William Stephens Donne (2 April 1875 in

Wincanton Wincanton ( or ) is a small town and electoral ward in South Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. The town and electoral ward has a populati ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

– 24 March 1934 in

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives fr ...

) was an English

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 ...

player, and former president of the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

, and was a member of the cricket team that won a gold medal at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

Cricket career

Donne was one of the founding members of the Devon and Somerset Wanderers Cricket Club, and part of the team on their first tour in 1894 of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. He was also one of five players from the Castle Cary Cricket Club who represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

in cricket at the

. They won the gold medal in the only match against France, Donne scoring six runs before being run out in the first innings and not batting in the second innings. The Castle Cary Cricket Club marked their 175th anniversary in 2012 with a celebration of the Castle Cary players that played in 1900.

Outside cricket

Donne attended

King's School, Bruton King's Bruton is an independent fully co-educational secondary day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in Bruton, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1519 by Richard FitzJames, and received royal foundation status ...

, and joined the family business of rope and twine manufacturers which was founded in

in 1797. He became an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

for Somerset County Council and a governor for his former school. He served as a captain in the

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Some ...

during 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 was honorary secretary of the

Somerset Rugby Football Union The Somerset County Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the county of Somerset in England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for Somerset. The SCRFU administers and ...

between 1897 and 1905 before becoming president from 1905 to 1934, and was the

president in 1924-25. He died at South Court, Castle Cary on 24 March 1934.

References

*Buchanan, Ian ''British Olympians''. Guinness Publishing (1991)

External links

*
Olympic final scorecard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donne, William English cricketers 1875 births 1934 deaths Somerset Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War I Olympic cricketers for Great Britain Cricketers at the 1900 Summer Olympics English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain English rugby union administrators People from Wincanton Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics