John Lawson Richards (6 October 1918 – 2 November 1944) 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. Born in

Williton Williton is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, at the junction of the A39, A358 and B3191 roads, on the coast south of Watchet between Minehead, Bridgwater and Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. Williton stat ...

in October 1918, Richards was educated at

Monmouth School Monmouth School for Boys is a public school (independent day and boarding school) for boys in Monmouth, Wales. The school was founded in 1614 with a bequest from William Jones, a successful merchant and trader. The School is run as a trust, t ...

and

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

, where he played several sports, including cricket. He entered Selwyn College in 1938, where he read mathematics. Between 24-26 May 1939, Richards made his only first-class appearance for Cambridge 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 ...

, in which he was

bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...

twice 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 ...

and did not gain any runs. On 8 June 1940, seven months after the outbreak 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 opposin ...

, Richards was commissioned 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 the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

, in which he was involved in

bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous Explosive device, explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functi ...

. During leave periods in 1941 and 1942, he appeared for Cambridge in six wartime cricket matches. Richards was killed in

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

on 2 November 1944 and is buried at

Jonkerbos War Cemetery The Jonkerbos War Cemetery and Memorial is located in the town of Nijmegen, Netherlands. The cemetery contains 1,643 British Commonwealth and foreign service personnel of World War II. It was built to a design by Commission architect Philip Hepw ...

References

1918 births 1944 deaths Sportspeople from Somerset People educated at Monmouth School for Boys Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge English cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Royal Engineers officers Bomb disposal personnel British Army personnel killed in World War II Burials at Jonkerbos War Cemetery Military personnel from Somerset {{England-cricket-bio-1910s-stub