Sir Stanley Cochrane, 1st Baronet (19 September 1877 – 23 October 1949) was an Irish first-class cricketer and philanthropist.

Stanley Cochrane
Personal information
Full name
Stanley Herbert Cochrane
Born19 September 1877
Dublin, Ireland
Died23 October 1949(1949-10-23) (aged 72)
Bray, Leinster, Ireland
BattingUnknown
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 1
Runs scored 5
Batting average 5.00
100s/50s –/–
Top score 5
Catches/stumpings 1/–
Source: Cricinfo, 21 October 2018

Early life and cricket

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Cochrane was born at Dublin to Sir Henry Cochrane and his wife, Margaret Gilchrist.[1] He studied at St Columba's College, Dublin,[2] before going up to Trinity College, Dublin,[1] where he was a member of the Dublin University Cricket Club.[3]

Cochrane's father, had alongside Dr. Thomas Joseph Cantrell, invented ginger ale and made a fortune exporting it to the United States.[2] Upon the death of his father in 1904, Cochrane inherited his millions and the Woodbrook Estate.[2] He worked to bring regular top-class cricket to Ireland, even paying the Australians £300 (the equivalent of nearly £37,000 in 2017) to play Dublin University in 1905.[2] Shortly thereafter, he founded the Woodbrook Cricket Club and built a cricket ground on his estate, even constructing a railway station on the Dublin/Bray railway line to serve the ground.[2] Using his wealth, Cochrane enticed many of the leading players of the day to play for the club, including the likes of Ranjitsinhji and C. B. Fry.[2] Cochrane was the High Sheriff of Wicklow in 1911,[4] and was the High Sheriff of County Dublin in 1912.[5]

Attendances at the Cochrane's cricket ground were less than intended, so in 1912 he invited the touring South Africans to play a first-class match there to encourage patronage, with Cochrane playing in the Woodbrook Club and Ground XI.[2][6] Playing in what would be his only appearance in first-class cricket, Cochrane batted once in the match, scoring 5 runs before being dismissed by Herbie Taylor.[7] Cochrane attempted to get the deciding Test match of the 1912 Triangular Tournament between England and Australia to be played at Woodbrook, but this request was denied by both boards.[2] Disenchanted by this decision, he closed the cricket ground in 1913 and opted to construct a golf course.[2]

War service and later life

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He served in the British Army during World War I, serving in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.[8] He was made 1st Baronet of Woodbrook in February 1915,[9] for services to sports, music and the welfare of prisoners of war.[2] By war's end he held the rank of captain.[1] He was a Justice of the Peace for both County Wicklow and County Dublin.[1] Cochrane was diagnosed with diabetes in the 1920s and was one of the first people to be treated for the condition with insulin.[2] With a strong interest in music, Cochrane had transformed the indoor cricket school on his estate into an opera house, and alongside Michele Esposito he founded the music publishing company C.E. Editions.[2] The company folded in 1929 after Esposito's death. Cochrane died without issue in October 1949 at Bray, with his baronetcy becoming extinct.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Profile: Sir Stanley Cochrane, 1st Baronet". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Siggins, Ger (30 August 2012). "Sir Stanley Cochrane and the Irish dream". Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Player profile: Stanley Cochrane". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Index to High Sheriffs, Sheriffs and Wardens". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  5. ^ Walford, Edward (1 January 1871). The county families of the United Kingdom; or, Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland (59 ed.). Robert Hardwicke.
  6. ^ "First-Class Matches played by Stanley Cochrane". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Woodbrook Club and Ground v South Africans, 1912". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  8. ^ "No. 28906". The London Gazette. 18 September 1914. p. 7402.
  9. ^ "No. 29070". The London Gazette. 16 February 1915. p. 1553.
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Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baronet
(of Woodbrook)
1915–1949
Extinct