Frank Hay Gillingham (6 September 1875 – 1 April 1953) was an English

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. He played for

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

between 1903 and 1928. Born in Tokyo to John Rowley Gillingham and his wife Sarah (nee Archer), he was educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

and

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. He worked in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

for a while but, after training for ordination at the

London College of Divinity St John's College, Nottingham, founded as the London College of Divinity, was an Anglican and interdenominational theological college situated in Bramcote, Nottingham, England. The college stood in the open evangelical tradition and stated that i ...

, was ordained as a deacon in 1899 and priest in 1900 and became curate of

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

(1899-1905). He later became an army chaplain with the 2nd Battalion,

South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. In ...

Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately west of Andover, south o ...

from 1905 to 1907 then again a curate at

St James-the-Less, Bethnal Green St James-the-Less is a church in Bethnal Green, London, England. It is an Anglican church in the Diocese of London. Built as a commissioners' church in 1840–2, its architect was Lewis Vulliamy. Notable clergy * From 1906 to 1908, Frank Buttle ...

, (1907-1910). He was then successively Vicar of

Holy Trinity Church, Bordesley Holy Trinity Church, Bordesley is a Grade II listed former Church of England parish church at Camp Hill, Bordesley, Birmingham, England. History An example of a Commissioners' church the church was built between 1820 and 1822 by the architec ...

(1910-1914), Rector of

St Mary Magdalen Bermondsey St Mary Magdalen Bermondsey is an Anglican church dedicated to St Mary Magdalen in Bermondsey in the London Borough of Southwark. The majority of the present building is late 17th century and is Grade II* listed. Its parish extends as far a ...

(1914-1923), Rector of

St Margaret's, Lee St. Margaret's Church, Lee, is a Church of England parish church in Lee, London. It was built between 1839 and 1841 in a simple early Victorian style (to a design by Norwich architect John Brown), replacing an earlier church which had been built ...

(1923-1940). and Rector of

St Stephen Walbrook St Stephen Walbrook is a church in the City of London, part of the Church of England's Diocese of London. The present domed building was erected to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren following the destruction of its medieval predecessor in the ...

(1940-1953). He was a Temporary Chaplain to the Forces during the

First World War 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 ...

. He was a Chaplain to the Royal Household from 1940 to 1953. As an amateur cricketer he was a member of the Essex XI who in 1905 beat the Australians at Leyton by 19 runs. He went on to tour Jamaica with the Hon. L H Tennyson's team in 1927. That year he also made the first ball-by-ball cricket commentary for the BBC, speaking for a total of 25 minutes over four sessions. He was reportedly fired by BBC chairman

Lord Reith Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

for reading advertisement placards out on air to fill time during a rain break.

References

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillingham, Frank 1875 births 1953 deaths People educated at Dulwich College Alumni of University College, Durham English cricketers Essex cricketers British sports broadcasters Sportspeople from Tokyo Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Non-international England cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers Free Foresters cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers L. H. Tennyson's XI cricket team British Army personnel of World War I South Wales Borderers officers World War I chaplains