James Elliot Balfour-Melville (9 July 1882 – 25 September 1915) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

first-class

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and British Army officer. The son of the sportsman Leslie Balfour-Melville and his wife, Jeannie Amelia, he was born at Edinburgh in July 1882. He was educated in Scotland at the

Cargilfield Preparatory School Cargilfield Preparatory School is a private co-educational prep school in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1873. It is a day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 3–13 and caters for approximately 300 pupils. It prepares pupils mai ...

and the Edinburgh Academy, before attending

Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...

in England. From Malvern he went up to

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

. During his studies he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

for

Oxford University A.F.C. Oxford University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Oxford. The club currently plays in the BUCS Football League, the league system of British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS). In 2020 ...

from 1901 to 1905, captaining the team in the 1905 season and gaining a blue. After graduating from Oxford in 1905, he became an accountant and was a member of the

Society of Accountants in Edinburgh A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...

. He initially worked for Messrs Lindsay, Jameson and Haldane in Edinburgh, before transferring to Messrs Guild and Shepherd. A member of the

Grange Cricket Club The Grange Club is a cricket and sports club in the Stockbridge district of Edinburgh, Scotland. The cricket ground, commonly known as The Grange, is the regular home of the Scotland national cricket team, and is situated adjacent to the Edin ...

, Balfour-Melville later played two first-class cricket matches for Scotland in 1913, against Oxford University at Oxford and

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. ...

at The Oval. Playing as Scotland's wicket-keeper in both matches, he scored 46 runs in his two matches, with a highest score of 32. He was described by '' Wisden'' as "a useful hard-hitting batsman and a good wicket-keeper". Beside his cricketing and footballing interests, he was also a keen golfer and was a member of both

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation kn ...

and

The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. Balfour-Melville served in the First World War with the Black Watch, being 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 ...

on probation in September 1914, before being confirmed in the rank in August 1915. He was killed in action on 25 September 1915 at the Battle of Loos when he was shot in the head by a sniper during a charge by his regiment.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour-Melville, James 1882 births 1915 deaths Cricketers from Edinburgh People educated at Cargilfield School People educated at Edinburgh Academy People educated at Malvern College Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Scottish men's footballers Oxford University A.F.C. players Scottish accountants Scottish cricketers Black Watch officers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Deaths by firearm in France Men's association football players not categorized by position Military personnel from Edinburgh