Gordon Calthrop Thorne (3 March 1897 – 2 March 1942) was an English first-class cricketer 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. Serving for most of his military career with the

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

, Thorne saw action in 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 ...

from 1916 to 1918, before serving in

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 ...

and

British Ceylon British Ceylon ( si, බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ලංකාව, Britānya Laṃkāva; ta, பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between ...

, where he served as the 9th

Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force was the title of the head of the Ceylon Defence Force. The post was created in 1888, replacing the position of General Officer Commanding, Ceylon, and existed until 1949. List of Commanders See also *Sri Lank ...

from 13 May 1937 until 5 February 1939. He served in 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 opposin ...

with the

Cambridgeshire Regiment The Cambridgeshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, and was part of the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. Originating in units of Volunteer Force (Great Britain), rifle volunteers formed in 1860, the regiment ...

, seeing action during the

Japanese invasion of Malaya The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles between ...

, for which he was 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 ...

, and in the

Battle of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

. He escaped capture by the Japanese at Singapore aboard a Dutch steamship, but was killed in March 1942 when it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the Indian Ocean. During his military career, he also 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 officiall ...

for the

British Army cricket team The Army cricket team is a cricket side representing the British Army. The Army team played 51 first-class matches between 1912 and 1939, although a combined Army and Navy side had played two games against a combined Oxford and Cambridge team ...

Life and military career

Thorne was born at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

to Frederick Gordon Thorne and his wife, Mabel. He was educated at Haileybury, where he played for both the cricket XI and the

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

XV. While studying at Haileybury, he debuted 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

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

in the 1914

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 ...

. From Haileybury, he enlisted in the

as a

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 April 1916 and served in the

. He saw action on the Western Front, where he was seriously wounded and returned home to England to recover. He returned to the Western Front in 1918 and 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 ...

twice. Following the war, he played five further minor counties matches for Norfolk in 1924–25, and was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

prior to April 1926, when he was serving as an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

while holding the rank of lieutenant. He made his only appearance in

in 1927, appearing for the

against

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed in the Army's first-innings for 17 by

Bertie de Silva John Albert "Bertie" de Silva (19 January 1901 – 30 November 1981) was a cricketer who played five matches of first-class cricket for Oxford University in England between 1924 and 1927 and three first-class matches for Dr J Rockwood's Ceylon ...

, while in their second-innings he was dismissed for 7 runs by

Errol Holmes Errol Reginald Thorold Holmes (21 August 1905 – 16 August 1960) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Oxford University, Surrey and England between 1924 and 1955. A dashing right-handed batsman, Holmes believed that cri ...

Service in British India and Ceylon

He was posted to

with the Royal Norfolk Regiment, where he served in the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...

. Prior to 1935, he had been promoted 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 ...

, with promotion 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 May 1935. When serving with the Royal Norfolk Regiment in

, he was appointed to be a staff officer in the

Ceylon Defence Force The Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation ''Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance'', which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colon ...

in August 1936. in August of the following year, he was appointed as the

, upon which he was granted the temporary rank of

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 ...

. He served as Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force until 1939, after which he was succeeded by fellow services first-class cricketer Reginald White. Following this he became the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion,

and was promoted to the full rank of lieutenant colonel.

World War II and death

During the

, the battalion was sent to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

to reinforce the

15th Indian Infantry Brigade The 15th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in September 1940, at Secunderabad in India and assigned to the 9th Indian Infantry Division. Between February and March 1941 ...

Batu Pahat The Batu Pahat District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies southeast of Muar, southwest of Kluang, northwest of Pontian, south of Segamat and Tangkak District. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram. Geography ...

against Japanese attacks. The brigade held the town for ten days and Thorne was awarded the

for his determination and leadership in holding back the Japanese advances. Eventually forced out of the town, some 500 members of the battalion fought their way back to Singapore, where they came under intense attack along the Braddell Road. Running low on ammunition and other supplies, Thorne along with several thousand other personnel managed to escape Singapore aboard a ship, eventually finding passage aboard the Dutch steamship . Setting sail across the Indian Ocean for Ceylon, the ship was spotted by the Japanese submarine ''I-59'' on 2 March 1942 and was torpedoed, causing the ship to capsize and quickly sink. It is assumed Thorne went down with the ship, as his body was never recovered. He is commemorated at the

Kranji War Memorial The Kranji War Memorial ( Chinese: 克兰芝阵亡战士公坟; ms, Tanah Perkuburan Perang Kranji; ta, கிராஞ்சி போர் நினைவு) is located at 9 Woodlands Road, in Kranji in northern Singapore. Dedicated to the ...

in Singapore. He was survived by his wife, Pamela, and their son, Frederick. They later emigrated to the United States. His nephew, David Thorne, was also a first-class cricketer and a general in the British Army.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorne, Gordon 1897 births 1942 deaths British Army cricketers British Army personnel killed in World War II British Army personnel of World War I Cambridgeshire Regiment officers Commanders of the Ceylon Defence Force Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Cricketers from Chelsea, London English cricketers Military personnel from London Norfolk cricketers People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College People lost at sea Royal Norfolk Regiment officers British people in colonial India