Everard Blair

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Everard Blair
Birth nameEverard McLeod Blair
Born(1866-07-26)26 July 1866
Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1916–1917)
AwardsOrder of St Michael and St George

CMG (26 July 1866 – 16 May 1939) was an Indian-born English soldier and cricketer. Blair was a career soldier in the Royal Engineers, rising to the rank of Brigadier-General when he retired in 1918. He played in seven first-class cricket matches for Kent County Cricket Club
between 1893 and 1900.

Early life and education

Blair was born in 1866 at

racquets and gymnastics as well as being in the cricket XI in 1883 and 1884.[1] From Cheltenham he went on to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich where he again played for the cricket team and, along with a Captain Hamilton, won the Military Racquets Cup in 1895.[2]

Military career

Blair was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in February 1886. After serving in Hong Kong he was appointed instructor in fieldworks at the Royal School of Military Engineering at Chatham. In March 1896 he was promoted to captain and became an instructor at the Royal Military Academy from 1898 to 1903.[1] Promotions to major, in 1904, and lieutenant-colonel, in 1912, followed.[1]

During

Mentioned in Dispatches
.

In October 1916 Blair was charge of water supply works to support the

El Arish in northern Sinai and then extended to Rafah in Palestine.[3] The pipeline was completed after the Second Battle of Gaza in April 1917. Whilst the works were ongoing Blair was awarded the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1917 New Year Honours.[1]

Before the completion of the pipeline works Blair returned to England in March 1917 and served in the London Defences area. He was found medically unfit for services in February 1918 suffering from neurasthenia, a condition he had first suffered from in 1903. He was found permanently unfit for service in July 1918 and retired with the honorary rank of Brigadier-General in August. He was awarded the Silver War Badge.[1]

Cricketing career

Cricket information
BattingRight-handed
Bowling
Leg-break
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 7
Runs scored 190
Batting average 19.00
100s/50s 0/1
Top score 61
Catches/stumpings 2/–
Source: CricInfo, 1 April 2017

Blair played cricket regularly for the

County Ground, Bristol, form which his Wisden obituary said that he "never regained", despite being "strong in defence with plenty of shots".[2] He was described as a strong defensive player "with plenty of strokes" who "bowled slow leg-breaks and fielded admirably".[2]

He became a member of MCC in 1894 and played for them against Hertfordshire at Lord's in 1902. Whilst posted overseas he played for Hong Kong Cricket Club in five games in 1890 and 1891.[1]

Later life

Blair suffered from neurasthenia for the remainder of his life after retiring in 1918. He lived in Bath and was supported by his wife Nora who he had married in China in 1902. He died in St Andrew's Hospital in Northampton in May 1939 aged 72.[1][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis P (2014) For Kent and Country, pp.104–107. Brighton: Reveille Press.
  2. ^ a b c Blair, Major-General Everard McLeod CMG RE, Obituaries in 1939. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1940. Retrieved 2017-04-01.
  3. ^ Lewis p op. cit., pp.82–84.
  4. ^ Everard Blair, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2020-12-21. (subscription required)
  5. Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians
    . Retrieved 2020-12-21.)

External links

Everard Blair at ESPNcricinfo Edit this at Wikidata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Everard_Blair&oldid=1210853836"