Leonard Green (1 February 1890 – 2 March 1963) was an 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 active from 1922 to 1935 who played for

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 a Territorial Army officer who commanded the

125th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade The 125th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army that saw active service during both the First and Second World Wars. It was assigned to the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division and served in the Middle E ...

from 1934 to 1938. He was born and died in

Whalley, Lancashire Whalley is a large village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley on the banks of the River Calder in Lancashire, England. It is overlooked by Whalley Nab, a large wooded hill over the river from the village. The population of the civil parish ...

. Green was born in a house built by his Father, Roger Green, who represented the Whalley Cricket Club at the 1864 meeting which led to the foundation of Lancashire County Cricket Club. At the time of his death, he lived in the Manor House which he shared with his brother James.

Cricketing career

He appeared in 160

first-class matches First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

as a righthanded

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 ...

and occasional

wicketkeeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

who also

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 ...

sometimes, though his bowling arm and style are unrecorded. He scored 3,981 runs with a highest score of 110 * among two

centuries A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

and held 39 catches. He took twelve

wicket In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...

s with a best analysis of two for 2. He was the Lancashire club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

from 1926 until 1928.

Military career

Green was commissioned in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

on 28 April 1910 as a second lieutenant in the 4th Battalion,

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th (2nd Nott ...

, and was promoted to lieutenant on 14 August 1913. The 4th Battalion served in the First World War as part of the

126th (East Lancashire) Brigade The 126th (East Lancashire) Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army during the First World War and the Second World War. It was assigned to the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division and served in the Middle East and on the Western Front i ...

, during which time Green was promoted to temporary captain on 17 January 1916 and substantive captain on 26 June 1917, with precedence of 5 June 1917, later backdated to 1 June 1916. He transferred to the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tank ...

(Infantry) as a captain on 25 March 1918, retaining his seniority of 1 June 1916. He was promoted to major in the 4th Battalion East Lancs Regiment on 24 January 1921, and was granted rank as a temporary major in the 4th ( Defence Force) Battalion on 9 April 1921. Following the formation of the Territorial Army, Green was confirmed as a major in the 4th/5th Battalion of the regiment on 1 January 1922, and on 16 February 1928 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel commanding the battalion. He was granted brevet rank as colonel on 16 February 1932 and substantive rank as colonel on 16 February 1934, with seniority from the date of his brevet rank. On 30 September 1934 Green was appointed to command the

, with the temporary rank of brigadier from 24 November 1937. He relinquished his appointment and temporary rank on 30 September 1938, was made supernumerary to the establishment on 11 April 1945, and having exceeded the age limit, retired from the Territorial Army on 18 June 1948, retaining the rank of colonel.

Honours

Green was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

on 17 December 1917. His citation read: Green received the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

on 5 May 1925, was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Lancashire on 2 November 1935, and was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in the 1937 Coronation Honours. As Commandant of the Lancashire Special Constabulary he was made an Additional

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the 1946 New Year's Honours and as Chairman of the Civil Defence Committee,

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...

, he was advanced to

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1959 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1959 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

. He was

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...

in 1954.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Leonard 1890 births 1963 deaths English cricketers Lancashire cricketers Lancashire cricket captains Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 L. H. Tennyson's XI cricket team Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Deputy Lieutenants of Lancashire East Lancashire Regiment officers Machine Gun Corps officers Military personnel from Lancashire British Army personnel of World War I High Sheriffs of Lancashire