Jack Gale Wilmot Davies (10 September 1911 – 5 November 1992) was an English

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

and sportsman who 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 ...

and top-level

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

. He served in the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

during

World War II 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 ...

and was a noted academic psychologist. He served as the President of MCC in 1985–1986 and was the tenth person elected an Honorary Life Vice-President of the club.

Early life and education

Davies was born in

Broad Clyst Broadclyst is a village and civil parish in the East Devon local government district. It lies approximately 5 miles northeast of the city of Exeter, Devon, England, on the B3181. In 2001 its population was 2,830, reducing at the 2011 Census to ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

in 1911. He attended

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

where he was in the Cricket XI for four years, captaining the side in 1930, his final year. He was strong academically and won a scholarship to study classics at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

. He won a cricket

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

in 1933 and 1934 after an ankle injury forced him to pull out of the

University Match The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. From 2001, as part of the reorganisation of first-class cricket, ...

in 1931.Davies, Jack Gale Wilmont OBE
Obituaries in 1992, ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'', 1993. Retrieved 2017-05-22. Davies made his

debut whilst at University. Academically he was awarded a

first-class honours degree The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in classics, graduating in 1934.

Sporting career

Davies made his

debut for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1931 in a match against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchar ...

.Jack Davies
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-05-22. He played 38 first-class matches for the University side, including against touring sides from

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 ...

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It was against Australia in 1934 that he achieved his most notable feat when he bowled

Don Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

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 ...

, the first time Bradman had made nought in England.Ponsford, Bradman and the spin triplets

CricInfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...

. Retrieved 2017-05-22. Davies, who bowled off-spin, went on to play 99 times for

Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ke ...

, making his debut in July 1934 after graduating from Cambridge. He had first played for the county's Second XI in 1932 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 ...

and played in the First XI as an amateur until 1951, primarily during his summer holidays. He won his

county cap In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

in 1936 when he took 7/20 against

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 ...

at the

Nevill Ground The Nevill Ground is a cricket ground at Royal Tunbridge Wells in the English county of Kent. It is owned by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and is used by Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club in the summer months and by Tunbridge Wells Hockey Club in t ...

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

. He was described in his ''Wisden'' obituary as a "stylish and dashing right-hand batsman" who usually batted in the middle order, although he opened the batting for Kent successfully for a time in 1946, scoring three of his four centuries and scoring 1,000 runs for the only time in his career during the season. He was an effective bowler who took 258 wickets in his first-class career and a "brilliant cover point" in the field. After retiring from county cricket he played for MCC in the annual first-class match against Cambridge University from 1953 to 1961, captaining the side on the last seven occasions and playing his final first-class match aged 49. He had played in a match for an

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

side against the

Dominions The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, Dominion of New Zealand, New Zealand, Dominion of Newfoundland, Newfoundland, Un ...

in 1945England v Dominions at Lord's, 25-28 August 1945

. Retrieved 2019-03-05. and was mentioned in a list of potential England batsmen and captains in the 1945 edition of ''Wisden''.Views and values
''

'', 1945. Retrieved 2017-05-22. He also made one appearance in the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...

fixture in 1946. He played club cricket for Blackheath after the Second World WarA brief history
Blackheath Cricket Club. Retrieved 2017-05-22. and was a member of the wandering Buccaneers Cricket Club.About the Buccaneers Cricket Club
Buccaneers Cricket Club. Retrieved 2017-05-22. Away from cricket, Davies played

for

Blackheath F.C. Blackheath Football Club is a rugby union club based in Well Hall, Eltham in south-east London. The club was founded in Blackheath, London, Blackheath in 1858, and is the fourth-oldest rugby club in continuous existence in the world, after Du ...

and for Kent in the winter months. He captained Blackheath in 1938–39 and in 1945–46.Blackheath Rugby

, 2001. Retrieved 2017-05-22. Davies won the

Rugby fives Rugby Fives is a handball game, similar to squash, played in an enclosed court. It has similarities with Winchester Fives (a form of Wessex Fives) and Eton Fives. It is played mainly in the United Kingdom. It is most commonly believed to be d ...

national singles title three times between 1936 and 1939, having finished as runner-up in 1935.Tournament winners 1925 to 2017
The Rugby Fives Association. Retrieved 2017-05-22. He was a runner-up in the Cyriax Cup, the Rugby Fives pairs competition, in 1939.Cyriax cup
The Rugby Fives Association. Retrieved 2017-05-22.

War service and later life

In 1939 Davies took a second degree in psychology from the

National Institute of Industrial Psychology National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. He served in the

, becoming Chief Psychologist in the Directorate for the Selection of Personnel and rising to the rank of Colonel. He was awarded an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1946 Birthday Honours The 1946 King's Birthday Honours, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 13 June 1946 for the United Kingdom and British Empire. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new h ...

. He went on to work at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and was appointed as Secretary of the University Appointments Board at

in 1952. Davies was elected Treasurer of

Cambridge University Cricket Club Cambridge University Cricket Club, first recorded in 1817, is the representative cricket club for students of the University of Cambridge. Depending on the circumstances of each individual match, the club has always been recognised as holding ...

in 1958 and was a member of the MCC Committee, becoming Treasurer from 1976 to 1980 and President in 1985–1986. He was later elected one of MCC's Honorary Life Vice-Presidents in 1988, only the tenth person to be honoured in this way. He was elected in the same year as Bradman.MCC honours Sir Donald Bradman
in Notes from the Editor, ''

'', 1989. Retrieved 2017-05-22. He was an executive director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

and an occasional journalist with the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' and in 1990 was made an Honorary Fellow of the

British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the organ ...

.Honorary Fellows
,

. Retrieved 2017-05-22. Davies died in 1992 in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

aged 81.Jack Davies

. Retrieved 2017-05-22.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Jack 1911 births 1992 deaths English cricketers People educated at Tonbridge School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Cambridge University cricketers Kent cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Combined Services cricketers English psychologists English rugby union players Blackheath F.C. players Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Gentlemen cricketers 20th-century British psychologists Rugby union players from Devon