William Forbes Lumsden, DSO (4 September 1879 – 28 October 1956) was a British Army officer and Scottish first-class cricketer.

William Lumsden
Personal information
Full name
William Forbes Lumsden
Born4 September 1879
Peterculter, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Died28 October 1956(1956-10-28) (aged 77)
Nairobi, Kenya Colony
BattingUnknown
BowlingUnknown
RelationsOswald Lumsden (brother)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1902/03Europeans
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 2
Runs scored 18
Batting average 9.00
100s/50s –/–
Top score 10*
Balls bowled 12
Wickets 0
Bowling average
5 wickets in innings
10 wickets in match
Best bowling
Catches/stumpings 2/–
Source: Cricinfo, 4 December 2022

Biography

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The son of the advocate James Forbes Lumsden, he was born in September 1879 at Peterculter, Aberdeenshire. Lumsden was educated firstly at Aberdeen Grammar School, before attending Repton School in England,[1] from which he matriculated to Trinity College, Cambridge. While studying at Cambridge, he gained a blue in golf.[2]

After graduating from Cambridge, Lumsden was commissioned into the Royal Garrison Artillery as a second lieutenant in March 1900,[3] with promotion to lieutenant following in 1901.[2] Serving in British India, he made two appearances there in first-class cricket for the Europeans cricket team against the Parsees in the 1902–03 Bombay Presidency Matches,[4] scoring 18 runs.[5]

He progressed in the military to become an adjutant in the Territorial Force from September 1908 to October 1909,[6][7] later being promoted to captain in November 1911.[8] Lumsden was seconded for service with the Colonial Office in December 1912,[9] where he was tasked with survey duty in Nigeria.[2]

At the beginning of the First World War in the summer of 1914, he was restored to the Royal Garrison Artillery,[10] with promotion to major following in December 1915.[11] He was made an acting lieutenant colonel in June 1916,[12] reverting to major in October of the same year.[13] Lumsden was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order in the 1917 New Year Honours and served in the Mesopotamian campaign in the latter stages of the war.[14][15]

Following the war, he was again made a temporary lieutenant colonel in January 1919,[16] before relinquishing the rank a year later.[17] He retired from active service in March 1921, at which point he was granted the rank of lieutenant colonel.[18]

Returning to Scotland, Lumsden was the Unionist Party candidate for Aberdeen North in the 1923 general election,[19] but was defeated by Labour's Frank Rose. Lumsden later died at Nairobi in Kenya Colony in October 1956.[20]

His brother, Alfred Forbes Lumsden, was a brigadier-general in the British Army, while his elder brother, Oswald Lumsden, was also a first-class cricketer. His nephew was the actor Geoffrey Lumsden.

References

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  1. ^ Repton School Register, 1557–1910. Repton: A. J. Lawrence. 1910. p. 368.
  2. ^ a b c Venn, John (1944). Alumni Cantabrigienses. Vol. 4. Cambridge University Press. p. 235.
  3. ^ "No. 27177". The London Gazette. 27 March 1900. p. 2040.
  4. ^ "First-Class Matches played by William Lumsden". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  5. ^ "First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by William Lumsden". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  6. ^ "No. 28173". The London Gazette. 1 September 1908. p. 6374.
  7. ^ "No. 28307". The London Gazette. 12 November 1909. p. 8352.
  8. ^ "No. 28575". The London Gazette. 26 January 1912. p. 642.
  9. ^ "No. 28672". The London Gazette. 17 December 1912. p. 9577.
  10. ^ "No. 28893". The London Gazette. 4 September 1914. p. 7084.
  11. ^ "No. 28392". The London Gazette. 3 December 1915. p. 12171.
  12. ^ "No. 29686". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 July 1916. p. 7460.
  13. ^ "No. 29807". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 October 1916. p. 10516.
  14. ^ "No. 29886". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1916. p. 24.
  15. ^ Robinson, Peter (2013). The Letters of Major General Price Davies VC, CB, CMG, DSO. Cheltenham: History Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780752492230.
  16. ^ "No. 31260". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 March 1919. p. 4166.
  17. ^ "No. 31771". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 February 1920. p. 1646.
  18. ^ "No. 32272". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 March 1921. p. 2526.
  19. ^ Officer is Unionist candidate for Aberdeen North. Dundee Courier. 23 November 1923. p. 3
  20. ^ East Africa and Rhodesia. Vol. 33. Africana. 1956. p. 325.
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