Major Arthur William Lupton (23 February 1879 – 14 April 1944) was an English soldier 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, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

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 ...

er, who played 104 matches for

Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club is a professional Cricket club based in Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the County Championship, the top tier of English First-class cricket. Nicknamed "Vikings". Yorkshire also competes in T20 Blast, O ...

from 1908 to 1927. He also played 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 ...

(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, Surre ...

(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 n ...

(1911).

Military career

Lupton was commissioned a second lieutenant in The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) 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 Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

during the

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

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; ...

, east and west of

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, 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 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 ...

on 10 January 1902.

Cricket career

Born in

Little Horton Little Horton (population 17,368 – United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 UK census) is a Ward (politics), ward in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council in the county of West Yorkshire, England, named after the de Horton family, who ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, 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 ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

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 The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

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, 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 ...

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 William Worsley may refer to: * Sir William Worsley, 4th Baronet (1890–1973), English landowner and amateur first-class cricketer, father of Katharine, Duchess of Kent * Sir William Worsley, 6th Baronet (born 1956), British forester, farmer and ...

Family life and death

Lupton was the son of William C. Lupton who had been thrice

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Bradford. In 1909, at St John’s, Leeds Parish Church, Arthur Lupton married Kate Fosdick, daughter of

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extra ...

owner Richard Fosdick, of Belmont, Stanmore, Harrow. Kate was born on 29 August 1879 in Windemere near Kendall, Westmoreland. The couple honeymooned in Switzerland. Lupton died in April 1944 at Carlton Manor,

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is an area in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-west ...

, Yorkshire.

References

External links

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