Duncan Victor Norbury (3 August 1887 – 23 October 1972) was an English all-round sportsman, who played

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 ...

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 ...

and

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

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

Cricket career

He made his first-class debut for

in a

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

New Road, Worcester New Road is a cricket ground in the English city of Worcester. It has been the home ground of Worcestershire County Cricket Club since 1896. Since October 2017 the ground has been known for sponsorship purposes as Blackfinch New Road following ...

in June 1905. He appeared regularly for Hampshire that summer, and twice in 1906, making a total of eleven appearances, scoring a total of 179 runs.First-class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Victor Norbury
/ref> Between 1909 and 1913, 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 unde ...

with

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, making 24 appearances in total and establishing a reputation as a reliable opening batsman and slow right-arm bowler. From 1912 onwards, Norbury also played for East Lancashire as a professional, claiming over 100 wickets for the 1912 and 1913 seasons. After 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 ...

, he joined

for whom he made eight appearances in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

. In a match against

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, Norbury scored his only first-class century when he scored exactly 100 runs in a drawn match. Whilst on the books of the county club, he continued to turn out for East Lancashire in the Lancashire League until 1924. His next county championship appearances came for Lancashire in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, when he made a further six appearances. His

swan song The swan song ( grc, κύκνειον ᾆσμα; la, carmen cygni) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful so ...

as a professional cricketer came in 1935, when he played for Sir Lindsay Parkinson's XI against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

Football career

Norbury was born in

Bartley Bartley is a family name and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Barrington Bartley (born 1980), Jamaican-American cricketer *Charles Bartley (1921–1996), American scientist * David M. Bartley (born 1935), American pol ...

on the eastern edge of the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. His youth football was played for the village team and later for

Brockenhurst Brockenhurst is the largest village by population within the New Forest in Hampshire, England. The nearest city is Southampton some to the North East, while Bournemouth is also nearby, South West. Surrounding towns and villages include Beaul ...

, from where he joined

in 1905. Norbury spent most of his football career in the reserves, but made his debut for the first team as a replacement at

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Horace Glover Horace Victor Glover (1883 – 28 January 1967) was an English professional footballer who played at left-back for Southampton and West Ham United in the decade prior to World War I. Football career Glover was born in Ashford, Kent and trained ...

away to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

on 29 September 1906. Norbury retained his place for the next match, in a 5–1 victory at home to

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

. This was the "Saints" first win of the season (having managed only two draws in the first five matches); despite this, Norbury lost his place back to Glover and made only one further first-team appearance, taking over from

Jack Eastham John Bilborough Eastham (1883 – 3 May 1932) was an English association football, footballer who spent most of his career with Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers and then Southampton F.C., Southampton playing as a Defender (association foo ...

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

at home to

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profess ...

on 16 February 1907. In the summer of 1907, he turned out for his local village team, Bartley Cross, but broke his leg, thus preventing him from playing cricket that summer.

Personal life

Norbury's brother-in-law, Henry Smoker, also played cricket for Hampshire and football for Southampton. Victor served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th (2nd Nott ...

and

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Ref ...

during the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norbury, Victor 1887 births 1972 deaths People from New Forest District English cricketers Hampshire cricketers Lancashire cricketers Northumberland cricketers English men's footballers Brockenhurst F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Southern Football League players Men's association football central defenders British Army personnel of World War I East Lancashire Regiment officers South Lancashire Regiment officers Military personnel from Hampshire Cricketers from Hampshire Footballers from Hampshire