Major Attwood Alfred Torrens (13 February 1874 – 8 December 1916) was an English

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and army officer. Attwood Torrens was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

before going to work at the

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

Nigel McCrery Nigel Colin McCrery (born 30 October 1953 in London) is an English screenwriter and ex-police officer. He is the creator of the long-running crime dramas ''Silent Witness'' (1996-present) and ''New Tricks'' (2003-15). Early life Because of his fa ...

, ''Final Wicket: Test and First Class Cricketers Killed in the Great War'', Pen & Sword Books, Barnsley, 2015. pp. 293–94. He had played only school and club cricket when he was selected to tour New Zealand in 1906-07 with an MCC team of amateur cricketers. A lower-order batsman and medium-paced bowler, he made his first-class debut in the tour match against

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

on Christmas Day 1906. His form was modest until late in the tour, when in the two-day match against a

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

XV he took 11 wickets. In the next first-class match, against

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

, he made the top score of the match with 87 and took 3 for 44 and 2 for 28. He was selected to play in the two matches against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

that followed immediately, but was not successful. After the tour Torrens continued to play club cricket in England, including two first-class matches for MCC and one for the

Free Foresters Free Foresters Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. The Free Foresters were founded by the Rev. Willi ...

. He never played

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches are known to have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Since the late 19th century, there have been two county championship ...

. Torrens was commissioned in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1915 and left for the front in May 1916. By December 1916 he was

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

commanding D Battery of 307th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. He was killed by a shell fragment at

Pozières Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge. Southwest of the village on ...

on 8 December 1916 while running across open ground in an attempt to move his men to safety. He is buried in the Pozières British Cemetery.Torrens at Commonwealth War Grave Commission records.
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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torrens, Attwood 1874 births 1916 deaths People from Hayes, Bromley Cricketers from the London Borough of Bromley People educated at Harrow School Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers English cricketers Free Foresters cricketers British military personnel killed in World War I Royal Field Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from London People from Bromley Burials in Hauts-de-France Cricketers from Kent