Arthur du Boulay

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Arthur Houssemayne du Boulay
Born(1880-06-18)18 June 1880
Lt. col)
UnitRoyal Engineers
Battles/wars
Awards

Major Arthur Houssemayne du Boulay

1918 flu pandemic
whilst on active service in October 1918.

Early life

Du Boulay was the oldest child of Colonel Woodforde Houssemayne du Boulay and his wife Rose (

Wisden described him as a "fine batsman" and predicted that he may go on to play county cricket.[6] He also played rugby union at school.[2]

Military career

After leaving school, du Boulay opted for a military career and entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, the training academy for officers in the Royal Engineers, in January 1898. He shared the athletic award for the academy in 1898, and was awarded the Sword of Honour for being the best cadet on his course. He continued to play cricket at the academy, leading the batting and bowling averages in 1899.[3][4] After graduation he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Engineers on 22 November 1899.

Following service at the Royal School of Military Engineering (SME) at Chatham and in Ireland, du Boulay served in South Africa towards the end of the Second Boer War (1899–1902). He remained in South Africa until 1904 and was promoted to lieutenant whilst in the country, on 22 November 1902. Returning to Britain, du Boulay served as an instructor at the SME until 1908.[3][4] He then served as adjutant in the 1st London Divisional Engineers, a Territorial Force division.[3]

When war was declared in 1914 the division was mobilised and du Boulay promoted to

lieutenant-colonel.[7] He served at corps level for the remainder of 1917 and into 1918 and was mentioned in dispatches twice more. In June 1918 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in the 1918 Birthday Honours.[3]

In June 1918 du Boulay was transferred to Army HQ level as AQMG on the

1918 flu pandemic epidemic and died on 25 October 1918.[3] He was buried in the Fillièvres British Cemetery south-west of Arras.[8] He was mentioned in dispatches once more after his death and was posthumously awarded the Order of Leopold II with Palm, and the Croix de Guerre. He was also appointed as an Officer of the Order of Agricultural Merit.[3][8]

Cricket career

Cricket information
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1899Kent
1908Gloucestershire
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 9
Runs scored 303
Batting average 27.54
100s/50s 0/1
Top score 58
Balls bowled 264
Wickets 3
Bowling average 59.00
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 1/4
Catches/stumpings 2/–
Source: CricInfo, 2 June 2017

After playing cricket in school and whilst at the

Royal Artillery.[3][5] He made a number of high scores for the Engineers, including making 204, 153 and 175 during one week and scoring 402 not out in 1907 against the Royal Navy and Royal Marines at Chatham.[5] He played three times for the Army cricket team against the Royal Navy as well as for a variety of other Army sides.[1][9]

Du Boulay played three more first-class matches for Gloucestershire in August 1908. He was a member of I Zingari and played occasionally for MCC sides; his final first-class appearance was for MCC against Nottinghamshire at Lord's in 1910.[1] He scored a total of 303 first-class runs and took three wickets in his nine first-class matches.[4][9]

Family

Du Boulay married Blanche Hornung in 1909. They had three children.[4] Their daughter Suzanne married Lord Douglas Gordon (brother of the 12th Marquess of Huntly) in 1940. Blanche remarried Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Elles in 1939.[7] Du Boulay's brother Hubert was killed in action in 1916 as was his brother-in-law John Hornung.[4] Du Boulay and Hornung are memorialised in a stained glass window at St George's Church, West Grinstead[10]in West Sussex.[7]

Two of du Boulay's nephews also played cricket; Roger du Boulay was captain of the First XI at

Oxford University and Hampshire after World War II.[9]

References

  1. ^
    Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians
    . Retrieved 2020-12-21.)
  2. ^ a b Hunter AA ed. (1911) Cheltenham College Register, p. 578. London: G Bell. (Available online. Retrieved 2022-06-04.)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis P (2014) For Kent and Country, pp. 154–156. Brighton: Reveille Press.
  4. ^ a b c d e f McCrery N (2015) Final wicket: Test and First Class cricketers killed in the Great War, pp. 465–466. Barnsley: Pen & Sword.
  5. ^ a b c Du Boulay, Brevet Lieut. Col. Arthur Houssemayne (Royal Engineers), Obituaries during the war, 1918, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1919. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  6. ^ Ford WJ (1898) Public Schools Cricket in 1897, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1898, p. 64. (Available online. Retrieved 2022-06-04.)
  7. ^ a b c West Grinstead St George's Church war memorial, Roll of Honour. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  8. ^ a b Du Boulay, Arthur Houssemayne, Casualty Details, Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  9. ^ a b c Arthur du Boulay, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-06-02. (subscription required)
  10. ^ Historic England. "St George's Church (1284797)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2023-03-31.

External sources

Arthur du Boulay at ESPNcricinfo

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