Robert Abercrombie Anstruther (3 August 1879 — 27 August 1945) was an Irish-born Scottish 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 the Scottish soldier Philip Robert Anstruther, he was born in Ireland at

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

in August 1879. He was commissioned into the British Army from the Royal Military Academy 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 June 1898. He served with the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

during the Second Boer War, being promoted to lieutenant during the conflict in February 1901. He was later promoted 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 ...

in November 1905. Whilst serving in British India, Anstruther made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the Europeans cricket team against the Parsees at Deccan in the 1910–11 Bombay Presidency Match. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed for 4 runs opening the batting by

Jehangir Warden Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

, whilst following-on in their second innings he was dismissed for 7 runs by M. B. Vatcha. With the ball, he took the wickets of D. D. Driver and Rustomji Meherhomji in the Parsees first innings, for the cost of 73 runs from 16

overs Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England *Over, South Gloucestershire, England *Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England **Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by Pete ...

. In the military, Anstruther served in the First World War with the

40th Brigade Royal Field Artillery XL Brigade, Royal Field Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery which served 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 histor ...

, being

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 October 1914. In the same month as his dispatches mention, he was promoted to

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 ...

. Whilst part of the British Salonika Army opposing Bulgarian advances on the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of German ...

, Anstruther was again mentioned in dispatches, and was later made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in the

1917 Birthday Honours The 1917 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

. Following the war, he was placed on the half-pay list on account of ill health in August 1920 and retired in August 1921. Anstruther died at his home in Carnbee in Scotland on 27 August 1945. His uncle,

Alexander Anstruther Alexander William Anstruther (3 October 1846 – 18 October 1902) was an Indian-born Scottish first-class cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman who played first-class cricket for Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex Sussex (), from ...

, was also a first-class cricket. He was also a cousin to Sir Ralph Anstruther, the 6th Baronet of the Anstruther baronets.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anstruther, Robert 1879 births 1945 deaths Sportspeople from Armagh (city) Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Field Artillery officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Scottish cricketers Europeans cricketers British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Robert Military personnel from County Armagh