Guy Newcombe Bignell MC (3 December 1886 —10 June 1965) was an English first-class cricketer and British Indian Army officer. As an amateur cricketer,he played 58 first-class cricket matches,predomininantly for Hampshire. In the British Indian Army,he served for thirty years,during the course of which he saw action during the First World War and was decorated with the Military Cross.
The fifth son of R. Bignell,he was born in British India at Mozufferpore in October 1886. Bignell was educated in England at Haileybury,where he played for the college cricket team. [1] In the summer following his final year at Haileybury,Bignell made two appearances in first-class cricket for Hampshire in the 1904 County Championship against Warwickshire and Somerset during the Bournemouth Cricket Week. [2] From Haileybury,he proceeded to the Royal Military College (RMC) in December 1904. [1] The following summer,he made five appearances for Hampshire in the County Championship, [2] scoring what would be his only first-class century against Kent at Portsmouth. [3] In 1905,he also played for the Gentlemen of the South,captained by W. G. Grace,against the Players of the South. [2] Bignell graduated from the RMC in January 1906,as a second lieutenant onto the unattached list of the British Indian Army. [4] He became attached to the British Indian Army with the 29th Punjabis in March 1907, [5] with promotion to lieutenant following in April 1908. [1] He returned to England in 1908,where he made eleven first-class appearances for Hampshire. [2] He also played for a Hambledon XII in 1908,in a commemorative first-class match against an England XI at Broadhalfpenny Down. [2] His next appearances in first-class cricket for Hampshire followed in 1912,with him making 21 appearances, [2] in which he scored 428 runs at an average of 17.12. [6]
Bignell served during the First World War with his regiment in East Africa from 1 September 1914 to 31 October 1916,during the course of which he was promoted to captain in January 1915. [7] He was mentioned in dispatches during the war, [8] and was awarded the Military Cross in February 1917 for conspicuous gallantry whilst carrying messages under heavy enemy fire. [9] He spent the latter part of the war serving in the Sinai and Palestine campaign from 5 April to 31 October 1918,shortly before the war ended. [10]
Following the war,he returned to play first-class cricket for Hampshire,making eleven appearances in the 1919 County Championship; [2] he played during this season under the pseudonym "G. Newcombe". [3] Returning to Palestine,he was appointed brigade major of the 30th Infantry Brigade from 25 June 1920 to 29 April 1921 and the 29th Infantry Brigade from 6 May 1921 to 4 September 1922. He was promoted major in January 1921. [11] He continued to serve with the 29th Punjabis until 30 April 1922,and by April 1923 he was serving with the 3rd Battalion,2nd Punjab Regiment. [12] His next appearance in first-class cricket came whilst serving in India,with Bignell making a single appearance for the Europeans cricket team against the Hindus at Lahore in the 1923–24 Lahore Tournament. [2]
He returned to play four matches for Hampshire in the 1925 County Championship,bringing his total number of first-class appearances for the county to 55. [2] In these,he scored 1,582 runs at an average of 20.54;alongside his lone century,he also made eight half centuries. [13] With his right-arm medium pace bowling,he took 17 wickets at a bowling average of 42.47,with best figures of 3 for 67. [14] Outside of the first-class game,he was a notable club cricketer for the Hampshire Hogs,Free Foresters,and the Marylebone Cricket Club. [15] Bignell continued to serve with the British Indian Army,being appointed second-in-command of the 10th Battalion,15th Punjab Regiment in October 1930. In December 1931,Bignell was promoted to lieutenant colonel and commandant of the 10th Battalion,15th Punjab Regiment. [16] He held this post until he retired from active service in December 1935. [17]
During the Second World War,he was first involved with the Civil Defence Corps from 1940 to 1942 and then was employed with the Ministry of Fuel and Power in 1942. [18]
Bignell died at the age of 76 at Lausanne in Switzerland on 10 June 1965. [3] His brother,Hugh,was also a first-class cricketer.
John Glennie Greig was an English first-class cricketer and cricket administrator,British Army officer,racquets and tennis player,and Roman Catholic priest.
Edward George Wynyard was an English sportsman and a career officer in the British Army. He was primarily known as a first-class cricketer who played at domestic level predominantly for Hampshire and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC),in addition to playing Test cricket for England on three occasions. He made over 150 appearances in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1912,as a batsman whom Wisden described as "a splendid forcing batsman". He scored over 8,300 runs and made thirteen centuries. He was an important figure in Hampshire's return to first-class status in 1894,and shortly after he was engaged as both captain and president of Hampshire. Wynyard would later serve on the committee of the MCC.
Brigadier-General Robert Montagu Poore was an Anglo-Irish first-class cricketer and British Army officer who,whilst serving in South Africa in 1896,played in three Test matches for the South African cricket team. He featured most prominently in first-class cricket playing county cricket in England for Hampshire. He had notable success in 1899,becoming the highest first-class run-scorer in England with 1,399 runs between 12 June and 12 August at an average of 116.58. He made 304 against Somerset,which was the highest individual first-class score for Hampshire until it was surpassed by Dick Moore's 316 in 1937,and was one of seven centuries Poore scored in that period. His average in 21 innings across the season was 91.23,which was a record average for an English season,that was not broken until Don Bradman averaged 98.66 in 1930,and not surpassed by an English batsman until Herbert Sutcliffe averaged 96.96 in 1931. He continued to play first-class cricket until 1913,and was prolific in club cricket into the 1920s.
Arthur Maitland Byng was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer.
Hugh Glennie Bignell was an English first-class cricketer and British Indian Army officer.
Edward Murray Charles Ede was an English first-class cricketer and solicitor.
Herbert Denys Hake was an English first-class cricketer and schoolmaster. Hake served in the First World War with the Royal Hampshire Regiment,after which he played first-class cricket for Cambridge University and Hampshire. As an educator,he taught firstly at Haileybury,before emigrating to Australia to become headmaster at The King's School. In the 1950s,he was Chairman of Conference of the Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia.
Sir Evelyn Ridley Bradford,2nd Baronet was an English cricketer and an officer in the British Army. Bradford was commissioned into the Seaforth Highlanders in 1888,his military career spanning the Mahdist War,Second Boer War and the First World War,with him being killed in action during the latter conflict. As a first-class cricketer,he played exclusively for Hampshire as an all-rounder on eight occasions between 1895 and 1905.
George Amelius Crawshay Sandeman was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer.
Hamilton Augustus Haigh Smith was an English first-class cricketer,stockbroker,rugby union player and administrator.
Charles Gerard Barton was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer. Barton served in the army from 1879 to 1905,seeing action in the Second Boer War,for which he was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in 1901. As a cricketer,he played in both England and British India,making six appearances in first-class cricket.
Robert Wilfred Fairey Jesson was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer.
Dudley MacNeil Evans was an English first-class cricketer and British Indian Army officer. A member of the Evans cricketing family,he played first-class cricket for Hampshire in 1904 and 1905,before appearing for the county in 1911,a season in which he took 50 wickets. The six-year break in his first-class career was due to his commitments as an officer in the British Indian Army. His military career spanned from 1906 to 1939,during which he served in the First World War and was awarded the Military Cross.
Alexander Colin Johnston was an English first-class cricketer and an officer in the British Army. Johnston graduated from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst and entered into the Worcestershire Regiment. Following a three years secondment to Northern Nigeria Regiment,he returned to England and received a further secondment to the Army Signal Service. He served throughout the First World War with distinction,commanding the 10th Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment and later the 126th Infantry Brigade;the latter command made him the youngest general in the British Army. He was wounded several times during the war and received awards for gallantry,most notably the Distinguished Service Order with medal bar and the Military Cross. His military service contiuned after the war,albeit in a non-combat role due his war injuries. Heavily involved in army education,Johnston retired in 1937,but came out of retirement during the Second World War to serve with the Political Intelligence Department of the Foreign Office.
Arthur Jaques was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer. Having initially played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club on a tour of the West Indies in early 1913,Jaques played first-class cricket in the County Championship for Hampshire County Cricket Club in 1913 and 1914,forming a successful bowling partnership with Alec Kennedy. In his two seasons playing for Hampshire,he took 168 wickets and was due to inherit the captaincy for the 1915 season,however the onset of the First World War meant he would never get the opportunity to captain Hampshire. Jaques would serve in the war with the West Yorkshire Regiment and was subsequently killed in action in September 1915 at the Battle of Loos.
William Vincent Jephson was an English first-class cricketer and clergyman. As a cricketer,he played mostly for Hampshire,scoring nearly 1,800 runs from 62 matches.
Gordon Calthrop Thorne was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer. Serving for most of his military career with the Royal Norfolk Regiment,Thorne saw action in the First World War from 1916 to 1918,before serving in British India and British Ceylon,where he served as the 9th Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force from 13 May 1937 until 5 February 1939. He served in the Second World War with the Cambridgeshire Regiment,seeing action during the Japanese invasion of Malaya,for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order,and in the Battle of Singapore. He escaped capture by the Japanese at Singapore aboard a Dutch steamship,but was killed in March 1942 when it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the Indian Ocean. During his military career,he also played first-class cricket for the British Army cricket team.
Charles Hamilton Leigh Kindersley was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer.
Ernest Henry Powell Mallinson was an English first-class cricketer,British Indian Army officer,and schoolmaster.
John James Crofts Cocks was an English first-class cricketer and an officer in the British Army,and later the Royal Air Force.