Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

William Murray Leggatt (2 September 1900 – 13 August 1946) was an English officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and amateur

cricket 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 ...

er who played in 11

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

matches between 1926 and 1933. He served 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 ...

, commanding Royal Artillery regiments during the North African campaign in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life

Leggatt was born at Crail in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

in 1900, the son of Ernest and Jesse Leggatt. His father served in the Indian Civil Service. Legatt was educated at Parkside Prep School and

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

.Leggatt, William Murray
Winchester College at War,

. Retrieved 19 February 2019. He was an "excellent athlete" at school, played in the cricket,

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

teams at Winchester McCrery N (2017) ''The Coming Storm: Test and First-Class Cricketers Killed in World War Two'', pp.322–323. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. and was described as "the most effective bowler" in the school side in his final year.Noel EB (1919
Public school cricket in 1918
''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'', p.159. Retrieved 18 February 2019.Leggatt, Lieu-col William Murray RA DSO
Obituaries in 1946, ''

'', 1947. Retrieved 19 February 2019. He was considered a particularly good Winchester College footballer at school and played soccer as a full back or centre-half - he was described as "a very cool player" and a "really big man" in 1920 whilst playing for an Army side.Match at Vincent Square, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 9 February 1920, p. 6.
The Times Digital Archive
. Retrieved 18 February 2019.)

Army career

On leaving school Leggatt joined the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

, where he captained the academy cricket and football sides and played

rackets Racket may refer to: * Racket (crime), a systematised element of organized crime ** Protection racket, a scheme whereby a group provides protection to businesses or other groups through violence outside the sanction of the law * Racket (sports equ ...

, before he was commissioned into the

(RA).Association Football - The Army v RMA, ''

'', 11 November 1920, p.7.
The Times Digital Archive
. Retrieved 18 February 2019.)London Gazette, ''

'', 24 January 1923, p.15.
The Times Digital Archive
. Retrieved 18 February 2019.)Rackets - Sandhurst v Woolwich, ''

'', 3 May 1920, p.5.
The Times Digital Archive
. Retrieved 18 February 2019.) He served in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

for a timeArmy Promotion, ''

'', 13 February 1930, p.17.
The Times Digital Archive
. Retrieved 18 February 2019.) and as an instructor at Woolwich between 1931 and 1935. He was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1933, served as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of 16th Field Brigade RA from 1935 and was promoted to Brigade Major in 1938, serving in Egypt until the start of

. During the war, Leggatt attended the Middle East Staff School in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

and went on to command

11th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (Honourable Artillery Company) The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

. He was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

twice and awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

after commanding the regiment at the Second Battle of El Alamein in 1942. He moved to command 83rd Anti-Tank Regiment in August 1943. During 1944 Leggatt was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

before returning to Britain in May 1944 due to poor health, commanding the 3rd Royal Artillery Reserve Regiment.

Cricket career

Leggatt played cricket regularly for the

Royal Artillery Cricket Club Woolwich Cricket Club was an English cricket club based in the town of Woolwich, Kent. It was formed sometime in the first half of the 18th century, or earlier, and its earliest known record is in 1754 when its team played two matches against th ...

during the early years of his service career, before making his

debut in July 1926 for

Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ke ...

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

in a

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

match against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

.William Leggatt
CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 February 2019. He made a total of five appearances for Kent, all in 1926, and made his first-class debut for the

British Army cricket team The Army cricket team is a cricket side representing the British Army. The Army team played 51 first-class matches between 1912 and 1939, although a combined Army and Navy side had played two games against a combined Oxford and Cambridge team ...

in the same season, playing against the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

. When he was stationed in Britain, Leggatt played regularly for the Army side. He captained the side between 1930 and 1934 and made a total of six first-class appearances for the Army. In total Leggatt made 11 first-class appearances, playing only as a batsman despite his schoolboy billing as a bowler. He scored three half-centuries with a highest score of 92 runs made in his second first-class match for Kent against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

,William Leggatt

CricInfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...

. Retrieved 19 February 2019. a match ''

'' described as "Mr Leggatt's Match" in its headline.Kent Win At Bristol, ''

'', 17 July 1926, p.7.
The Times Digital Archive
Retrieved 18 February 2019.) He could drive the ball powerfully and was described as "a batsman who may become very good indeed" by ''The Times'' in 1924.Royal Artillery V. Royal Engineers, ''

'', 21 June 1924, p.5.
The Times Digital Archive
. Retrieved 18 February 2019.) He played "with great power on the off-side", having a "good defence" and making good scores for sides throughout this club career.Royal Military Academy v MCC, ''

'', 17 June 1920, p.5.
The Times Digital Archive
. Retrieved 18 February 2019.)

Personal life and death

Leggatt married Connel Auld Mathieson in July 1929.Marriages, ''

'', 30 July 1929, p.1.
The Times Digital Archive
Retrieved 18 February 2019.) The couple lived at

Hinton St George Hinton St George is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated outside Crewkerne, south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 442. It has a wide main street lined with hamstone cottages, some t ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and had one son and three daughters. After returning from overseas service Leggatt was considered to be suffering poor health as a result of his war service and was ordered to take a years sick leave in April 1945. He died of a heart attack at the

Cavalry Club The Cavalry Club was a London gentlemen's club, which was established in 1890. In 1975, it merged with the Guards' Club, and became the Cavalry and Guards Club, which still exists today. When the Cavalry Club first occupied the site, on Piccadi ...

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

, London in August 1946 aged 45. He is buried at Hinton St George and is one of three Kent cricketers who died during World War II who are not named on the Blythe Memorial at the St Lawrence Ground in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

.Lewis P (2013) ''For Kent and Country'', p.364. Brighton: Reveille Press.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leggatt, William 1900 births 1946 deaths English cricketers Kent cricketers Cricketers from Fife British Army cricketers Honourable Artillery Company officers Royal Artillery officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army personnel killed in World War II Military personnel from Fife Academics of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich