Bill Carson (sportsman)
Birth name | William Nicol Carson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 16 July 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Gisborne, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 8 October 1944 | (aged 28)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | At sea between Egypt and Bari, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 90 kg (200 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Gisborne Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation(s) | Warehouseman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cricket information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Left-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Left-arm fast-medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Role | All-rounder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1936/37–1939/40 | Auckland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive |
William Nicol Carson MC (16 July 1916 – 8 October 1944) was a New Zealand sportsman who represented his country at both cricket and rugby union.
Early life and family
Born in
Cricket
Carson, an aggressive left-handed batsman and useful fast-medium bowler, started his
His performances with Auckland earned him a call up to the national side for their tour of England in 1937. Although he played 24 matches, all but four of them first-class fixtures, Carson wasn't able to break into the Test side which took on the England side. He had started the tour well, with 85 runs against Surrey and 86 versus Northamptonshire but he failed to contribute substantial scores in most matches.[6] Carson finished the tour with 627 runs at 19.00.[11]
Rugby union
When Carson returned to New Zealand he focused on rugby, playing provincially with
World War II
Carson embarked on war duty in 1940 and went on to participate in the Crete, North African and Italian campaigns. While serving in Italy with the 5th Field Regiment of the NZ Artillery, as a major, Carson was severely wounded in battle. He was evacuated but died from jaundice aboard ship whilst being taken from Bari in Southern Italy to Egypt.[4][6] He was buried at the Heliopolis War Cemetery in Cairo.[3]
A distinguished soldier, Carson was awarded the Military Cross in June 1943, and was mentioned in dispatches.[12][13]
References
- ^ a b c Knight, Lindsay. "Bill Carson". New Zealand Rugby Union. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- CricInfo. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Casualty Details: Carson, William Nicol". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d McConnell, Lynn. "Carson, William Nicol". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ "Noted sportsman married". Auckland Star. 14 August 1940. p. 12. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ a b c Carson, Major WN M.C., Deaths in the War 1944, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1945. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ "Otago v Auckland 1936/37". CricketArchive.
- ISBN 0747222037.
- ^ "Auckland v Wellington 1936/37". CricketArchive.
- ^ "What are the best figures by a captain in ODIs and T20Is?". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "First-class Batting and Fielding for New Zealanders in British Isles 1937". CricketArchive.
- ^ "William Nicol Carson". Online Cenotaph. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ "No. 36057". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1943. p. 2760.
Further reading
- McConnell, Lynn Charles (2014). "W. N. 'Bill' Carson: Double All Black, Military Cross Recipient". The International Journal of the History of Sport. 31 (18): 2405–2412. S2CID 145150454.