Sir Geoffrey William Vavasour, 5th Baronet (5 September 1914 – 28 July 1997) was an Irish-born

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

first-class cricketer and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer. He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with distinction, where he was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) 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 of t ...

and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. After the war he played

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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for the

Combined Services cricket team The Combined Services cricket team represents the British Armed Forces. The team played at first-class level in England for more than forty years in the mid-twentieth century. Their first first-class match was against Gentlemen of England at Lo ...

. He succeeded his father as the 5th Baronet of Hazelwood in 1961.

Early life and WWII

The son of Sir Leonard Vavasour and his wife, Ellice Margaret Nelson, Vavasour was born at Queenstown,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He attended the Royal Naval Dartmouth, graduating in September 1935 as a sub-lieutenant. He was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in September 1937. He married his first wife, Joan Millicent Kirkland Robb, in 1940, with the couple having two daughters. He served in the Royal Navy in the

, during which he was

in March 1942. He was resident at

Rowland's Castle Rowlands Castle is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 2.9 miles (4.7 km) north of Havant, on the Hampshire/West Sussex border. The focal point of the village is the village green which i ...

in Hampshire in 1944. Vavasour was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in April 1944. He was again mentioned in dispatches in May 1944. In the final month of the war he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander.

Post-war and later life

Following the war, Vavasour played one

match for the

against

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

in 1947 at

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

. Batting twice in the match, Vavasour was dismissed for 8 runs in the Combined Services first-innings by William Nevell, while in their second-innings he was dismissed by

John Timms John Edward Timms (3 November 1906 – 18 March 1980) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Northamptonshire. He was a right-handed middle order batsman and a part time right arm medium pace bowler. Timms made his first-class debu ...

for 6 runs. He was divorced from his wife in the same year. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander in December 1949. He was promoted to the rank of

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

between 1950 and 1958, with Vavasour retiring from active service in February 1958. Vavasour succeeded his father as the 5th Baronet of Hazelwood in September 1961. He was the director of W M Still & Sons, a kitchen equipment manufacturer, in 1962. He married Marcia Christine Lodge in 1971, with the couple divorcing in 1980. Vavasour died at

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

in July 1997. He was succeeded by his cousin, Eric Vavasour, as the 6th Baronet.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vavasour, Geoffrey 1914 births 1997 deaths Military personnel from County Cork Sportspeople from Cobh Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) English cricketers Combined Services cricketers Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom

Geoffrey Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (given name), including a list of people with the name Geoffrey or Geoffroy * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (musician) (born 1987), Canadian ...

People from Rowland's Castle Cricketers from Hampshire Irish officers in the Royal Navy 20th-century English sportsmen