Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

JA Snow Sussex and England

TN Pearce Essex

JA Bailey Essex

G Smith Kent

DRW Silk Somerset

Have I missed any?

Foster Moverley McRae (Peter). CH (ColB) 1926-34.Played for Somerset.25 games; 45 innings; highest score 107.
See http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive ... /3715.html
For his death see Freedom We Died For You pages 16-17.

David

Is being a county cricketer really anything special? If you're a cricketer by profession and you don't play for a county, you're unemployed. So all you're saying is that there have been five non-unemployed OB cricketers. Big deal.

Ahem!!!! I can't speak for the others, but two I do know about. Denis Silk was a very distinguished schoolmaster and eventually headmaster of (I believe) Radley. Peter McRae was a brilliant doctor, who was eventually ship's surgeon aboard HMS Mahratta. When his ship was torpedoed in Arctic waters he found himself on a raft, but he then gave up his place to a sailor and swam off into the darkness, never to be seen again. "Unemployed?" - "Big deal"?? Not in my book in either case.
David

michael scuffil wrote:Is being a county cricketer really anything special? If you're a cricketer by profession and you don't play for a county, you're unemployed. So all you're saying is that there have been five non-unemployed OB cricketers. Big deal.

County cricket, particularly at the time those named above played, was (and to some extent still is) the pinnacle of the domestic game. Cricket was, and hopefully still is, an ever present backdrop to life at CH Horsham whether one had a particular love of the game or not.

Many of us with a love of the game but not an equivalent amount of talent continued to play cricket after school at various levels.

I thought it might be of interest to some, on a CH Forum, to see how many rather more talented Old Blue cricketers went "all the way" in the game as defined above.

In other words I was looking at cricket as a pursuit rather than a profession.

Thank you David for reminding me of Peter McRae. His story is indeed an inspiring one.

Mid A 15 wrote:
I thought it might be of interest to some, on a CH Forum, to see how many rather more talented Old Blue cricketers went "all the way" in the game as defined above.

I was interested in the list. I have always been interested to know what Old Blues got up to whether I knew them or not.

I wasn't trying to belittle any of these people. But in at least three cases (Snow, McRae, Silk) playing cricket for a county was the least of their achievements.

Other first class cricketers who are Old Blues include :-
J.J. McInerney B 42-50 Oxford Un. 1955-56
H.W.F, Franklin TA 14-20 Oxford Un.& Essex 21-31.
A.W. Childs-Clarke TA 16-22 Northants 47-48
R.C. Franklin TA 16-21 Essex 1924
C.A. Boden Leicestershire 11-13
J.S.B. Gentry PA 11-16 Hants. Surrey Essex 19-25
N.P. Thompson Mid A 49-57 Oxford Un. 1961.
A.M. Harrison Sussex 1913.
R.O. Edwards 1890-96 Rest of England 1922.
W.J. Cullen PB 07-13 Europeans in India 1922-23 - 28-29.

An additional number have played for a Minor County.
It is surprising that CH has not had a first class cricketer since 1977.
Those interested in a list of other CH Cricketers for which Cricket Archive has a scorecard,(mostly School Matches recorded in Wisden) may find a list in alphabetical order online in Cricket Archive Christ's hospital Players.

Kit Bartlett wrote:Other first class cricketers who are Old Blues include :-
J.J. McInerney B 42-50 Oxford Un. 1955-56
H.W.F, Franklin TA 14-20 Oxford Un.& Essex 21-31.
A.W. Childs-Clarke TA 16-22 Northants 47-48
R.C. Franklin TA 16-21 Essex 1924
C.A. Boden Leicestershire 11-13
J.S.B. Gentry PA 11-16 Hants. Surrey Essex 19-25
N.P. Thompson Mid A 49-57 Oxford Un. 1961.
A.M. Harrison Sussex 1913.
R.O. Edwards 1890-96 Rest of England 1922.
W.J. Cullen PB 07-13 Europeans in India 1922-23 - 28-29.

An additional number have played for a Minor County.
It is surprising that CH has not had a first class cricketer since 1977.
Those interested in a list of other CH Cricketers for which Cricket Archive has a scorecard,(mostly School Matches recorded in Wisden) may find a list in alphabetical order online in Cricket Archive Christ's hospital Players.

Thank you for this Kit!

Your list is completely new to me and I shall certainly delve into Cricket Archive as you recommend.

michael scuffil wrote:I wasn't trying to belittle any of these people. But in at least three cases (Snow, McRae, Silk) playing cricket for a county was the least of their achievements.

No reason to disagree with you there.

I hope this thread may also serve to bring out some of those achievements and perhaps give an idea of personalities too.

There are posters on here who would have been at CH at the same time as all of my list except TN Pearce.

Indeed Michael you must have known John Snow. What was he like?

Mid A 15 wrote: Indeed Michael you must have known John Snow. What was he like?

Certainly I knew him, though only to the extent you knew people two years your senior. Actually at school he was very much like the later public persona, which some people thought was an affectation, but actually he was just being himself. It was said at the time that the cricketing authorities looked askance at him because he could hold a cricket ball better than he could hold a sherry glass. But he was a vicar's son from small-town Sussex, and they're of course known for their unpolished manners.

michael scuffil wrote:But he was a vicar's son from small-town Sussex, and they're of course known for their unpolished manners.

Are you saying something about my family, Michael? We lived in Sussex when Peter started at CH!

Katharine wrote:

michael scuffil wrote:But he was a vicar's son from small-town Sussex, and they're of course known for their unpolished manners.

Are you saying something about my family, Michael? We lived in Sussex when Peter started at CH!

Let's not over-generalize, You are a pastor's daughter. So is Ursula Andress. From which I draw no conclusions whatever.

JS's father could swear like a trooper, especially at cricket matches.

My kind of vicar !

A SG Whittingham came on as first change for Sussex against Kent at Tunbridge Wells today.

Howard H will hopefully be able to confirm whether or not it is the same chap but I seem to recall reading in The Blue of a highly rated CH 1st X1 player called Whittingham progressing through the Sussex CCC age group system a few years back.

If they are one and the same Whittingham then he must be the first Old Blue to play first class cricket since John Snow packed up c1976/7 unless anyone else knows differently.