Claude Delaval Disney-Roebuck (1 March 1876 – 10 May 1947) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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,

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 ...

officer, and actor.

Early service and cricket

He was born at

Morice Town Morice Town is a suburb of Plymouth in the English county of Devon. It named after Sir William Morice who owned the land at the time that it was being developed for housing for the employees in the Dockyard. It was originally a part of the ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in March 1876 to Anna Marian Kate Bond and her husband, the first-class cricketer and army officer Francis Disney-Roebuck. He served in the British Army with the

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd (Cornwall Light ...

, holding the rank of

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 1894. He transferred regiments in May 1897, joining the

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Ow ...

. he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in August 1899, which was followed up four years later with promotion 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 June 1903. He made his debut in

minor counties cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

for

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

in 1903, playing twice that year in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

. He encountered ill health in 1905 and was placed on half pay, with him retiring from the military in May 1906, retaining the rank of captain. In that same month he made his debut in

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 ...

for the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

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 ...

, and in August he played a further six Minor Counties Championship matches for Dorset, which marked his final appearances in minor counties cricket. He played a further first-class match for the MCC in 1907, in a repeat of the previous seasons fixture. Disney-Roebuck married Margaret Wordsworth Charrington in January 1908.

World War I and later life

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Disney-Roebuck came out of the retirement to serve in the

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Quee ...

, gaining the rank of temporary

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 ...

by February 1916, having held the rank of

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 ...

prior to this promotion. He relinquished his appointment in March 1918, and his command in January 1922. He took up acting in the 1930s, starring in the movies '' The Woman Between'' in 1931, and ''

The Night of the Party ''The Night of the Party'' is a 1934 British mystery thriller film directed by Michael Powell and starring Leslie Banks, Ian Hunter, Jane Baxter, Ernest Thesiger and Malcolm Keen. In the United States it was released as ''The Murder Party''. It ...

'' in 1934. He also had an uncredited role in the 1931 movie ''

Other People's Sins ''Other People's Sins'' is a 1931 British crime film directed by Sinclair Hill and starring Horace Hodges, Stewart Rome and Anne Grey. It was made at Cricklewood Studios.Wood p.72 The screenplay concerns a father who takes the blame for a crime ...

''. Personal tragedy struck during

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 ...

, when both of his sons were killed; his eldest son, Algernon Guy Spencer, died of natural causes while serving in North Africa on 9 April 1941, while his youngest son, Michael Wyndham, died aboard eighteen days later. Disney-Roebuck died at

Hindhead, Surrey Hindhead is a village in Surrey, England. It is the highest village in Surrey, with buildings at between 185 and 253 metres above sea level. It is best known as the location of the Devil's Punch Bowl, a beauty spot and site of special scientific ...

in May 1947. He was survived by his wife, who died in 1966, and his daughter Nancy, who died in 1979.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Disney-Roebuck, Claude 1876 births 1947 deaths Military personnel from Plymouth, Devon Male actors from Plymouth, Devon English cricketers Dorset cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry officers Northamptonshire Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers English male film actors Cricketers from Plymouth, Devon