Charles William Rorich Minnaar (August 1882 – 16 November 1916) was a

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

first-class

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 and British Army officer. The son of Stephanus Isaac Minnaar, he was born at Wepener in August 1882. He was educated in Cape Town at the South African College. A keen cricketer, he made a single appearance in first-class cricket for Western Province against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Cape Town in March 1914. Batting twice in the match, he made two not out scores of 0 and 4, while with the ball he took 5 wickets for 169 runs across both MCC innings'; these included

J. W. Hearne John William Hearne (known as Jack Hearne, J. W. Hearne and Young Jack to distinguish him from his ''distant'' cousin, J. T. Hearne; 11 February 1891 – 14 September 1965) was a Middlesex leg-spinning all-rounder cricketer who played from 1909 ...

, Phil Mead, Johnny Douglas, and Frank Woolley in the MCC first innings, with Woolley being is sole wicket in their second innings. Outside of cricket, Minnaar worked as a civil servant. Minnaar served in the First World War, originally with the

South African Mounted Riflemen South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

, before gaining a commission as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the British Army with the East Lancashire Regiment in February 1916. He saw action on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

, where he was killed in action near Beaumont-Hamel, during the Battle of the Ancre (part of the wider

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

) while attempting to capture Frankfort trench and Munich trench on the morning and early afternoon of 16 November 1916. He is buried at the Waggon Road Cemetery.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minnaar, Charles 1882 births 1916 deaths South African people of Dutch descent People from Wepener South African civil servants South African cricketers Western Province cricketers South African Army personnel South African military personnel of World War I East Lancashire Regiment officers British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from the Free State (province) Burials in Hauts-de-France