Brigadier Lionel Peter Collins CB, CSI, DSO, OBE (27 November 1878 – 28 September 1957) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

cricketer and British Indian Army officer. Collins played minor counties cricket for Berkshire and after attending Keble College, Oxford

first-class cricket 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 officia ...

for

Oxford University Cricket Club Oxford University Cricket Club (OUCC), which represents the University of Oxford, has always held first-class status since 1827 when it made its debut in the inaugural University Match between OUCC and Cambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC). ...

. He joined the British Army after university and in 1901 was seconded to the

Indian Staff Corps The Indian Staff Corps was a branch of the Indian Army during the British Raj. Separate Staff Corps were formed in 1861 for the Bengal, Madras and Bombay Armies, which were later combined into the Indian Army. They were meant to provide officers f ...

, serving with the

Gurkha Brigade The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective name which refers to all the units in the British Army that are composed of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. The brigade draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army ...

of the British Indian Army. He was in England and North America in 1907 playing for the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

and later appeared for the Army and Navy and

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. Will ...

cricket teams. Collins served with the Gurkhas on the Western Front of the

First World War 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 ...

and received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

in 1915 for actions during the

Battle of Neuve Chapelle The Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March 1915) took place in the First World War in the Artois region of France. The attack was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, which would then be exploited with a rush to the Aubers Ridge a ...

. He later returned to British India and was mentioned in dispatches for service in Baluchistan. Collins was with British forces during the

Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

of 1919 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his actions. From 1932 to 1936 he was a brigadier and commandant of the Indian Military College at

Dehra Dun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislativ ...

Early life, cricket and military career

The seventh son of Henry Collins, he was born at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

on 27 November 1878. Collins was educated at Marlborough College, before going up to Keble College, Oxford in 1898. He had debuted in minor counties cricket for Berkshire in 1897, before debuting in

for

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 th ...

against AJ Webbe's XI at

Oxford 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 ...

in 1899. He made six further first-class appearances for the university, all of which came in 1899 and gained him a

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. While attending Oxford, he also gained a blue in

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

. After graduating from Oxford, Collins enlisted in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in April 1900 as a second lieutenant in the 6th (militia) battalion of the

Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regiment f ...

. He transferred to a regular army battalion in January of the following year. In October 1901 he was seconded to serve in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

with the

, being promoted to lieutenant on 21 December. Collins toured India with a Gurkha Brigade cricket team in February 1904 and three times in ten days made two centuries in the same match. ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' described the feat as "quite without parallel in the history of the game". Collins returned to England in 1907, when he played eight first-class matches for the

(MCC), including two on their 1907 tour of North America. He also played seven matches for Berkshire in the 1907 Minor Counties Championship. By 1910, he was serving in the

4th Gorkha Rifles The 4th Gorkha Rifles or the Fourth Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 4 GR, is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese nationality, especially Magars and Gurungs hill tribes of Nepal. The Fourth Gorkha Rifles h ...

and was promoted to captain in March of that year. Collins once again returned to England in the summer of 1910, where he resumed playing first-class cricket. He made one appearance for the MCC ''against'' Oxford University, and appeared for the combined Army and Navy cricket team against Oxford and Cambridge Universities at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

, as well as appearing for Berkshire in minor counties cricket. Collins made two final first-class appearances in 1913 for the

. Across nineteen first-class matches, he scored 858 runs at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

of 26.81. He made one century, a score of 102

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

against Oxford University in 1910. He played his final minor counties match for Berkshire in the same year, having by that point appeared for the county in 42 Minor Counties Championship matches.

WWI and later military career

Collins served with the Gurkhas in the

, during which he received the

in May 1915 for gallantry and devotion to duty during an attack on a German trench during the

. He was made a brevet major in June 1916, and was confirmed permanently in the rank in April 1917. He was made a temporary lieutenant colonel while in change of a battalion in May 1917. He returned to British India with the Gurkhas in 1918, where he was mentioned in dispatches during action in Baluchistan. Shortly after the conclusion of the war, he was again made a temporary lieutenant colonel while in change of a battalion in January 1919, but relinquished the rank the following month. Collins served in the

of 1919 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 3 August 1920 for his role in this campaign. He was appointed to the rank of lieutenant colonel permanently in February 1925. From 1932 to 1936 Collins, then a temporary brigadier, was the first commandant of the Indian Military College at

. He was appointed as a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in the 1934 Birthday Honours. In the 1936 Birthday Honours he was made a Companion to the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointmen ...

. He retired from military service in October 1936, upon which he was granted the honorary rank of brigadier. From 1934 to 1936, Collins was an aide-de-camp to

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

, ceasing in the post upon the king's death in January 1936. He died at

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, on 28 September 1957.

Family

Collins married Gladys Lysaght in 1910. The couple had two sons (Peter Rutherford Collins born 1911 and John Humphrey Collins born at Quetta, Indian in 1918) and one daughter Rosemary Emily Collins.

Honours and awards

*8 May 1915 – Captain Lionel Peter Collins, 1st Battalion, 4th Gurkha Rifles is appointed a

Companion of the Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

in recognition of his gallantry and devotion to duty whilst serving with the Expedition Force:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Lionel 1878 births 1957 deaths Military personnel from Reading, Berkshire sportspeople from Reading, Berkshire People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of Keble College, Oxford English cricketers Berkshire cricketers Oxford University cricketers Worcestershire Regiment officers Indian Staff Corps officers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Army and Navy cricketers Free Foresters cricketers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Gurkha Rifles officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War Members of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of the Star of India Commandants of Indian Military Academy