Robert Vere Buxton (29 April 1883 – 1 October 1953), known as Robin Buxton, was an English cricketer, soldier and banker. Buxton was born in

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dang ...

, London, a son of

Francis Buxton Francis William Buxton (5 August 1847 – 14 November 1911) was a British barrister and Liberal Party politician. Buxton was the son of Sir Edward Buxton, 2nd Baronet, and the grandson of the anti-slavery campaigner Sir Thomas Buxton, 1st Barone ...

, Liberal

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

, barrister and banker. He was educated at Eton and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. He was a

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

er. He was in the Eton XI of 1902, scoring 3 and 74 against Harrow. At Oxford he played in the

University Match The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. From 2001, as part of the reorganisation of first-class cricket, ...

with Cambridge, scored 33 and 28, and received his

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

in 1906. In 1906 and 1907, he played a few times for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. Buxton served in the Sudan Civil Service, 1907–11. He then joined

Martins Bank Martins Bank was a London private bank, trading for much of its time under the symbol of “The Grasshopper”, that could trace its origins back to the London goldsmiths. Martins agreed to its acquisition by the Bank of Liverpool in 1918. The Ba ...

, becoming a director in 1913. In November 1911, Buxton was commissioned in the West Kent (Queen's Own) Yeomanry in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

. During the

First World War 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 ...

, he served as a captain in the West Kent Yeomanry before he was seconded to the

Imperial Camel Corps The Imperial Camel Corps Brigade (ICCB) was a camel-mounted infantry brigade that the British Empire raised in December 1916 during the First World War for service in the Middle East. From a small beginning the unit eventually grew to a brigad ...

in 1916. Serving in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, he became a colleague of

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...

. In 1918, a long-distance

raid Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...

to sever the Hejaz railway, was launched. On 24 July, Nos. 5 and 7 Companies of the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade commanded by Major Buxton, marched from the Suez Canal to arrive at

Aqaba Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...

on 30 July.Falls, p. 408 On 8 August 1918, the Imperial Camel Corps, supported by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, seized the well-defended Hejaz railway station at

Mudawwara Mudawwara ( ar, 'المدورة) is the most southerly settlement in Jordan. It is administratively part of the Ma'an Governorate. The village had a population of 691 in the 2015 census. Etymology The Arabic toponym, ''Mudawwara'', translates ...

. They captured a large number of Ottoman prisoners and two guns and destroyed the water towers, but suffered 17 casualties in the operation. Buxton's two companies of Imperial Camel Corps continued on towards Amman, where they hoped to destroy the main bridge. However from the city they were attacked by aircraft, forcing them to withdraw; they eventually arrived at

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

on 6 September, a march of in 44 days. He was awarded the DSO in 1919: He was also awarded the 3rd class of the

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sultana ...

of Egypt and made an officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in October 1919. After the war, Buxton returned to

and his association with T. E. Lawrence continued as his banker and effectively the financier of the Subscribers' Edition of ''

Seven Pillars of Wisdom ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom'' is the autobiographical account of the experiences of British Army Colonel T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), of serving as a military advisor to Bedouin forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire ...

''. He was drawn by William Roberts for ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom''. Buxton was invited to revise chapters of the book. From 1945, he was deputy chairman of Martins Bank and chairman of its London board. He married Irene Marguerite Pix, widow of Sir Richard Levinge, 10th baronet, in 1916. He had no issue. He died in

Itchen Abbas Itchen Abbas is a village on the River Itchen about north-east of Winchester in Hampshire, England. The village is part of the Itchen Valley civil parish. A major oil pipeline from Hamble to Aldermaston runs through Itchen Abbas. Parish chu ...

, Hampshire.

References

*Falls, Cyril (1930) ''Official History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence; Military Operations Egypt & Palestine from June 1917 to the End of the War'' Vol. 2. London: H. M. Stationary *Murphy, David (2008) ''The Arab Revolt 1916–18 Lawrence sets Arabia Ablaze''. Osprey: London. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Buxton, Robert 1883 births 1953 deaths English cricketers Middlesex cricketers Oxford University cricketers People educated at Eton College Military personnel from London Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford British colonial governors and administrators in Africa Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order T. E. Lawrence People from Belgravia Recipients of Italian civil awards and decorations Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Hertfordshire cricketers British Army personnel of World War I