John Norman Bateman-Champain (14 March 1880 – 22 October 1950) was a first-class English

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, making five appearances for Gloucestershire, who later in life became the third Anglican

Bishop suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of Knaresborough. Bateman-Champain was a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

Early life and education

John Bateman-Champain was born at Richmond Hill, Surrey. Bateman-Champain was born into a military family, son of LtCol Sir

John Underwood Bateman-Champain Colonel Sir John Underwood Bateman-Champain, (22 July 1835 – 1 February 1887), born Champain, was a British army officer and engineer in India, who was instrumental in laying the first electric telegraph line from Britain to India by way of th ...

of the Bengal

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 ...

. The younger John was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

and

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

. and studied for ordination at Wells Theological College.

Sporting career

Bateman-Champain played 2 first-class matches for

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

in 1899, with his debut for the county coming against

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

and his second and final first-class match for the county coming against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. Additionally, he also represented the

Free Foresters Free Foresters Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. The Free Foresters were founded by the Rev. Willi ...

in a 3 first-class matches, firstly in 1919 against

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 ...

and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and finally against Oxford University in 1920.

Ecclesiastical career

Upon graduating theological college, Bateman-Champain became assistant

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St Mary's Church, Henbury before embarking overseas to become

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Germiston, South Africa Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a small city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as ...

. In 1912, he returned to St Mary's Church, Redcliffe as Vicar. During the Great War he was interviewed for a commission with the Army Chaplains' Department, and was described as an 'attractive personality A1'. He was sent to the Western Front and, from 1918, served at General Headquarters. In 1928, he became

Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...

of Bedminster before a ten-year stint as Vicar of the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, and Provost of the cathedral. His final appointment was as

Bishop of Knaresborough A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, a

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

in the

Diocese of Ripon The Diocese of Ripon (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014) was a former Church of England diocese, part of the Province of York. Immediately prior to its dissolution, it covered an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as ...

. He was consecrated a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on St Matthias' day (24 February) 1938, by William Temple,

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

, at

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...

. On 15 July 1944, he was appointed as the second principal of the RAF Chaplains' School based at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

. Clergymen with a sporting background were favoured in the RAF Chaplains Branch, and the Master of Magdalene College would later comment that Bateman-Champain's presence in college "brought lustre and distinction to the scene". He continued as Bishop of Knaresborough until retirement to Bristol in 1948. He had two sons and two daughters. One son was killed on active service in 1943.''The Times'' obituary, 24.10.1950

Family and later life

Bateman-Champain was part of a large cricketing family. His brothers Claude,

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

and

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

all played first-class cricket, as did his brother-in-law Frederick Currie. His uncles Fendall Currie, Revd Sir Frederick Currie, Robert Currie and William Currie also played first-class cricket. During his time at Redcliffe (c. 1912–1914), he married Jean Monsell Maud. Bateman-Champain died at

Westbury-on-Trym Westbury on Trym is a suburb and council ward in the north of the City of Bristol, near the suburbs of Stoke Bishop, Westbury Park, Henleaze, Southmead and Henbury, in the southwest of England. With a village atmosphere, the place is partly ...

, Gloucestershire on 22 October 1950.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bateman-Champain, John 1880 births 1950 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Bishops of Knaresborough English cricketers Free Foresters cricketers Gloucestershire cricketers People educated at Cheltenham College Sportspeople from Richmond, London Cricketers from Surrey Provosts and Deans of Newcastle Cricketers from Gloucestershire