Norman Vere Grace DL (31 July 1894 – 20 February 1975) was an English first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Norman Vere Grace | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 31 July 1894 Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 20 February 1975 (aged 80) Amberley, Gloucestershire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm slow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Grace family | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 25 September 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A member of the famous cricketing Grace family, he was born to the Test cricketer E. M. Grace in July 1894 at Thornbury, Gloucestershire.[1] He was educated at Wellington College,[2] before joining the Royal Navy. He graduated from Britannia Royal Naval College in 1912, entering into service as a midshipman.[3] Grace served in the navy during the First World War, during the latter stages of which he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.[4] Following the war he played first-class cricket for the Royal Navy against the British Army cricket team at Lord's in 1920, claiming five wickets on debut.[5][6] Three years later in December 1923, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander.[7] He made two further first-class appearances for the Royal Navy against the Army in 1923 and 1927,[5] though he took only a further two wickets in these matches.[8] In July 1929, he was promoted to the rank of commander,[9] before being promoted to the rank of captain in June 1937.[10]
Grace served during the Second World War, captaining firstly the minelayer HMS Adventure from 1940–42, for which he was mentioned in dispatches,[11] and later the heavy cruiser HMS Berwick between January and August 1944.[3] Then from September 1944 to January 1946, he commanded HMS Vernon when it was based at Roedean School and oversaw its return to Portsmouth after the war.[12] After relinquishing his command of Vernon, Grace was appointed as a naval aide-de-camp to George VI in February 1946.[13] Four months later he retired from active service.[14] He later served as a deputy lieutenant for Gloucestershire in 1960.[15] Grace died in February 1975 at Amberley, Gloucestershire. He had married Lilla Marguerite Spiller in County Cork in 1932, and the couple had had two sons.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Wisden - Obituaries in 1975". ESPNcricinfo. 19 December 2005. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Dr Edward Mills Grace of Thornbury". www.thornburyroots.co.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Norman Vere Grace, RN". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "No. 30551". The London Gazette. 1 March 1918. p. 2636.
- ^ a b "First-Class Matches played by Norman Grace". CricketArchive. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "Army v Royal Navy, 1920". CricketArchive. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "No. 32889". The London Gazette. 18 December 1923. p. 8820.
- ^ "First-class Bowling For Each Team by Norman Grace". CricketArchive. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "No. 33513". The London Gazette. 2 July 1929. p. 4361.
- ^ "No. 34414". The London Gazette. 2 July 1937. p. 4247.
- ^ "No. 35841". The London Gazette. 29 December 1942. p. 26.
- ^ "An account of HMS VERNON (R)". Retrieved 27 September 2019.
- ^ "No. 37487". The London Gazette. 1 March 1946. p. 1187.
- ^ "No. 37674". The London Gazette. 2 August 1946. p. 3938.
- ^ "No. 41960". The London Gazette. 19 February 1960. p. 1294.