Frederick Henri "Fred" Abraham (4 July 1886 – 2 October 1918) was a British Guianese cricketer who played at first-class level for what is now the Guyanese national side (then known as British Guiana). He was killed fighting in France during the First World War.
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Frederick Henri Abraham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 July 1886 Soesdyke, Demerara, British Guiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 October 1918 (aged 32) Joncourt, Aisne, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | All-rounder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Fred Abraham Sr. (father) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1904–1912 | British Guiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 30 November 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Abraham was born at Soesdyke, on the eastern bank of the Demerara River in present-day Guyana.[1] His Essequibo-born father, Fred Abraham Sr., played a single match for British Guiana in September 1883.[2] Abraham himself made his first-class debut during the 1904–05 season, aged 18, when he played for British Guiana against a touring English side led by Lord Brackley (later the 4th Earl of Ellesmere). He participated in Inter-Colonial Tournament matches over the following six seasons, although British Guiana failed to make the tournament's final in any of those years.[3] Abraham often opened the bowling for British Guiana,[4] and later came to open the batting, despite having come in seventh in the batting order on debut. He twice scored half-centuries while opening the batting – 56 runs against Trinidad in September 1907, and 64 against Barbados in January 1909.[5][6]
Outside of intercolonial matches, Abraham played three matches for British Guiana against touring sides – two during the 1909–10 season, against a team of West Indians led by William Shepherd, and one during the 1910–11 season, against a team of English players organised by the MCC and led by A. W. F. Somerset.[3] Abraham's best bowling figures came during his final first-class match, against Trinidad in the 1911–12 Inter-Colonial Tournament hosted by Barbados. He took 4/30 from fourteen six-ball overs in Trinidad's innings, but was unable to prevent his side from losing by an innings and 36 runs.[7] During World War I, Abraham enlisted as an officer cadet with the 16th Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers, having previously been a serjeant in the West India Regiment (drawn from the British colonies in the Caribbean).[8][9] By September 1917, he had been promoted temporary second lieutenant, along with 23 other cadets from his regiment.[10] Abraham was killed in action at Goncourt, France, in early October 1918, and buried at Joncourt East British Cemetery, where his gravestone inscription reads: "MORE THAN LIFE NO MAN CAN GIVE".[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Frederick Abraham playing statistics – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ Frank Abraham playing statistics – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ a b First-class matches played by Frederick Abraham (10) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ For instance, in Barbados v British Guiana, Inter-Colonial Tournament 1905/06 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ British Guiana v Trinidad, Inter-Colonial Tournament 1907/08 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ Barbados v British Guiana, Inter-Colonial Tournament 1908/09 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ British Guiana v Trinidad, Inter-Colonial Tournament 1911/12 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ "Casualty Details: Abraham, Frederick Henri". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Casualty Details: Abraham, Frederick Henri". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "No. 30347". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 October 1917. p. 10884.