Harry Altham

• Hampshire County Cricket: The official history of Hampshire County Cricket Club (Phoenix House, 1957).
• A History of Cricket with EW Swanton (two volumes, Allen & Unwin, 1962,
  ISBN 978-0-04-796023-9
  ). A paperback edition appeared in 1968.
• Lord's and the MCC with
  ISBN 978-0-85372-130-7
  ).

Swanton himself clarified the nature of Altham's contribution to A History of Cricket. "In the obituary written in the factual, anonymous vein generally adopted by Wisden," he wrote, "I notice for the first time what can only be described as a howler. The second paragraph of the piece begins: 'Altham collaborated with E. W. Swanton in a book, The History of Cricket...' ... The first edition of A History of Cricket (note the indefinite article) was written by Harry when I was a boy. It was twelve years later, in 1938, that he honoured me by asking me to collaborate with him, in a Second Edition. This I did, and so continued with three subsequent editions, as the junior and subservient partner, until the last appeared in two volumes some three years before his death."[4]

The ever-modest Altham, however, provided his own verdict (in the book's fourth edition in 1948): "This not-inconsiderable labour I could not have undertaken by myself, but I was fortunate enough to secure the collaboration of Mr. E. W. Swanton whose broad shoulders readily sustained by far the greater part of the burden."^[5]

Writing in 1956, A. A. Thomson said of the History of Cricket that it was "a massive record of the game from first beginnings out to the undiscovered ends, written with authority and affection, accuracy and charm".^[6]

A collection of Altham's writing, edited and revised by Hubert Doggart, was published after his death, namely The Heart of Cricket: A memoir of H.S. Altham (Hutchinson 'The Cricketer', 1967).

Coaching

As well as coaching at Winchester for many years, Altham was Chairman of the MCC Youth Cricket Association and President of the English Schools Cricket Association. He was appointed Chairman of a Special Committee to inquire into the future welfare of English cricket in 1949, saying, "If only we can get enough boys playing this game in England, and playing it right, it is quite certain that from the mass will be thrown up in some year or another a new Compton, a new Tate, a new Jack Hobbs, and, when that happens, we need not worry anymore about our meetings with Australia." Perhaps most important of all, Altham was the author of the first edition of the MCC Cricket Coaching Book, published in 1952.

Honours

He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1957.^[7]

References

• ALTHAM, Harry Surtees, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)