Henry Dawes Swan (born 28 July 1879,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, died 21 December 1941,

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

) was an English cricketer and cricket administrator.

Life and career

Swan attended

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson (rector), Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oa ...

and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

. He left Oxford without taking a degree, and worked for a time in the office of the shipping company

Elder Dempster Lines Elder Dempster Lines was a UK shipping company that traded from 1932 to 2000, but had its origins in the mid-19th century. Founders Alexander Elder Alexander Elder was born in Glasgow in 1834. He was the son of David Elder, who for many ye ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

before working for a shipbuilding company in

Wivenhoe Wivenhoe ( ) is a town and civil parish in north-eastern Essex, England, approximately south-east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two ...

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 ...

.J. N. P.
"A Chat with Mr. H. D. Swan"
''Cricket'', 10 May 1913, pp. 165–67. He was elected to the

Essex County Cricket Club Essex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Essex. Founded in 1876, the club had minor county status until 1894 when ...

committee in 1906 and appointed chairman of the committee in 1913. In 1910 he managed a cricket team that toured

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. He said in 1913 that he captained or managed about 60 teams in a season. He played in a variety of matches over many years for the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC), and was a member of the committee of the MCC. He organised many of the MCC's matches and minor tours, including an annual tour in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. According to one obituary he played more games for MCC "than anyone else ever has". He served as the

New Zealand Cricket Council New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New Z ...

's representative in London, and visited

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

during the cricket season of 1921–22 helping to organise a tour by an MCC team to New Zealand in the 1922–23 season. When the touring team was announced he was named as its manager. Before the tour Sir Home Gordon described Swan as "a man of colossal size, great enthusiasm, possessing fine knowledge of the game as well as a ready wit and imperturbable good temper. He should prove an outstanding 'sic''successful feature of the tour." He played in the opening match of the tour, against

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, making his first-class debut at the age of 43. Batting at number eleven he was out for a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

in his only innings, and when he fielded his physique caused some amusement among the Perth crowd. After that he limited his activities to his managerial duties, and played in only one more match on the tour, a minor match in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. However, he also played in the annual match between former students at British public schools and former Christ's College boys, held that year in

Geraldine Geraldine may refer to: People * Geraldine (name), the feminine form of the first name Gerald, with list of people thus named. * The Geraldines, Irish dynasty descended from the Anglo-Norman Gerald FitzWalter de Windsor * Geraldine of Albania, th ...

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Souther ...

. He returned to England after the tour to begin the organisation of the first New Zealand cricket tour to England, which it was hoped would occur in 1925. It eventually took place in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

. He continued to represent the New Zealand Cricket Council in London until the 1930s, and was at one stage suggested as a possible manager of the New Zealand team in England in 1931. He was largely responsible for organising the itineraries of New Zealand's 1927 and 1931 tours.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, Henry 1879 births 1941 deaths People educated at Uppingham School Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford English cricketers Cricketers from Newcastle upon Tyne Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers English cricket administrators English cricketers of 1919 to 1945