Geoffrey Edward Beck (16 June 1918 – 5 March 2019) was an English first-class cricketer and Congregational minister.

Education

Geoffrey Beck attended Whitgift School from 1928 to 1934, and later studied theology at Mansfield College, Oxford, from 1942 to 1946.Geoffrey Beck, "65 Years of Friendship"
''Mansfield Magazine'', Winter 2009, p. 30.

Cricket

A middle-order batsman, Beck represented Oxford University at

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 ...

, playing in the University Match in 1943 (when he top-scored) and 1945, both of which were one-day matches. When first-class cricket resumed after World War II he played three matches for Oxford, with a highest score of 50 against

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

in his first match. He later played two matches for

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

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 ...

in 1951.

Marriage and ministry

Beck married Joy Crookshank, a Cambridge graduate and fellow member of the

Student Christian Movement Student Christian Movement may refer to one of the following national organizations: * Australian Student Christian Movement * Student Christian Movement of Canada * Student Christian Movement of Great Britain * Indonesian Student Christian Movem ...

, in 1946. He also began his career as a Congregational minister in 1946. He served as the minister at Eccleston, St Helens, from 1946 to 1950, at

Summertown, Oxford Summertown in North Oxford is a suburb of Oxford, England. Summertown is a one-mile square residential area, north of St Giles, the boulevard leading out of Oxford's city centre. Summertown is home to several independent schools and the city's m ...

, from 1950 to 1965, as Warden of the Chapel of Unity at

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...

from 1965 to 1971, and as minister at the Central Free Church,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, from 1971 to 1984.

British-German relations

Beck was co-founder of the Adam von Trott Memorial Appeal Project in honour of the participant, a former student at Oxford, in the plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944. The appeal provides scholarships to German students to study at Mansfield College. In 2014 the German government awarded Beck the Cross of the Order of Merit for his work for British-German relations.

Retirement and death

Beck lived in retirement in

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, and died in March 2019 at the age of 100. His wife died in 2000; they had four children.James Roberts
"Obituary: Congregational minister Geoffrey Beck served in Summertown"
''This is Oxfordshire'', 25 April 2019.

References

External links

*
Geoffrey Beck
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Geoffrey 1918 births 2019 deaths People educated at Whitgift School Alumni of Mansfield College, Oxford English centenarians Men centenarians English Congregationalist ministers English cricketers Oxford University cricketers Oxfordshire cricketers Sportspeople from Wisbech Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Polegate Cricketers from East Sussex