Lieutenant-Colonel The Hon. Sir Cecil James Frederick Campbell KBE CMG (4 May 1891 – 11 May 1952) was an amateur Irish tennis player, lawyer and businessman. He reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for three consecutive years between 1921 and 1923.
| Full name | Cecil James Frederick Campbell |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Ireland |
| Born | 4 May 1891 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 11 May 1952 (aged 61) Cairo, Egypt |
| Singles | |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Wimbledon | QF (1921, 1922, 1923) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 2R (1921, 1922, 1923, 1927)[1] |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1922, 1928)[1] |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | QFEu (1923) |
Biography
editHe was the second son of Irish peer James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy, who served as Attorney-General for Ireland and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.[2] Cecil was considered the best Irish tennis player of his era.[3]
On 23 May 1925 in London, Campbell married Lavender Letts, a fellow tennis player from Essex.[4] She competed for Ireland in women's singles at the 1929 Wimbledon Championships, and they competed together in mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 1928 and 1929.[5]
Campbell moved to Egypt in 1922, where until 1930 he served as legal secretary to the Financial Adviser to the Egyptian Government.[6] He later became legal counsellor to the British resident in Cairo. In 1933, he became managing director of the Marconi Radio Telephone Company of Egypt, and later chairman of the local board of Anglo-Egyptian Oilfields.[7]
In 1934, Lavender successfully sued for divorce on the grounds of her husband's adultery with the wife of a British civil servant in Cairo.[8] Cecil remarried the same year.[9]
He was named a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1930 New Year Honours[10] After his service in the Second World War, he received a knighthood.
From 1947 to the time of his death, he was president of the English Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.[11]
On 11 May 1952, he was found dead of a gunshot wound at his home in Zamalek, Cairo, after suffering "indifferent health for a long time," according to The Times.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b Wimbledon Results Archive
- ^ Dempsey, Pauric J. "Campbell, Sir Cecil". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Willie Renshaw". The Strand Magazine. 72: 61. 1926. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "Marriages". The Times. 25 May 1925. p. 1.
- ^ "Lavender Campbell (IRL)" (PDF). The Championships, Wimbledon. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "Sir Cecil Campbell Found Dead in Cairo". The Gazette. 12 May 1952. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "Lieut.-Col. The Hon. Sir Cecil Campbell". The Times. 13 May 1952. p. 8.
- ^ "High Court of Justice Probate, Divorce, And Admiralty Division". The Times. 13 January 1934. p. 4.
- ^ "Court and Society". The Times. 18 August 1934. p. 6.
- ^ "No. 33566". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1929. p. 5.
- ^ a b "Death of Sir Cecil Campbell". The Times. 13 May 1952. p. 6.
