William Frederick Traill (7 January 1838 – 3 October 1905) was an English barrister and first-class cricketer.[1]

Life

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He was born in Lewisham, the fourth son of James Traill, stipendiary magistrate, and his wife Caroline Whateley; George Traill was his uncle.[2][3][4] his brothers James Christie Traill (eldest son, for Oxford U.) and George Balfour Traill (born 1833, for the MCC) also played cricket.[5][6] Another brother, the sixth son, was Henry Duff Traill (1842–1900).[4]

Traill was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and St John's College, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1856, and graduated B.A. in 1860.[2][7] From 1858 to 1867, he played cricket for Kent, Oxford University and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).[7]

He died in South Hampstead.[7]

Works

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Illustration from page 65 of Lays of Modern Oxford

Traill wrote verse, under the pseudonym "Adon". His works included:[8]

  • Lays of Modern Oxford (1874 and later editions), with illustrations by Mary Ellen Edwards
  • Through Storm and Sunshine (1875)

Drawing on undergraduate experiences, Traill wrote a volume of stories, Tales of Modern Oxford (1882). It features a Bullingdon Club dinner, and the ragging of a drunken college porter, made up blackface with burnt cork, and robed in academic dress.[9][10][11]

References

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  1. ^ Carlaw D (2020) Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914 (revised edition), pp. 535–536. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-12-21.)
  2. ^ a b Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Traill, William Frederick" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  3. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Traill, James" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  4. ^ a b Kaul, Chandrika. "Traill, Henry Duff". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27661. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Traill, James Christie" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  6. ^ Bailey, Philip; Thorn, Philip; Wynne-Thomas, Peter (1984). Who's Who of Cricketers. London: Newnes Books. p. 1021. ISBN 0600346927.
  7. ^ a b c William Traill at CricketArchive
  8. ^ Reilly, Catherine (1 January 2000). Mid-Victorian Poetry, 1860–1879. A&C Black. ISBN 9780720123180.
  9. ^ "Author Information At the Circulating Library, William Frederic Traill". Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  10. ^ Proctor, Mortimer Robinson (1957). The English University Novel. University of California Press. p. 82. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  11. ^ Davies, Mark (5 August 2010). "BBC - An early history of cricket in Oxford". BBC Online. Retrieved 2018-02-26.