Thomas James Bryden (1 June 1877 – 12 October 1917) was a New Zealand

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. He played two first-class matches for

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, one in each of the 1912–13 and 1913–14 seasons. He was killed in action during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

at the

First Battle of Passchendaele The First Battle of Passchendaele took place on 12 October 1917 during the First World War, in the Ypres Salient in Belgium on the Western Front. The attack was part of the Third Battle of Ypres and was fought west of Passchendaele village. T ...

Early life

Born at

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

in 1877, the oldest son of Thomas and Barbara Bryden and of Scottish descent, Bryden attended the Middle and North schools in the city before training as a

cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...

at William Smith and Co.The Roll of Honour: Private TJ Bryden, ''

Southland Times ''The Southland Times'' is the regional daily paper for Southland, including Invercargill, and neighbouring parts of Otago, in New Zealand. It is now owned by media business Stuff Ltd, formerly the New Zealand division of Fairfax Media. History ...

'', issue 17819, 19 November 1917, p. 3.
Available online
at

Papers Past The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...

. Retrieved 29 May 2023.)Rifleman Bryden of Dunedin
New Zealand Cricket Museum. Retrieved 29 May 2023. As well as cricket, he played

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 ...

whilst living in Invercargill, representing Brittania FC as a "clever half-back". He later moved to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

where he worked for Nees and Co as a chairmaker.For the Empire's cause, ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

'', issue 17444, 12 October 1918, p. 8.
Available online
at

. Retrieved 29 May 2023.)McCarron A (2010) ''New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010'', p. 26. Cardiff:

The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Statis ...

. Roll of Honour, ''

'', issue 17158, 10 November 1917, p. 8.
Available online
at

. Retrieved 29 May 2023.)

Cricket

Known as James or Jim Bryden, he was a well known club cricketer in Dunedin who played for Grange Cricket Club before moving to play for Dunedin Cricket Club, attracted by the side's better quality wicket. He captained the Dunedin side for three seasonsRifleman TJ Bryden, '' Evening Star'', issue 16578, 10 November 1917, p. 8.
Available online
at

. Retrieved 29 May 2023.) and was described as "a vigorous type of batsman" whose method was "to go for the bowling as soon as he got his eye in". He was considered "unassuming" and "conscientious", was "always willing to help a young cricketer" and was a popular and respected cricketer as far away as

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

. After playing for

in the annual match against

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

in March 1913, Bryden made his debut for the representative side―aged 35―later the same month in Otago's only

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octob ...

match of the season, a fixture against

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

Lancaster Park Lancaster Park, also known as Jade Stadium and AMI Stadium for sponsorship reasons, was a sports stadium in Waltham, a suburb of Christchurch in New Zealand. The stadium was closed permanently due to damage sustained in the February 2011 eart ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. He scored 15 runs on Otago's first innings and 14 in their second as the side lost by an innings.James Bryden
CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 May 2023. The following season he played in the second of Otago's two matches against Canterbury, appearing as a full substitute for the Otago captain Harry Siedeberg after he dislocated a finger early in the match whilst fielding. Bryden scored two

ducks 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 ...

as Canterbury again won by an innings.

Military service and death

Bryden volunteered for active service during

. Initially he was rejected as unfit, but was later drafted as a rifleman in the New Zealand Army in January 1917. He was part of the 25th Reinforcement group sent to Europe,For the Empire's cause, ''

'', issue 17162, 15 November 1917, p. 4.
Available online
at

. Retrieved 29 May 2023.) disembarking at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in July before moving to

Sling Camp Sling Camp was a World War I camp occupied by New Zealand soldiers beside the then-military town of Bulford on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. History The camp was initially created as an annexe to Bulford Camp in 1903; it was originall ...

.Thomas James Bryden
Online Cenotaph,

Auckland Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Auckla ...

. Retrieved 29 May 2023. He was initially deemed unfit for front line service, before being passed fit and leaving for France, arriving at

Étaples Étaples or Étaples-sur-Mer (; vls, Stapel, lang; pcd, Étape) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is a fishing and leisure port on the Canche river. History Étaples takes its name from having been a medieval ...

in early September, and joining the 4th battalion of the 3rd

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

, part of the

New Zealand Division The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in early 1916 when the New Zealand and Australian Division was renamed after the detachmen ...

, at the front a week later. He died at Bellevue near

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

in Belgium in October 1917 aged 40. His body was never recovered and his name appears on the

Tyne Cot Memorial Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. It is the largest cemetery for Commo ...

. Bryden never married. He was survived by one brother and seven sisters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryden, James 1877 births 1917 deaths New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers Cricketers from Invercargill New Zealand military personnel killed in World War I New Zealand Army soldiers New Zealand Military Forces personnel of World War I

Early life

Cricket

Military service and death

See also

References

Further reading

External links