Alan Wallace (1 April 1891 – 10 May 1915) was a gifted New Zealand scholar and sportsman. Wallace was born in Auckland in 1891. His parents were George and Florence Wallace. His father worked at Devonport Gas Works and he grew up on Lake Road in that suburb. He attended Auckland Grammar School from 1903 and excelled academically in mathematics, science, and languages. In sport, his main discipline was

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. His headmaster, James Tibbs, described him as "a lad endowed in no ordinary degree with moral and intellectual force". He won a large number of scholarships and in the junior university scholarship, which he gained when he entered

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, he came second in the country. He graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1912 and gained a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, which enabled him to study mathematics at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. Aged 20 when he became a Rhodes Scholar, he was then the youngest scholar from New Zealand. Wallace played three first-class matches for

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

between 1910 and 1912. He was killed in action during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Other sports that he competed in were

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, swimming, rowing, and shooting. Wallace was still at Balliol College when WWI started. He enlisted on 24 September 1914 and he was assigned to the British Section of the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

. By Christmas of that year, he had arrived in Egypt. He arrived at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

on 25 April 1915. For his part of rescuing injured soldiers on 2 and 3 May, he was recommended for the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

. On 9 May while discussing plans with Major Hugh Quinn, Wallace was shot in the head by a sniper. He died the following day and was buried at sea.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Alan 1891 births 1915 deaths New Zealand cricketers Auckland cricketers Cricketers from Auckland New Zealand military personnel killed in World War I New Zealand Military Forces personnel of World War I New Zealand Army soldiers People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of Auckland alumni New Zealand Rhodes Scholars Gallipoli campaign

See also

References

External links