Col. Sir William Arthington Worsley, 4th Baronet (5 April 1890 – 4 December 1973) was an English landowner and

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

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 officiall ...

er.

Biography

Worsley was born at

Hovingham Hall Hovingham Hall is a country house built in the Palladian style in the village of Hovingham, North Yorkshire, England. It has been the seat of the Worsley family and the childhood home of the Duchess of Kent. It was built in the 18th century on a ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England, the son of Sir William Henry Arthington Worsley of Hovingham, 3rd Baronet (born 12 January 1861) and his wife, Lady Augusta Mary (née Chivers Bower; died 1913). His paternal grandparents were Sir Arthington Worsley of Hovingham, 2nd Baronet (21 December 1830 – 3 June 1861) and Marianne Christina Isabella Hely-Hutchinson (5 May 1832 – 11 August 1893): his maternal grandparents were Edward Chivers Bower and Amelia Mary Bennett-Martin. Worsley attended

Ludgrove School Ludgrove School is an English independent boys preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed as a master at Elstree School, which sent b ...

and

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

. He served as a lieutenant and subsequently captain with the

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

(now part of the

Yorkshire Regiment The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence ...

) in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. He was wounded and taken prisoner. Worsley was

Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire The post of Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire was created in 1660, at the Restoration, and was abolished on 31 March 1974. From 1782 until 1974, all Lords Lieutenant were also Custos Rotulorum of the North Riding of Yorkshire. Lor ...

from 1951 to 1965. In 1967, Worsley was awarded an honorary

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

by the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. The degree was conferred on him by his daughter in her role as Chancellor of the university.

Marriage and children

Worsley married Joyce Morgan Brunner (6 February 1895 – 3 January 1979), daughter of Sir John Brunner, 2nd Baronet and his wife Lucy Marianne Vaughan Morgan, on 20 May 1924 at St. Margaret's, Westminster. They had four children: * Sir (William) Marcus John Worsley, 5th Baronet (6 April 1925 – 18 December 2012), * (George) Oliver Worsley (22 February 1927 – 30 November 2010), * John Arthington Worsley (15 July 1928 – 2 March 2022), * Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley (born 22 February 1933), married

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke ...

, thereby becoming

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...

Cricketer

He captained

Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Yorkshire. Yorkshire are the most successful team in English cricketing hi ...

in 1928 and 1929, his only seasons of first-class cricket. He had been unable to accept the captaincy in 1924 due to business commitments. Worsley followed Major

Arthur Lupton Major Arthur William Lupton (23 February 1879 – 14 April 1944) was an English soldier and amateur first-class cricketer, who played 104 matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1908 to 1927. He also played for the Marylebone Cric ...

as captain, but only accepted the position after the Yorkshire committee had initially offered

Herbert Sutcliffe Herbert Sutcliffe (24 November 1894 – 22 January 1978) was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the t ...

the captaincy. Sutcliffe refused the offer after

controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

broke out over the decision. The county lost only twice whilst Worsley was captain. He was awarded his

county cap In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

in 1928. A right-handed batsman, he scored 722 runs at 15.69, with a highest score of 60 against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, and took 32 catches in the field. His great-uncle,

George Cayley Sir George Cayley, 6th Baronet (27 December 1773 – 15 December 1857) was an English engineer, inventor, and aviator. He is one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. Many consider him to be the first true scientific aer ...

, played four games for the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influe ...

(MCC) and

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He was President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1960, until his death in 1973; and was President of the MCC in 1962.

References

External links

Cricinfo Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worsley, William 1890 births 1973 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Army personnel of World War I World War I prisoners of war held by Germany Green Howards officers Knights of the Order of St John Lord-Lieutenants of the North Riding of Yorkshire People educated at Eton College People from Hovingham Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Presidents of Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire cricketers Yorkshire cricket captains British World War I prisoners of war English cricketers

William Worsley Colonel (United Kingdom), Col. Sir William Arthington Worsley, 4th Baronet (5 April 1890 – 4 December 1973) was an English landowner and Amateur status in first-class cricket, amateur first-class cricketer. Biography Worsley was born at Hovi ...

People educated at Ludgrove School