Geoffrey Martin Warren (2 March 1908 – 21 November 1941) 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 str ...

er and

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.

Early life and education

The son of Lieutenant Colonel Percy Bliss Warren and his wife, Margaret, he was born at Alresford in March 1908. Warren was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

, where he decided to pursue a career in the

. He graduated from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst into the

Royal Tank Corps The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as t ...

as a second lieutenant in February 1928.

Career

Warren was posted to

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in 1930, receiving his promotion 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 ...

while there in February 1931. Warren played

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 officia ...

in India for the

Roshanara Club Roshanara Garden is a Mughal gardens, Mughal-era garden built by Roshanara Begum, the second daughter of the Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. It is situated in Shakti Nagar, Delhi, Shakti Nagar near Kamla Nagar Clock Tower and North C ...

, making a single appearance against a Viceroy's XI at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

in February 1933. Playing as a

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. ...

he took a single catch and made stumping, in addition to batting in both of the Roshanara Club's innings'. He batted at number eleven in their first innings, ending it unbeaten having scored a single run. In their second innings he was promoted to open the batting, scoring three runs before being dismissed by Eustace Hill. He departed India in 1935. Warren returned to England, where he took up the post of instructor at

Lulworth Camp Lulworth Camp is a British Army base that is home to the Armoured Fighting Vehicle Gunnery School and runs the Lulworth Ranges on the southern coast of Dorset, England. It is part of Bovington Garrison and is located on the Purbeck Ridge between ...

in 1937, with promotion to captain following in October of the same year. He remained at Lulworth throughout the first year of the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, before being sent to the Middle East as a squadron commander in November 1940. He served in Greece during the Italian invasion, where he was second in command of the

6th Royal Tank Regiment The 6th Royal Tank Regiment (6 RTR) was a regiment of the Royal Tank Regiment, of the British Army, until 1959. It originally saw action as 6th Battalion Tank Corps in 1917. First World War When tanks were first used in action in 1916, they wer ...

. Following the German intervention and subsequent Allied defeat in Greece, Warren saw action in the North African campaign and led the advance into

Italian Libya Libya ( it, Libia; ar, ليبيا, Lībyā al-Īṭālīya) was a colony of the Fascist Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica ...

in November 1941.

Personal life

Warren was fatally wounded during the action at Sidi Rezegh and was captured by German forces. He was buried at the

Knightsbridge War Cemetery Knightsbridge War Cemetery is a war cemetery located in Acroma, Libya, located 750 metres south of the main road from Benghazi to Tobruk, west of Tobruk. The cemetery is situated in open country, the Cross of Sacrifice is set high above the level o ...

in Libya and was survived by his wife, Margaret, and their son Brian.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Geoffrey 1908 births 1941 deaths Military personnel from Winchester People from Alresford People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Royal Tank Regiment officers English cricketers Roshanara Club cricketers British World War II prisoners of war British Army personnel killed in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Cricketers from Hampshire