Peter Marriott Raleigh Scott (1 February 1912 – 13 June 1944) was an English first-class

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 and British Army officer. The son of Thomas Gilbert Scott, he was born at Marylebone in February 1912. His relatives included his brother Robert, grandfather

Charles Marriott Charles Stowell "Father" Marriott (14 September 1895 – 13 October 1966) was an English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Lancashire, Cambridge University and Kent. Marriott played between 1919 and 1938 and was considered one of th ...

and great-uncle George Marriott. He was educated at Winchester College, before going up to

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

to study law. While studying at Oxford, he played first-class cricket for Oxford University in 1932 and 1933, making five appearances. Scott scored 114 runs in his five matches, at an average of 16.28 and a high score of 37. With his left-arm

fast Fast or FAST may refer to: * Fast (noun), high speed or velocity * Fast (noun, verb), to practice fasting, abstaining from food and/or water for a certain period of time Acronyms and coded Computing and software * ''Faceted Application of Subje ...

bowling, he took 5 wickets with best figures of 2 for 22. Scott married Katherine Nina Grant Smith in 1938. He served in the Second World War, 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 ...

with the

4th County of London Yeomanry The 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. It was raised in 1901 from Second Boer War veterans of the Imperial Yeomanry. During the First World War it served dismounted at Gallipoli, was remou ...

in September 1939. The Yeomanry was sent to the Middle East in early 1941 and from there was transferred to the Western Dersert in June 1942, where Scott saw action at the British defensive lines at Maabus er Rigel and was wounded when his tank was hit by enemy fire. Holding the rank of lieutenant by mid-1942, he was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in August 1942. He was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in December 1942 and assumed command of C Squadron in the Yeomanry in February 1943, at which point he held the temporary rank of

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 ...

. In April 1943, now an acting

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 ...

, Scott took part in the

Battle of Wadi Akarit The Battle of Wadi Akarit (Operation Scipio) was an Allied attack from 6 to 7 April 1943, to dislodge Axis forces from positions along the Wadi Akarit in Tunisia during the Tunisia Campaign of the Second World War. The Gabès Gap, north of the tow ...

, where his actions commanding tanks across a minefield saw him decorated with a bar to his Military Cross. During the latter stages of the North African campaign, troops commanded by Scott were among the first to enter Tunis during its capture. Following the conclusion of operations in North Africa, the Yeomanry saw action during the Allied invasion of Italy at Salerno in September 1943, before crossing the Volturno River in October. Scott returned to England with the Yeomanry in December 1943, in order to train other units in preparation for the invasion of German-occupied France. Scott landed at Arromanches on 7 June 1944, one day after the start of the invasion. Six days later the Yeomanry were tasked with the capture of Villers-Bocage. After taking the town, they were halted to its east after being attacked by the

101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 101st Heavy SS Panzer Battalion (german: Schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 101) was a German heavy tank battalion in the Waffen-SS during World War II. With the introduction of new Tiger II tanks in late 1944, the unit was renumbered as the ''501st He ...

, during which Scott was killed by a

Tiger tank Tiger tank may refer to: *Tiger I, or ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf. E'', a German heavy tank produced from 1942 to 1944 *Tiger II, or ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf. B'', a German heavy tank produced from 1943 to 1945, also known as ''Kön ...

commanded by tank ace Michael Wittmann. He was buried at the

Bayeux War Cemetery The Bayeux War Cemetery is the largest Second World War cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France, located in Bayeux, Normandy. The cemetery contains 4,648 burials, mostly of the Invasion of Normandy. Opposite this cemetery stands the Bayeux ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Peter 1912 births 1944 deaths Cricketers from Paddington People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford English cricketers Oxford University cricketers 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) officers Recipients of the Military Cross British Army personnel killed in World War II Burials at Bayeux war cemetery Deaths by firearm in France Deaths by explosive device Military personnel from Paddington