John Philip Wilson,

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

, AFC (3 April 1889 – 3 October 1959) was an English

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

first-class cricketer, a decorated World War I pilot and winner of the Grand National in 1925.

Early life

He was born in April 1889 at Gilling Castle in the

North Riding The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as a ...

of Yorkshire. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

, London, England.

Cricket

He made his debut for Yorkshire County Cricket Club against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

in the County Championship in August 1911, one of six matches he played for the county that month. He played against the touring South Africans and Worcestershire in August the following year, and against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in September to round out his nine match Yorkshire first-class career. His final two matches came for

H. D. G. Leveson-Gower Sir Henry Dudley Gresham Leveson Gower ( ; 8 May 1873 – 1 February 1954) was an English cricketer from the Leveson-Gower family. He played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Surrey and captained England in Test cricket. His school n ...

's XI against Oxford and Cambridge Universities at The Saffrons, Eastbourne, in the final summer before the start of World War I. He was not prolific in the first-class arena. His best innings was a knock of 36 against Middlesex at Bradford, while his solitary first-class wicket was that of J. W. Hitch, the

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and England all-rounder. He also played for the Yorkshire Second XI, and in country house cricket for the Yorkshire Gentlemen.

Military service

After gaining his pilots licence on a Vickers

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

at Brooklands in June 1914, he was commissioned into the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

on the outbreak of war as a probationary flight sub-lieutenant, being confirmed in his rank on 16 September, and was promoted to flight lieutenant on 31 December. In April 1915 he attacked two German

submarines A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely o ...

lying at anchor alongside the Mole at Zeebrugge with four bombs "with successful results." Later that summer, on 7 June he attacked the Zeppelin shed at Evere, north of Brussels in a daring night attack, a mission for which he and his co-pilot J. S. Mills, were awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

. On 1 January 1916, Wilson was promoted to flight commander, and on 31 December to squadron commander. He was made a ''Chevalier'' of the Belgian Order of the Crown on 29 August 1917. On 1 April 1918, the Royal Naval Air Service was merged with the Army's Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force, and Wilson joined the new service with the equivalent 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 the

1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Jan ...

, announced on 1 January 1919, he was awarded the Air Force Cross "''in recognition of distinguished service''". On 22 March 1919 Wilson relinquished his commission "''on account of ill-health''". He was allowed to retain his rank.

Post-war life

Although he continued in club cricket after the war, his new claim to fame came as an amateur steeplechase jockey. He rode more than 200 winners, rode in Grand National three times, and won on Double Chance in

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

. He died in October 1959 in

Tickton Tickton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Tickton is approximately east from Beverley, lying to the south of the A1035 road. The village is about long and contains, two churches, two pubs, a primary school ...

, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire.

Personal life

In 1915 he married Louisa Harrison-Broadley. His wife's elder sister was married to

Stanley Jackson Sir Francis Stanley Jackson Jackson's obituary in the 1948 ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack''. This gives his full name as ''Francis'' Stanley Jackson, whereas Cricinfo and CricketArchive both give his full name as ''Frank'' Stanley Jackson. This ...

, former England cricket captain; Jackson thus became Wilson's brother-in-law.

References

External links

Cricket Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jack 1889 births 1959 deaths People educated at Harrow School People from Ryedale (district) Cricket in North Yorkshire Royal Naval Air Service aviators British World War I flying aces Cricketers from Yorkshire Yorkshire cricketers English jockeys Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I English cricketers Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Knights of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Military personnel from North Yorkshire