Alfred Grace

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Alfred Grace (born Downend 17 May 1840, died Bristol 24 May 1916) [lower-alpha 1] was an English medic and noted horseman. He was also a cricketer, [1] one of the Grace family, a famous family of cricketers.

Contents

Cricket

Alfred was one of the five Grace brothers, all of whom played cricket: his younger brothers EM Grace, WG Grace and Fred Grace all played in the first-ever Test match in 1880. [2] All five boys were doctors like their father, but the eldest (Henry) and Alfred "took it more seriously than the others". [2] Donald Trelford notes that "although Alfred was the least talented at cricket, he scored several centuries at club level." [2]

Wisden's assessment of Grace's skills was pithy, summing him up as "a very useful cricketer" who didn't ever appear at Lord's. [3] It found space to mention his "usual post" in the field was "long stop", before adding "as a player, he at no time ranked with his brothers". [3] The British Medical Journal noted that Alfred's renown was less than his brothers', but that he played cricket "fairly", an apparent reference to controversies that surrounded WG Grace. [4]

Horsemanship

Grace's passion and skill as a horseman led him to a passion for hunting, at which he was "famous for his flair and daring", including a claim that he once jumped a stream that was 30 feet wide, and that he didn't have to buy a hunting horse for 30 years, as friends would give him horses they found difficult. [5] As such, it appears he was known as "the hunting doctor". [5] His skill was such that in 1872, Baily's Magazine of Sports and Pastimes described him as "decidedly one of the best men to hounds in England". [6] He "was a brilliant horseman", according to Trelford. [2]

Medical career

The British Medical Journal's obituary of Alfred noted that he survived his younger (and hugely famous) brother WG, noted the highlights of his medical career. [4] Alfred studied in Bristol and received MRCS in 1863 and Licenciate of the Society of Apothecaries (LSA) in 1864. He was a member of the British Medical Association and was Surgeon Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Yeoman Cavalry. [4]

Grace's medical career was based around Chipping Sodbury. [5] It was a busy practice, and "he attended to one hundred and fifty confinements [births] a year". [5] As well as his military appointment, other sinecures he achieved included appointments to the local workhouse, factories, collieries and as a vaccinator. [5] He also enjoyed boxing. [5] During his practice, he noticed apparent benefits of dosing women who were suffering from seizures during labour with morphine, and wrote a letter about his findings, published in The British Medical Journal in 1889. [7]

Personal life

Of the five Grace brothers, his lifespan (75 years) was the longest; this despite him being the only one who smoked. [5]

Alfred had at least two sons, one of whom (Gerald) was also a doctor. [8] The other was also a doctor, Dr Alfred Henry Grace, who like many of his family played cricket for Gloucestershire. [9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Cricinfo gives spurious birth and death dates of 10 March 1866 and 16 September 1929. Multiple sources (some cited here) make clear that Alfred died less than a year after WG Grace. It seems Cricinfo may be referring to Alfred Henry Grace, Alfred Grace's nephew.

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References

  1. ↑ "Alfred Grace". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/more-than-one-amazing-grace-75863
  3. 1 2 https://books.google.com/books?id=ggDYCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Alfred+Grace%22+1916&pg=PT191 Wisden 1917
  4. 1 2 3 https://www.bmj.com/content/1/2893/839.3
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 https://books.google.com/books?id=4ie3DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Alfred+Grace%22+1916&pg=PT23
  6. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=KbG7EAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Dr+Alfred+Grace%22&pg=PA311
  7. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=N_ZWivmC-H0C&dq=%22Alfred+Grace%22+MRCS&pg=PA588
  8. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=35A1AQAAMAAJ&q=%22Alfred+Grace%22+1916
  9. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=hr5TBgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Dr+Alfred+Grace%22&pg=PA190
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