Charles Eyre (cricketer)

Charles Howard Eyre (26 March 1883 – 25 September 1915) was an English first-class cricketer, educator and British Army officer.

Charles Eyre
Personal information
Full name
Charles Howard Eyre
Born26 March 1883
Toxteth, Liverpool Lancashire, England
Died25 September 1915(1915-09-25) (aged 32)
Loos-en-Gohelle, Pas-de-Calais, France
BattingRight-handed
BowlingUnknown
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1903–1906Cambridge University
1905Marylebone Cricket Club
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 30
Runs scored 1,092
Batting average 21.42
100s/50s 1/4
Top score 153
Balls bowled 66
Wickets 2
Bowling average 25.00
5 wickets in innings
10 wickets in match
Best bowling 1/9
Catches/stumpings 40/–
Source: Cricinfo, 5 October 2020

The son of John Eyre, the Archdeacon of Sheffield, he was born in Toxteth, Liverpool in March 1883. He was educated at Harrow School, where he was a multi-talented sportsman who played cricket, football, Eton Fives and rackets. He was also head of school in 1901.[1] From Harrow, he went up as a scholar to Pembroke College, Cambridge.[2] While studying at Cambridge, he played first-class cricket for Cambridge University from 1903 to 1906, making 29 appearances.[3] He scored 1,092 runs for Cambridge, averaging 21.84 with one century and four half centuries.[4] His century, a score of 153, came against Yorkshire in 1906.[2] He was a good fielder, taking 40 catches in first-class cricket.[4] He played for the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1905 during their tour of North America, with Eyre making a single first-class appearance on the tour against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia at Germantown.[3]

After graduating from Cambridge, Eyre returned to Harrow to become an assistant master and also served as honorary secretary of the Harrow Association.[2] Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War in July 1914, he was commissioned into the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a second lieutenant.[5] By July 1915, he held the rank of lieutenant and had been made a temporary captain.[6] Eyre was killed in action on 25 September 1915, on the first day of the Battle of Loos.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Stephenson, P. K.; Dauglish, M. G. (1911). The Harrow School Register, 1800–1911. Longmans, Green and Co. p. 785.
  2. ^ a b c McCrery, Nigel (30 July 2015). Final Wicket: Test and First Class Cricketers Killed in the Great War. Pen and Sword. pp. 143–4. ISBN 978-1473864191.
  3. ^ a b "First-Class Matches played by Charles Eyre". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b "First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Charles Eyre". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  5. ^ "No. 28949". The London Gazette. 23 October 1914. p. 8519.
  6. ^ "No. 29226". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 July 1915. p. 6811.
  7. ^ Renshaw, Andrew (8 May 2014). Wisden on the Great War: The Lives of Cricket's Fallen 1914-1918. A&C Black. p. 124. ISBN 978-1408832363.
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