Alec Percy Stanley Wills (11 March 1911 – 7 November 1941) was an English first-class

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

officer. Enlisting in the Royal Air Force from Haileybury in 1932, Wills played

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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for the Combined Services cricket team, before being posted to Malaya in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, where he was killed in a plane accident in November 1941.

Life and military career

Born at

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

, Wills was educated in England at Haileybury. After leaving Haileybury, Wills was commissioned into the

as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

in January 1932, with confirmation in the rank in December 1932. He was promoted to the rank of

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

in July 1933. Three years later, in July 1936, Wills was promoted to the rank of flight lieutenant. He played cricket for the Royal Air Force cricket team in 1936, in a minor match against the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

, with Wills excelling in the match with a half century and bowling figures of 6 for 71. He featured again for the Royal Air Force in a minor match against the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, taking 5 for 60 in the Army's first-innings. He made one appearance in

for the Combined Services cricket team against the touring

New Zealanders New Zealanders are people associated with New Zealand, sharing a common History of New Zealand, history, Culture of New Zealand, culture, and language (New Zealand English). People of various ethnicities and national origins are citizens of Ne ...

in 1937 at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. Batting once during the match, he ended the Combined Services first-innings unbeaten on 3, while across both of the New Zealanders innings' he bowled a total of eight overs, conceding 36 runs. At the outbreak of the

, he was posted to

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British Empire, British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the ...

as a pilot instructor. Wills was killed in an accident on 7 November 1941, when the Tiger Moth he was flying was hit from behind by a landing Buffalo of 243 Squadron at

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

. He was buried at Kranji War Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Alec 1911 births 1941 deaths People from Trincomalee People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Royal Air Force officers English cricketers Combined Services cricketers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1941 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Singapore Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Burials at Kranji War Cemetery 20th-century English sportsmen