William Samuel Plenderleath Lithgow (18 February 1920 – 8 August 1997) 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. Lithgow played first-class cricket before the Second World War for Oxford University. After the war he embarked on a career as a professional soldier, serving in both the Royal Artillery and the

10th Royal Hussars The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince A ...

until 1968. He later served as a bodyguard to Elizabeth II in the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms from 1970 to 1990.

Early life and first-class cricket

The son of Captain Douglas Plenderleath Lithgow and his wife, Dorothy Kathleen Hughes-Onslow, he was born at Westminster in February 1920. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

, before going up to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. While studying at Oxford, he made three appearances in first-class cricket for Oxford University in 1939, playing against the Free Foresters, the Minor Counties cricket team and

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. ...

. He scored 69 runs in these matches, with a high score of 27. In addition to playing first-class cricket, Lithgow also appeared in

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 ...

for

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, making eight appearances in

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

between 1937 and 1939.

Military career and later life

He was 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 the Oxford University contingent of the Officers' Training Corps. Having served in the Second World War, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in July 1974, with promotion 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 ...

coming in August of the same year, at which point he was serving with the Royal Artillery. He married in May 1947, with the couple having three children. He concluded his minor counties career with Oxfordshire in 1948 and 1949, making three final appearances in the Minor Counties Championship. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

in February 1954. Having been transferred to the

at some point prior to 1961, he was placed on the

Reserve of Officers The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the Ter ...

list in 1961, before returning to the establishment in April 1965. He had been promoted to the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in April 1962. Having retired from active service in February 1968, Lithgow was appointed by Elizabeth II to the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms in May 1970. He retired from his bodyguard duties with the Honourable Corps in February 1990. He served as the chairman of selectors of the British Olympic equestrian team. He died in August 1997 at

South Newington South Newington is a village and civil parish on the south bank of the River Swere in the Cotswold Hills in Oxfordshire, England, about southwest of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 285. Manors Evidence of a Romano ...

, Oxfordshire.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lithgow, William 1920 births 1997 deaths Cricketers from the City of Westminster People from Westminster People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English cricketers Oxfordshire cricketers Oxford University cricketers British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery officers 10th Royal Hussars officers Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Military personnel from Westminster