few of the Club’s members, by making eighteenthousand hay-nets for horses.

Despite the war, cricket managed to continue in the form of contestsbetween army regiments and other service units at both The Oval andLord’s, and the latter also staged public-school matches as well as, laterin the war, many charity matches between representative services sideswhich featured some of the game’s leading figures.

British troops on the Western Front did their best to organize a cricketmatch of sorts whenever they could. In his celebrated biographyGoodbye To All That, the poet Robert Graves describes a game, in whichhe top-scored with 24, between officers and serjeants at Vermelles inFrance on 24 June 1915, in an enclosed space which concealed themfrom the enemy’s sight. The equipment was improvised, the wicketbeing a bird-cage with a dead parrot inside. Machine-gun fire aimed bythe Germans at a British aeroplane ended the match prematurely, thebullets dropping dangerously from a great height.

A few months later there was another battlefield cricket match, this timein a different theatre of war, which looms large in Australian folklore.Their troops played a major role in the ill-fated campaign against Turkeyon the Gallipoli Peninsula which ended with the gradual withdrawal of allAllied troops by night over several weeks, elaborate steps being taken toconceal from the enemy what was happening. One distraction took theform of a cricket match staged by the Australians, in full view of theTurks and with shells passing overhead, to present an appearance ofnormality and a continuing presence, whereas the reality was thatthousands of men were being evacuated from the beach every night.

Cricket at Shell Green, Gallipoli, 1915. Major George Macarthur Onslow of theAustralian Light Horse (batting) being caught out. Shells were passing overhead allthe time the game was in progress. The game was an attempt to distract the Turksfrom the imminent departure of allied troops

A barrage balloon at Lord’s, 1940

Cricket and the Second World WarThe Second World War began just as the 1939 cricket season wasending. Lord’s was requisitioned by the War Office and taken over bythe RAF, and there were to be no more Test or county matches until1946. MCC, however, continued to stage one-day games at the groundthroughout the war, raising money for charities such as the Red Cross.

There was drama at Lord’s in 1940 when, during the Blitz, the groundwas hit by a thousand-pound bomb which failed to explode but left amassive crater on the outfield at the Nursery End. Then in July 1944 a‘doodlebug’ threatened to come down somewhere near where the craterhad been. It eventually landed in the vicinity of nearby London Zoo.

The Oval was also commandeered by the War Office and prepared foruse as a prisoner-of-war camp for German parachutists, with wire cageserected on the playing area. No prisoners ever arrived, however, andwhen the threat of an invasion diminished, the ground was used as ananti-aircraft gun-site, then as a barrage-balloon and searchlight base, andfinally as an assault course.

In each of the two wars the most distinguished cricketer to die was aslow-left-arm bowler – Colin Blythe and Hedley Verity, respectively.There were other coincidences, too, for they were both 38 years old andwere conspicuously decent, modest men who attracted universal respectand popularity. But not every cricketer who lost their life in the worldwars was as famous as Verity or Blythe.

In 1899, at the age of 13, Arthur Edward Jeune Collins scored 628 notout in a house match at Clifton College, which remains the highestindividual score ever recorded anywhere in the world. It was not aprelude to sporting greatness, however, for on leaving school he

Cricketers who served and died in thetwo world wars

The bat of Sjt. K. Piggott,RAMC, 1917. Sent out tohim by Mr Lottinga of MCCit was involved in "anunpleasant incident of bomb-dropping" and never used. Areplacement was sent!

Makeshift cricket ball made fromstring by Allied Prisoners of War

Albert Cotter (Australia)Genuinely fast, and Australia’s leading bowler of hisday – he took 89 wickets in 21 Tests at an average of28.64 – ‘Tibby’ Cotter toured England in 1905 and1909. His overall career tally in first-class cricket was442 wickets at 24.27. While serving in Palestine as astretcher-bearer in the 12th Australian Light Horse,Trooper Cotter, whose brother John had been killedin France 27 days earlier, died on 31 October 1917 atthe age of 33. When using his periscope in thetrenches, he raised his head above the parapet inorder to obtain a clearer view with the naked eyeand was instantly killed by a sniper. He is buried inBeersheba War Cemetery, Israel.

Denis Andrew Robert Moloney (New Zealand)‘Sonny’ Moloney was a bespectacled all-rounder whose three Test appearances, in whichhe averaged 26 with the bat, came during the New Zealanders’ 1937 tour to England. Inall first-class matches on the tour he scored 1,463 runs, average of 34.83, took 57 wicketswith his medium-pace bowling at an average of 26.68, and fielded with distinction.

He was wounded and taken prisoner during the First Battle of El Alamein while serving asa lieutenant in the 20th Battalion, New Zealand Infantry, and died in captivity on 15 July1942, aged 31. Originally buried by the Germans, his body was reinterred some monthslater in El Alamein War Cemetery, Egypt.

Reginald Oscar Schwarz (South Africa)The status of South African cricket received a dramatic boost inthe Edwardian era through the success of a quartet of googlybowlers, the pioneering member of which was the modest andretiring Reggie Schwarz. He was born in England and capped as arugby-union player before going to South Africa. In 20 Testmatches he took 55 wickets at 25.76, and altogether in first-classcricket 398 wickets at 17.58.

He began his First World War service in German South-WestAfrica, where he won a Military Cross, and later, as a major in the6th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, was twice wounded inFrance and also Mentioned in Despatches. He survived thehostilities, but then by a cruel irony was admitted to hospital onthe day of the Armistice, suffering from broncho-pneumonia,from which he died seven days later, on 18 November 1918,aged 43. He is buried in Etaples Military Cemetery, France.

embarked on a career in the regular army, and as a captain inthe Royal Engineers met his death in the First Battle of Ypreson 11 November 1914. He is commemorated on the MeninGate Memorial to the Missing, Belgium.

Another case of what might have been is that of Norman FrankCallaway, who is the only player to have scored a double-century in his only innings in first-class cricket. The First WorldWar denied him the chance to build on that spectacular startwith New South Wales, and he was killed while serving withthe 19th Australian Infantry Battalion on 3 May 1917. He iscommemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial to theMissing, France.

The Test Roll of HonourTwenty-one of the hundreds of first-class cricketers lost in thetwo World Wars were Test players. Nine of them played forEngland, nine for South Africa, two for Australia and one forNew Zealand. That the list is dominated by players from threecountries is explained by the fact that no other nation wasgranted Test status until 1928 and that, of the 274 Tests playedbefore the Second World War, only 42 had involved countriesother than England, Australia and South Africa.

Colin Blythe (England)The period leading up to 1914 is often referred to as cricket’sGolden Age, and the Kent and England left-arm spinner Colin‘Charlie’ Blythe was one of its greatest players. His careerrecord in first-class cricket was phenomenal – 2,503 wickets atan average of 16.81 – and 17 of those wickets were taken in asingle day when he destroyed Northamptonshire with figuresof 10 for 30 and 7 for 18. In 19 Tests he took exactly 100wickets at 18.63, and only a nervous disposition and asusceptibility to epileptic fits prevented him from representinghis country on many more occasions.

Despite his delicate constitution, Blythe enlisted in August1914, attained the rank of serjeant and in September 1917,whilst serving with the 12th Battalion, King’s Own YorkshireLight Infantry, went out to face the horrors of the Battle ofPasschendaele as an engineer working on a military railwayline. Less than seven weeks later, on 8 November, he waskilled at the age of 38 by a German shell, not far from wherehe lies buried in Oxford Road Cemetery, Belgium. In choosingthe words which form the epitaph on the headstone of hisgrave, Charlie Blythe’s widow proudly proclaimed his sportingeminence – In loving memory of my dear husband, the Kent &England cricketer.

Above: Hedley Verity’s England Cap

Hedley Verity (England)The statistics of Hedley Verity’s career leave no doubt asto his status as one of the game’s great slow-left-armbowlers. In 40 Test matches he took 144 wickets at 24.37,and in all first-class cricket 1,956 at the astonishing averageof 14.9. Among his many great achievements for Yorkshirewere innings analyses of 10 for 10 (a world record), 10 for36 and 9 for 12, and two days before the outbreak of theSecond World War, in the second innings of the matchagainst Sussex, he took 7 for 9. The Test matchperformance of his life was taking 14 wickets in a day(another world record), against Australia at Lord’s in 1934.

This gentle, quietly-spoken man spent three years on active service in the Middle East before losing his lifein Italy. Captain Verity of ‘B’ Company, 1st Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment (The Green Howards) was shot inthe chest when leading his company forward in the Eighth Army’s attack on German positions in a cornfieldin Sicily. Eye-witnesses attested to the fact that he continued to urge his men forward, but was captured ashe lay wounded on the battlefield, and died on 31 July 1943 as a prisoner-of-war on the Italian mainland,aged 38. He is buried in Caserta War Cemetery, Italy.

Other Cricketing Nations

The Great War had little effect on cricket in India, and in the Second World War the game continued asnormal until Japanese forces overrunning Burma brought hostilities to India’s doorstep.

Vivian Alexander Chiodetti is believed to be the only Indian first-class cricketer to have been killed whileserving in the armed forces. Born on 31 May 1905 in Rawalpindi he became a regular soldier in the BritishArmy in 1925 and was commissioned into the Manchester Regiment in 1928. While on leave in December1931 he made his one appearance in first-class cricket, scoring 15 and 73 for the Hyderabad CricketAssociation at Secunderabad in a semi-final of the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament. FromSeptember 1938 he was attached to the Burma Defence Force, and held the rank of acting major when hewas killed as he led ‘C’ Company of the 3rd Battalion, Burma Rifles into action immediately after reachingTavoy by ship at 1800 hours on 17 January 1942. He has no known grave and is commemorated on theRangoon Memorial to the Missing, Burma.

The First World War brought an end to matches between the variousCaribbean territories and they were not resumed until an informaltournament between Trinidad and Barbados took place in 1920.

During the Second World War, however, cricket continued throughout as normal.

Flying Officer David Merry of the RAF Volunteer Reserve was a youngerbrother of the West Indies Test batsman Cyril Merry. David played

first-class cricket himself when very young, making two appearancesfor Trinidad in 1941 and scoring 47 and 80 on his début. He waskilled when on a night-flying trial in Canada on 4 May 1944, aged

21, and is buried in Red Deer Cemetery, Canada.

First World War

2nd Lieutenant M.W. Booth (England) d. 1 July1916 aged 29, buried Serre Road CemeteryNo 1, Somme, France

Captain R.H.M. Hands (South Africa) d. 20 April 1918 aged 29, buried BoulogneEastern Cemetery, France

Lieutenant K.L. Hutchings (England) d. 3 September 1916 aged 33, commemoratedThiepval Memorial, Somme, France

2nd Lieutenant E.B. Lundie (S. Africa) d. 12 September 1917 aged 29, commemoratedTyne Cot Memorial, Passchendaele, Belgium

Lieutenant L.J. Moon (England) d. 23 November 1916 aged 38, buried KarasouliMilitary Cemetery, Greece

Private C. Newberry (S. Africa) d. 1 August1916 aged 27, buried Delville Wood Cemetery,Somme, France

Corporal A.E. Ochse (S. Africa) d. 11 April 1918aged 48, commemorated Menin GateMemorial, Ieper, Belgium

Lieutenant G.C. White (S. Africa) d. 17 October 1918 aged 36, buried Gaza WarCemetery, Israel

Second World War

Captain A.W. Briscoe (S. Africa) d. 22 April1941 aged 30, buried Addis Ababa WarCemetery, Ethiopia

Pilot Officer K. Farnes (England) d. 20 October 1941 aged 30, buried BrookwoodMilitary Cemetery, Surrey, United Kingdom

Air Sergeant C.M. Francois (S. Africa) d. 26 May 1944 aged 46, buried Thaba Tshwane(New) Military Cemetery, South Africa

Pilot Officer G.R. Gregory (Australia) d. 10 June 1942 aged 26, commemoratedSingapore Memorial to the Missing

Lieutenant A.B.C. Langton (S. Africa) d. 27 November 1942 aged 30, buried MaiduguriCemetery, Nigeria

Lieut-Commander (A) G.B. Legge (England) d. 21 November 1940 aged 37, buried St MerrynChurchyard, Cornwall, United Kingdom

Pilot Officer G.G. Macaulay (England) d. 13 December 1940 aged 43, buried LerwickNew Cemetery, Shetland, United Kingdom

Major M.J.L. Turnbull (England) d. 4 August1944 aged 38, buried Bayeux War Cemetery,France

TTO THE MEMOO THE MEMORRY OY OF CRIF CRICKETERCKETERSS

OOF ALL LF ALL L ANDS WHANDS WHO GAO GAVE THEIRVE THEIR

LIVES IN THE CLIVES IN THE CAAUSE OUSE OF FREEDOF FREEDOMM

1914 -1918 * 1939 - 19451914 -1918 * 1939 - 1945

SECURE FROSECURE FROM CHANGE IN M CHANGE IN

THEIR HITHEIR HIGH-HEARGH-HEARTED WATED WAYSYS

In addition to those players featured, the following Test cricketers lost their lives in the two world wars.

Conclusion

Cricketers from all over the world gave up everything as theyredirected their sporting qualities – passion, dedication, camaraderie– to the war effort. These men, who came from all the majorcricket nations of the time, fought on the land, sea and in the air.Their tragic deaths are typical of so many, their graves andmemorials looked after by the Commonwealth War GravesCommission, and we will always wonder what they and theircomrades would have gone on to achieve had they survived the war.

The Commonwealth War Graves CommissionThe Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible formarking and maintaining the graves of those members of theCommonwealth forces who died during the two world wars, forbuilding and maintaining memorials to the dead whose graves areunknown and for providing records and registers of these 1.7 millionburials and commemorations found in most countries throughoutthe world.

Enquiries about the location of individual burials andcommemorations may be directed to the office below or to theDebt of Honour Register - a search by surname database at theCommission’s web site at www.cwgc.org

For further information contact: Commonwealth War Graves Commission2 Marlow RoadMaidenheadBerkshireSL6 7DXUnited KingdomTel: +44 (0) 1628 507200Fax: +44 (0) 1628 771208E-mail: enquiries@cwgc.org

Visitors with a mobility impairment may have difficulty with access tosome cemeteries. For more information contact the Commission’sHead Office.

AcknowledgementsThis text is based on research by Trefor Jones and the leaflet andexhibition would not have been possible without the generoussupport of MCC, The Wisden Group and White Waltham C.C.

Australia’s Andrew Symonds in contemplative mood at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, France

Issue 2, March 2008

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