Captain Wilfred John Hutton Curwen (14 April 1883 – 9 May 1915) was an English

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 ...

er who played for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

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. ...

and MCC between 1906 and 1910. He was born in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

and died near

Poperinghe Poperinge (; french: Poperinghe, ； vls, Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge pr ...

, Belgium, on active service 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 ...

. Curwen was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

and

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 ...

. At Oxford he was a double blue in cricket and association football. One of the team of

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

MCC cricketers that toured New Zealand in 1906-07, Curwen was described before the tour thus: "Plays all the games, is very popular with the ladies, and dances divinely." He made his highest first-class score in the tour match against

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

, when he went to the wicket with the score at 54 for 6 and made a dashing 76 in 77 minutes, taking the total to 200 before he was last out. Curwen joined the London Regiment as a lieutenant in 1911. He went to Australia, where he served as '' aide-de-camp'' to the

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and the ...

, Sir John Fuller, and two

Governors-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Baron Denman Baron Denman, of Dovedale in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1834 for the prominent lawyer, judge and Whig politician Thomas Denman. He served as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench fro ...

and Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson. When 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 ...

began he returned to Great Britain and joined the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

. He was killed in action in the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pre ...

Nigel McCrery Nigel Colin McCrery (born 30 October 1953 in London) is an English screenwriter and ex-police officer. He is the creator of the long-running crime dramas ''Silent Witness'' (1996-present) and ''New Tricks'' (2003-15). Early life Because of his fa ...

, ''Final Wicket: Test and First Class Cricketers Killed in the Great War'',

Pen and Sword Books Pen and Sword Books, also stylised as Pen & Sword, is a British publisher which specialises in printing and distributing books in both hardback and softback on military history, militaria and other niche subjects; factual non-fiction, primarily ...

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, 2015, p. 86.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Curwen, Wilfred 1883 births 1915 deaths Military personnel from Kent English cricketers Surrey cricketers Oxford University cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Royal Fusiliers officers British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of World War I London Regiment officers