Sir William O'Brien Lindsay (8 October 1909 – 20 October 1975) was the Chief Justice of

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ') was a condominium (international law), condominium of the United Kingdom and Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day South Sudan and Sudan. Legally, sovereig ...

from 1950 or 1954 to 1955, during the period when it was administered as an Anglo-Egyptian condominium. He served in the Sudan Political Service from 1932 to 1955, and later establishing a law firm in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya. Lindsay was a talented sportsman as a youth, playing

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

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ken ...

Early life and family

Lindsay was born in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, to Elsie Catherine Harriet (née Riddiford) and Michael Egan Lindsay. His parents were both

New Zealanders New Zealanders are people associated with New Zealand, sharing a common History of New Zealand, history, Culture of New Zealand, culture, and language (New Zealand English). People of various ethnicities and national origins are citizens of Ne ...

by birth, with his mother being the daughter of

Edward Joshua Riddiford Edward Joshua "King" Riddiford (7 August 1842 – 2 May 1911) was a New Zealand runholder. He was born in Hutt Valley, Wellington, New Zealand in 1842. He married Eleanor Caroline (Nellie) Bunny (1860–1938) on 3 October 1878 at St James' Church ...

and granddaughter of

Henry Bunny Henry Bunny (7 October 1822 – 15 February 1891) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in the Wairarapa, New Zealand. Early life Henry Bunny was born in 1822 in Newbury in Berkshire, the second son of Jere Bunny, solicitor, of that town an ...

, both prominent landowners there."Sir William O'Brien 'Wob' Lindsay"
– Clan MacFarlane and associated clans genealogy. Retrieved 13 August 2015. However, the couple's four children were all born in the United Kingdom – their father had served with the 1st New Zealand Contingent during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, then transferring to the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

as an officer with the

7th Dragoon Guards The 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1688 as Lord Cavendish's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 8th Horse in 1694 and the 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards for ...

and the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry in World War I. He became a Deputy Lieutenant of

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

Sporting career

Like his older brothers, Lindsay was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

. He played for the school cricket team for three years, captaining it in 1928, his final year, when he averaged 55 runs per innings.Lindsey, Sir William O'Brien KBE
Obituaries in 1975, ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'', 1976. Retrieved 15 August 2019.William Lindsay
CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 August 2015. also representing a combined Public Schools side.Miscellaneous matches played by William Lindsay
CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 August 2015. He went on to

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, and began playing for the

Oxford University Cricket Club Oxford University Cricket Club (OUCC), which represents the University of Oxford, had held first-class status since 1827 when it made its debut in the inaugural University Match between OUCC and Cambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC). Follo ...

, making his first-class debut in June 1929, against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. A

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

and right-handed top-order

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

,Jeater D (2020) ''County Cricket: Sundry Extras'' (second edition), p.102.
Available online
at the

Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Stati ...

. Retrieved 23 December 2020.) Lindsay went on to play three more first-class games during the 1929 season – two for Oxford (against the

Free Foresters Free Foresters Cricket Club is an England, English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. The Free Foresters were founded by the ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

), and one for

, his father's place of residence.First-class matches played by William Lindsay
CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 August 2015. His sole appearance for Scotland came against the touring South African team, which was completed within two days as Scotland lost by an innings. Lindsay played only once at first-class level during the 1930 season, but the following year made five first-class appearances for Oxford, including in the annual

University Match The University Match is an annual cricket fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. First played in 1827, it is the oldest varsity match in the world. Until 2001, when first-class cricket was reorga ...

against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(played at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

). He also made two

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

appearances for

, against

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

within the space of five days. He kept wicket and opened the batting (with Colin Fairservice) against Warwickshire, but

Les Ames Leslie Ethelbert George Ames (3 December 1905 – 27 February 1990) was a wicket-keeper and batsman for the England cricket team and Kent County Cricket Club. Born at Elham, Kent, Ames began his first-class cricket, first-class career with h ...

, the county's usual wicket-keeper, returned against Middlesex, with Lindsay playing solely as a batsman.Carlaw D (2020) ''Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part Two: 1919–1939'', pp.113–114.
Available online
at the

. Retrieved 23 December 2020.) In 1932, Lindsay played in another five first-class fixtures for the university, and against Lancashire scored 63 runs, his first and only half-century. His season included matches against two touring international teams,

the Indians The Indians are an uninhabited small archipelago of islets in the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. They are west of the small British Pelican Island and east of the small US Flanagan Island. They are located south of larger Briti ...

and the South Americans, with his game against the South American composite side being his final first-class match.

Professional career and later life

In 1932, Lindsay joined the Sudan Political Service, which administered

. During the Second World War, he was twice given an emergency commission as a second lieutenant in the

Sudan Defence Force The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces unit raised in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1925 to assist local police in internal security duties and maintain the condominium's territorial integrity. During World War II, ...

. Towards the war's end, in 1944, Lindsay transferred to the legal department of the civil service. He was appointed to the country's judiciary, as chief justice in 1950 according to one source and 1954 according to another source. He served until 1955, as one of the last British chief justices before the country was given independence in 1956 (

Republic of the Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

). Upon leaving office, he was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) in the

1955 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1955 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

. After retiring, Lindsay opened a law firm in

, Kenya, where he lived until his death in 1975 (aged 66). He had married three times – firstly in 1937, to Sevilla Glass Hooper; secondly in 1962, to Elizabeth Doreen Sturman; and thirdly in 1975 (three months before his death), to Michaela Denis (the widow and partner of filmmaker Armand Denis).(12 May 2003)
Michaela Denis
– ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' Obituaries. Retrieved 13 August 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsay, William 1909 births 1975 deaths Anglo-Egyptian Sudan judges Immigrants to Kenya British people of New Zealand descent Cricket people awarded knighthoods English cricketers Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Oxford University cricketers People educated at Harrow School Scotland cricketers Sudan Political Service officers Kent cricketers Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Sportspeople from Canterbury Military personnel from Canterbury Riddiford family Sudan Defence Force officers British Army personnel of World War II Wicket-keepers Cricketers from Kent 20th-century English sportsmen