Major Arthur William Lupton (23 February 1879 – 14 April 1944) was an English soldier and amateur

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, who played 104 matches for

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 ...

from 1908 to 1927. He also played 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 influenc ...

(MCC) (1909), the

Gentlemen of England Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surrey ...

(1910) and

H.D.G. Leveson-Gower's XI Sir Henry Dudley Gresham Leveson Gower ( ; 8 May 1873 – 1 February 1954) was an English cricketer from the Leveson-Gower family. He played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Surrey and captained England in Test cricket. His school ...

(1911).

Military career

Lupton was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) wa ...

on 5 May 1900. He served with the 2nd battalion of his regiment in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

1899-1900, and took part in operations in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

March–June 1900, and in

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, east and west of

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, July–November 1900. Following the war he received the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

with three clasps, and he was promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 10 January 1902.

Cricket career

Born in

Little Horton Little Horton (population 17,368 - 2001 UK census) is a ward in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council in the county of West Yorkshire, England, named after the de Horton family, who were once Lords of the Manor. The population ...

, Bradford,

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

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, Lupton had a modest overall record, despite the large number of games that he played. A left-handed batsman, he scored 724 runs at 10.34 with a highest score of 43 not out against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

in 1926. He took 14 wickets (none of them for Yorkshire) at 32.50 with his occasional right-arm fast-medium, with a best analysis for 4 for 109 for Gentlemen of England against

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 ...

in 1910. His chief contribution was as Yorkshire's captain. Having playing only one game for the county, back in 1908, he was appointed captain for the 1925 season at the age of 46. Yorkshire won the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It b ...

that year with 21 wins and no losses. He then led the side to second place in 1926 and third in 1927. He wanted to continue in 1928, but the Yorkshire committee, after at first deciding to appoint a professional captain, changed their minds and chose the amateur

William Worsley Col. Sir William Arthington Worsley, 4th Baronet (5 April 1890 – 4 December 1973) was an English landowner and amateur first-class cricketer. Biography Worsley was born at Hovingham Hall, Yorkshire, England, the son of Sir William Henry Arth ...

Stephen Chalke Stephen Chalke (born 5 June 1948) is an English author and publisher, particularly of books on cricket and cricketers. Chalke was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire. He has two undergraduate degrees – one in Drama, English and Philosophy, the othe ...

, ''Summer's Crown: The Story of Cricket's County Championship'', Fairfield Books, Bath, 2015, pp. 132-33. Lupton died in April 1944 at Carlton Manor,

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits ...

, Yorkshire.

References

External links

Cricinfo profile
1879 births 1944 deaths Yorkshire cricketers Yorkshire cricket captains People from Little Horton English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Sportspeople from Yorkshire West Yorkshire Regiment officers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War {{England-cricket-bio-1870s-stub