Arthur Jaques (7 March 1888 — 27 September 1915) 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

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. Having initially 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

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

on a tour of the West Indies in early 1913, Jaques played first-class cricket in the

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

for

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Hamp ...

in 1913 and 1914, forming a successful bowling partnership with

Alec Kennedy Alexander Stuart Kennedy (24 January 1891 – 15 November 1959) was a Scottish cricketer. He played for Hampshire County Cricket Club and in five Test matches for the England cricket team. His career spanned the period between 1907 and 1936 and ...

. In his two seasons playing for Hampshire, he took 168 wickets and was due to inherit the captaincy for the 1915 season, however the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

meant he would never get the opportunity to captain Hampshire. Jaques would serve in the war with the

West Yorkshire Regiment The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was ...

and was subsequently killed in action in September 1915 at the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used Chemical weapons in World War I, ...

Early life and cricket career

The son of Joseph Jaques, he was born in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

in March 1888. He was educated in England at

Aldenham School Aldenham School is a co-educational private boarding and day school for pupils aged eleven to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England. There is also a preparatory school for pupils from the ag ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, where he played for the school cricket team as a bowler. From there, he matriculated to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

; while studying at Cambridge, he did not play for the

Cambridge University Cricket Club Cambridge University Cricket Club, established in 1820, is the representative cricket club for students of the University of Cambridge. The club was recognised as holding first-class cricket, first-class status until 2020. The university played ...

eleven, but did play in the freshman match of 1908. Jaques toured the West Indies with the

(MCC) in early 1913, making his debut in

on the tour against

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...

. He made a further seven first-class appearances on the tour, scoring 106 runs and taking 5 wickets. A member of Hampshire Hogs Cricket Club, he subsequently made his debut for Hampshire in the 1913 County Championship against

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. He appeared regularly for Hampshire during the 1913 season, a season in which ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' claimed "he did nothing remarkable" in. His debut season yielded him 53 wickets at an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

of 28.35, with also him taking his maiden

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Taking ...

. Jaques also made a first-class appearance in 1913 for L. G. Robinson's XI against J. R. Mason's XI at

Old Buckenham Old Buckenham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, approximately south-west of Norwich. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,294 in 658 households at the 2001 census falling to a population of 1,270 livi ...

. Jaques had a prolific season the following year, making a further 28 first-class appearances, 26 of which came for Hampshire, as well as appearing twice for the Gentlemen in the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of cricket matches that began in July 1806 and was abolished in January 1963. It was a match between a team consisting of amateurs (the Gentlemen) and a team consisting of professionals (the Players ...

fixtures at

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

and

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 ...

. In these, he took 117 wickets at an average of 18.69, taking a five wicket haul on eight occasions and

ten wickets in a match In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bow ...

on three. His best career figures of 8 for 21 came in 1914, against

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. He formed a potent bowling partnership with

, with the pair often bowling unchanged and helping take Hampshire to fifth place in the

, their highest-ever finish. ''Wisden'' attributed his success as a bowler to his unusual methods, which involved placing his

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

mostly on the on-side, pitching on the wicket or just outside the leg-stump, and swinging the ball into the batsman to cramp them for room and force them into losing patience and making an error. Jaques was a useful lower order batsman, scoring 982 across his first-class career at a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of 12.75; he made one half century, a score of 68 against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

in 1914, in which he put on a partnership of 107 for the tenth wicket with Walter Livsey. Following the 1914 season, Jacques was due to inherit the Hampshire

captaincy A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish colonies, Spanish and Portuguese colonies, Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule admin ...

from

Edward Sprot Edward Mark Sprot (4 February 1872 – 8 October 1945) was a Scottish first-class cricketer and British Army officer. Following a seven year commission with the King's Shropshire Light Infantry, Sprot played first-class cricket for Hampshire fr ...

for the 1915 season, however he would never have the chance to take up the captaincy.

World War I service and death

With the beginning of the

in July 1914, first-class cricket in England was suspended the following month, following a statement from MCC secretary

Francis Lacey Sir Francis Eden Lacey (19 October 1859 — 26 May 1946) was an English cricketer, cricket administrator and barrister. Lacey played first-class cricket for Hampshire from 1880 to 1896, either side of the club losing its first-class status betw ...

. Jaques volunteered to serve in the war, receiving a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

into the

as a temporary second lieutenant in October 1914, before being made a temporary

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the following month. In February 1915, he was made a temporary

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Jaques fought in the

in September 1915, during the course of which he was killed in action on the 27th; he was killed on the same day as his brother, Joseph Hodgson Jaques. Jaques was initially listed as missing, but was declared as killed in action in December. His body was never recovered, with him being commemorated on the

Loos Memorial The Loos Memorial is a World War I memorial forming the sides and rear of Dud Corner Cemetery, located near the commune of Loos-en-Gohelle, in the Pas-de-Calais département of France. The memorial lists 20,610 names of British and Commonwealth ...

. In England, he was commemorated at the Stoneham War Shrine in Hampshire and on a fumed oak panel commemorating the Hampshire cricketers who fell during the war, which was unveiled by his mother in June 1922. In his will, Jaques bequeathed £500 to Hampshire County Cricket Club. He was survived by his widow, Edith Glenny Vale, whom he had married at

South Stoneham South Stoneham was a manor in South Stoneham parish. It was also a hundred, Poor law union, sanitary district then rural district covering a larger area of south Hampshire, England close to Southampton. In 1911 the parish had a population of 193 ...

a little over a month prior to his death.

References

Works cited

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaques, Arthur 1888 births 1915 deaths Sportspeople from Shanghai People educated at Aldenham School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Hampshire cricketers L. G. Robinson's XI cricketers Gentlemen cricketers British Army personnel of World War I West Yorkshire Regiment officers British military personnel killed in World War I 20th-century English sportsmen