P | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
5 May 1900 Chislehurst, Kent, England |
| Died |
20 May 1940 (aged 40) Amiens, Picardy, France |
Patrick William Rucker (5 May 1900 – 20 May 1940) was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer.
Rucker was born at Chislehurst in May 1900. He was educated at Charterhouse School, before going up to Brasenose College, Oxford.[1] While studying at Oxford, he played first-class cricket for Oxford University in 1919. In his debut match against the Gentlemen of England at Oxford, he bowled the first delivery in first-class cricket since the 1918 Armistice and the first since the suspension of first-class cricket in 1914.[1] He made seven first-class appearances for Oxford in 1919, which included playing in The University Match against Cambridge.[2] He took 11 wickets with his left-arm medium pace bowling, at an average of 42.00 and best figures of 4 for 107.[3]
Rucker married Betty Fairweather at High Wycombe in 1927.[1] He later served in the Second World War, being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Sussex Regiment in November 1939.[4] He fought during the Battle of France in May 1940, travelling to Amiens via Abbeville and Lens, all the while the regiment was harassed by Luftwaffe dive-bombers. On 20 May, his battalion was attacked at Amiens by a motorcycle battalion of the 1st Panzer Division, during which Rucker was killed in action. He is commemorated at the Dunkirk Memorial.[1] His brother, Robin, was killed during the First World War in service with the Royal Air Force,[1] while another brother, Charles, also fought in the First World War and played first-class cricket.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 McCrery, Nigel (2011) (in en). The Coming Storm: Test and First-Class Cricketers Killed in World War Two. 2nd volume. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1526706980. https://books.google.com/books?id=RYQwDwAAQBAJ.
- ↑ "First-Class Matches played by Patrick Rucker". CricketArchive. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/32/32528/First-Class_Matches.html. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
- ↑ "First-class Bowling For Each Team by Patrick Rucker". CricketArchive. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/32/32528/f_Bowling_by_Team.html. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
- ↑ "No. 34768". 5 January 1940. p. 150. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34768/supplement/150
External links[]
- Player profile: P from ESPNcricinfo
The original article can be found at Patrick Rucker and the edit history here.