Major William Booth (10 December 1886 – 1 July 1916) was a
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 who played for
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Yorkshire. Yorkshire are the most successful team in English cricketing hi ...
between
1908
Events
January
* January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica.
* January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...
and
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
, a season in which he was named one of the
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...
.
Note that "Major" was a given name, not a military rank. His international career was restricted to the
1913–14 tour of South Africa, which was the last
Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
tour before 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 ...
. After receiving a commission in the
West Yorkshire Regiment
)
, march = ''Ça Ira''
, battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine
, anniversaries = Imphal (22 June)
The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...
, Booth became
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 ...
Major Booth, and died just under a year later when he went over the top on the trenches on 1 July 1916, the first day of the
Somme offensive
The Battle of the Somme (French language, French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. I ...
. After his death his sister would light a candle in his room every night in the hope that he would return.
Cricket career
Booth's earliest cricket was played at
Fulneck School
Fulneck School is a small independent day and boarding school, situated in the Fulneck Moravian Settlement, in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, England. It provides education for pupils between the ages of 3 and 18. The School is part of the Fulneck est ...
, and later he was associated with Pudsey St. Lawrence and the Wath Athletic Club, which played in the Mexborough League, and of which he was captain. He appeared regularly for Yorkshire Second Eleven in 1907 and the two following seasons,
and in 1908 received his first trial for the county against Somerset at Dewsbury without success.
He did not, however, secure a regular place in the team until two years later, but in 1911 he scored 1,125 runs for his county and took seventy-four wickets, with a highest innings of 210 against
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
on the Worcester ground. Booth increased his reputation as a bowler in the following summer, and
in 1913 made over a thousand runs and took 158 wickets for Yorkshire, whilst his aggregate of 181 wickets in first-class matches was the highest of any bowler that season. In 1914 he was not so successful in batting – it was said during the 1913 season that he should concentrate on bowling as his build was not ideal for hard work
– but he obtained 141 wickets for Yorkshire at a cost of 18 runs apiece. Although a fine punishing batsman, Booth's claim to fame will rest chiefly upon what he accomplished as a bowler. Possessed of a free, natural action, he made the ball come quickly off the pitch. On occasion his off-break was quite formidable, but his strong points were swerve and pace off the ground.
[Booth's Obituary](_blank)
in the 1917 '' John Wisden's Cricketers' Almanac''
Notable feats
His best feats with the ball may be summarised thus:
*8–47, Yorkshire v. Middlesex, at Leeds 1912
*8–52, Yorkshire v. Leicestershire, at Sheffield 1912
*8–64, Yorkshire v. Essex, at Leyton 1914
*8–86, Yorkshire v. Middlesex, at Sheffield: 1913
*7–21, Yorkshire v. MCC and Ground, at Lord's 1914
*14–160 (match figures), Yorkshire v. Essex, at Leyton 1914
*3 wkts in 3 balls, Yorkshire v. Worcestershire, at Bradford 1911
*3 wkts in 3 balls Yorkshire v. Essex, at Leyton 1912
*3 wkts in 4 balls Yorkshire v. Warwickshire, at Sheffield 1913
*3 wkts in 4 balls Yorkshire v. MCC and Ground, at Lord's 1914
*3 wkts in 4 balls Yorkshire v. Kent, at Sheffield 1914
In two consecutive matches in August 1914, he and Drake bowled unchanged throughout, Gloucestershire being dismissed for 94 and 84 at Bristol and
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
for 44 and 90 at Weston-super-Mare. In the second innings of the latter match Booth had the very rare experience of bowling throughout without obtaining a wicket, Drake taking all ten for 35 runs.
In 1913 Booth was chosen for the
Players at
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
, and during 1913–14 toured South Africa with MCC's team under
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
*Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...
' captaincy. His doings abroad were somewhat disappointing, and so strong was the side that he was left out of three of the Test matches. In the 144 games in which he appeared for Yorkshire Booth scored 4,213 runs with an average of 22.65 and obtained 556 wickets for 18.89 runs each.
Booth was brought up at Town End House near the Britannia Inn at Pudsey. Tall, good-looking, and of engaging address, he was a very popular figure both on and off the cricket field. He was the best man at the wedding of his team-mate
Roy Kilner
Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin.
In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...
, who named a son after him. There is a memorial tablet in St Lawrence Church in Booth's memory.
Football career
Booth had a short
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
career with
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
and
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
.
Army service
In 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 ...
Booth joined 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 ...
as an enlisted man and rose to the rank of
sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
before being commissioned 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 ...
on 16 July 1915.
[Medal card of Booth, Major William]
''DocumentsOnlines'', The National Archives
National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives.
Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
(fee usually required to download pdf image of original medal card). Retrieved on 13 September 2010. Later that year he was posted to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, arriving on 22 December 1915,
before returning to the Western Front.
On 1 July 1916 he went "over the top" near La Cigny on the
Somme while serving with the 15th (Service) Battalion, the
West Yorkshire Regiment
)
, march = ''Ça Ira''
, battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine
, anniversaries = Imphal (22 June)
The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...
(Prince of Wales's Own), also known as "The Leeds Pals".
He was followed a short while later by another wave of soldiers among whom was
Abe Waddington
Abraham "Abe" Waddington, sometimes known as Abram Waddington (4 February 1893 – 28 October 1959), was a professional cricketer for Yorkshire, who played in two Test matches for England, both against Australia in 1920–21. Between 191 ...
(later also Yorkshire and England). Waddington was hit and found himself in a shell hole near
Serre with Booth, who was also injured, and held him until he died. Booth's body then remained there until the spring, when he was buried at
Serre Road No 1 Cemetery.
![YCCC1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/YCCC1.jpg)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Major
1886 births
1916 deaths
Cricketers from Pudsey
English cricketers of 1890 to 1918
West Yorkshire Regiment officers
British Army personnel of World War I
British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme
England Test cricketers
English cricketers
Yorkshire cricketers
Military personnel from Yorkshire
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
People educated at Fulneck School
Players cricketers
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
English footballers
Bradford City A.F.C. players
Doncaster Rovers F.C. players
Midland Football League players
Association footballers not categorized by position
Lord Londesborough's XI cricketers
Marylebone Cricket Club South African Touring Team cricketers