Claude John Tozer DSO (27 September 1890 – 21 December 1920) was an Australian medical doctor and first-class cricketer who played for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He was the nephew of Australian Test cricketer

Percie Charlton Percie Chater Charlton (9 April 1867 – 30 September 1954) was an Australian cricketer who played in two Tests in England in 1890 and played first-class cricket for New South Wales from 1888 to 1897. Cricket career Charlton was regarded as an ...

Early years and background

The son of a

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway, New South Wales, Broadway. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches ...

official, John and Beatrice Tozer (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Charlton), he was educated at

Sydney Church of England Grammar School , motto_translation = , established = , type = Independent single-sex and co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school , grades = Early learning ...

. While at the school he was a member of the cadet corps, within which he attained the rank of cadet under officer. He graduated from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

with a Bachelor of Medicine in 1914. While at the university he played for the university's cricket club and was a member of their premiership winning team in 1913–14. His uncle,

, played in two

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

s, for Australia, in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in 1890; and in 40 first class matches for

Sporting career

A right-handed batsman, Tozer juggled his early cricket career with medical studies at university and as a

resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...

at the

Royal Hospital for Women The Royal Hospital for Women (RHW) is a specialist hospital for women and babies located in the suburb of Randwick in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Royal Hospital for Women shares the Randwick Hospitals' Campus site with the Prince of ...

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

. Before the war, Tozer played four first-class matches for New South Wales as a middle order batsman. In May 1915 he enlisted in the army with the rank of captain and was posted to the 1st Field Ambulance,

Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian coloni ...

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

. After the evacuation he was hospitalised in Egypt with

paratyphoid Paratyphoid fever, also known simply as paratyphoid, is a bacterial infection caused by one of the three types of ''Salmonella enterica''. Symptoms usually begin 6–30 days after exposure and are the same as those of typhoid fever. Often, a grad ...

in early 1916. Later in 1916 he served on the western front and was wounded severely in the head and right leg in July 1916 during the

Battle of Pozières The Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September 1916) took place in northern France around the village of Pozières, during the Battle of the Somme. The costly fighting ended with the British in possession of the plateau north and east of the v ...

. Following an extended convalescence he returned to France in January 1917 and served in various capacities in hospitals and field units. He was promoted to 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 ...

in June 1917. In November 1917, 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 ...

by the Commander of British Forces, Field Marshal

Douglas Haig Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionar ...

for ''"distinguished and gallant service and devotion to duty in the field"'' 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 ...

. Returning to Australia in early 1919, he resumed his duties with the state cricket team, this time as an opening batsman. In 1919/20 he played his fifth first-class match, against Queensland at Brisbane and made innings of 51 and 103. He also made his

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...

debut that season, at the SCG against South Australia and scored 37 in the first innings before being run out. Tozer was by now working as a general practitioner on Sydney's North Shore. His prolific 1920–21 season in grade cricket, which saw him make 452 runs in three matches earned him selection for an Australian XI to play against the touring MCC. Opening the batting, he made a pair of half centuries.

Death

Tozer was due to play as NSW captain in a match against Queensland on 1 January 1921, but on 21 December, at Lindfield in Sydney, he was shot three times and killed by a depressed married female patient who had fallen in love with him. At her trial, the woman, Dorothy Mort, was found not guilty on the ground of insanity but was imprisoned in Long Bay Gaol at the Governor's pleasure, and was released nine years later. A non-fiction book describing the case, ''Mrs Mort's Madness'', by Suzanne Falkiner, was published by Xoum in December 2014.

References

External links

*
National Archives of Australia item 8392965
– Tozer's Army Records
''Scene of the shooting murder of Dr Claude Tozer''
–

NSW Police The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...

crime scene photograph
''Dorothy Mort, criminal record number 518LB, 18 April 1921''
– Department of Corrective Services image {{DEFAULTSORT:Tozer, Claude 1890 births 1920 deaths 20th-century Australian medical doctors Cricketers from Sydney New South Wales cricketers Australian cricketers Male murder victims Australian murder victims People murdered in New South Wales Deaths by firearm in New South Wales Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School 1920 murders in Australia

Early years and background

Sporting career

Death

See also

References

External links