Reginald Edgar Gilbert Fulljames MC (13 November 1896 – 31 July 1985) 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 and an officer in both the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

(RFC) and the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF), serving in both world wars.

Life and military service

Born at Southsea, Hampshire in November 1896 to pawnbroker Gilbert Fulljames and Edith Marianne (née Totterdell), daughter of a Portsmouth corset manufacturer he was educated at

Sutton Valence School Sutton Valence School (SVS) is an independent school near Maidstone in southeast England. It has 560 pupils. It is a co-educational day and boarding school. There are three senior boarding houses: Westminster, St Margaret's and Sutton. History ...

, before attending

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

. He served during

World War I 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 learnt to fly in 1916, before serving with the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in France in 1917 with the rank of

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 ...

. He was shot down three times during the course of the war, including once by the infamous German flying ace Baron von Richthofen. The Royal Flying Corps was merged into the

in April 1918, with Fulljames also transferring to the new service. For his services as a pilot during the war he 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 ...

. He became a flying instructor in 1918, and following the war he was granted the rank of

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

in 1919. With the war having interrupted his studies, he completed his engineering course at Downing College in 1922. He served as member of the technical staff at RAF headquarters 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 ...

from 1923 to 1926, including as chief technical officer at RAF Drigh Road in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

. He made his debut in

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 officiall ...

for the Royal Air Force cricket team against the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

in 1927. He was promoted from flight lieutenant to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

in December 1928, while serving at The School of Technical Training at

RAF Halton Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...

. His first-class appearances for the RAF continued in 1928, with Fulljames playing first-class cricket for the RAF until 1932, making eight appearances. A successful bowler for the RAF, he would take a total of 38 wickets at a good

bowling average In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...

of 20.92. He twice took

five wickets in an innings In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Taki ...

and once took

ten wickets in a match In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowle ...

, with best innings bowling figures of 7/25. His haul of 38 wickets would eventually make him the RAF's leading wicket-taker in first-class cricket. By July 1935, Fulljames had been promoted from squadron leader to Wing Commander. He served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, during which he achieved the rank of Wing Commander in March 1940. By 1945, he held the rank of temporary

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

. He retired from active service in May 1945, retaining the now permanent rank of group captain. Shortly after retiring from the RAF, he stood as the Liberal Party candidate for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the

1945 General Election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgaria ...

. He died at

Curdridge Curdridge is a village and civil parish within the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. The parish also contains the similarly-named village of Curbridge. The village has a small school. The parish is located eight miles to the ea ...

, Hampshire, on 31 July 1985. He was survived by his wife, Annie Muriel Fulljames, with whom he had two children.

References

External links

Reginald Fulljames
at

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Reginald Fulljames
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:Fulljames, Reginald 1896 births 1985 deaths People from Southsea People educated at Sutton Valence School Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Air Force personnel of World War II English cricketers Royal Air Force cricketers Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates

Life and military service

See also

References

External links