Louis Arthur Frederick Weigall (14 December 1873 – 13 February 1957) was an English first-class cricketer and British Army Officer. Weigall served in the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and the South Staffordshire Regiment during the First World War, and later played first-class cricket in British India.

Early life and military career

Born in Marylebone, Middlesex, Weigall was son of a Victorian artist,

Henry Weigall Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

(best known for his portrait of

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

in 1878–1879), and his wife, Lady Rose Sophia Mary Fane, daughter of John Fane, 11th Earl of Westmorland, and wife Priscilla Anne Wellesley-Pole. Through his mother, he was connected to the Duke of Wellington. A younger brother was Lieutenant Colonel Sir William Ernest George Archibald Weigall, 1st Baronet, KCMG, a Conservative Member of Parliament who was Governor of South Australia. One of his older brothers was the cricketer Gerry Weigall (born Gerald John Villiers Weigall). Another brother,

Evelyn Evelyn may refer to: Places * Evelyn, London *Evelyn Gardens, a garden square in London * Evelyn, Ontario, Canada * Evelyn, Michigan, United States * Evelyn, Texas, United States * Evelyn, Wirt County, West Virginia, United States * Evelyn ...

, was also first-class cricketer. Weigall was educated at Wellington College, before enlisting in the

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 ...

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 ...

in December 1892. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in October 1893, with promotion to

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 ...

following in February 1898. He transferred to the Royal Berkshire Regiment in that same year. Weigall ran a fishing company in Grimsby during the first decade of the 1900s, with the company ceasing to trade in 1909. Being located in Grimsby meant he played

minor counties cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes un ...

for Lincolnshire from 1907–1914, making eight appearances in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

World War I and first-class cricket

Weigall served during the First World War as a captain in the Lincolnshire Regiment, though he was seconded to the South Staffordshire Regiment in January 1917. During his secondment he was promoted to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in December 1917. He served in British India with the South Staffordshire Regiment, during which he made his debut in first-class cricket for the

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...

against the Parsees at Bombay in December 1917. Weigall spent two years in India playing first-class cricket. He played for Lord Willingdon's XI in March 1918. In the days before India had Test status, Weigall played a first-class match in November 1918 for England against India at Bombay, playing alongside his brother

Gerry Gerry is both a surname and a masculine or feminine given name. As a given name, it is often a short form (hypocorism) of Gerard, Gerald or Geraldine. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), fifth US vice presi ...

. The match was a mock Test match celebrating the signing of the armistice to halt the war. He played seven first-class matches in India, scoring 171 runs at an average of 13.15, with a high score of 57. As a bowler, he also took 5 wickets. He died at

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

on 13 February 1957.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weigall, Louis 1873 births 1957 deaths Cricketers from Marylebone People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Rifle Brigade officers Royal Berkshire Regiment officers English cricketers Lincolnshire cricketers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Lincolnshire Regiment officers South Staffordshire Regiment officers Europeans cricketers Europeans and Parsees cricketers Lord Willingdon's XI cricketers Non-international England cricketers Military personnel from Middlesex