Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Tyrwhitt Drake Wilson,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(9 April 1876 – 19 March 1964) was a

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 and

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 who played

minor counties The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

cricket for

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

and first-class cricket for

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 ...

, Army and Navy, and

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) sides. Born in

Cottesbrooke Cottesbrooke is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 United Kingdom census, 2001 census, the parish's population was 144 people, falling marginally to 143 at the 2011 census. The villages name ...

, a small

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

village, Wilson was the oldest of three cricketing brothers, each of whom played for Suffolk in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship or National County Championship is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national counties (previously ca ...

. The youngest brother,

Herbert Wilson Herbert Rees Wilson FRSE (20 March 1929 – 22 May 2008) was a physicist, who was one of the team who worked on the structure of DNA at King's College London, under the direction of Sir John Randall. Biography Early life He was born the son of ...

, went on to play for (and briefly captain)

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, playing more than 100 matches over eleven seasons at the club. The three brothers played together on numerous occasions, from the 1908 season through to the 1910 season. Francis Wilson was the last brother to debut for Suffolk, but on his debut against

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

in June 1908, which marked the first time the three brothers appeared together, he scored 183 runs. His last recorded appearance for Suffolk was a single match in August 1911, against Norfolk. By this time, he had made his first-class debut, playing for a combined Army and Navy side against a Combined Universities team.First-class matches played by Francis Wilson (5)
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2014. Despite his earlier

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

for Suffolk, Wilson achieved more success as a bowler at higher levels. Bowling

leg break Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called a leg spinner. Leg spinners bowl with their right-arm and a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery is called a leg break, which spins from ...

s, he took eight wickets on his first-class debut, which included a five-wicket haul, 5/60, in the second innings. Wilson's next two first-class matches came in the

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

and 1914 seasons, in the inter-services Army vs

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

games. He captained the Army to a 170-run victory in the June 1914 fixture, and was subsequently selected for the MCC in a match 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 ...

the following month, played at

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 ...

. Wilson's fifth and final first-class match came in the Army–Navy fixture during the 1920 season, after the conclusion of the First World War. Aged 44, he recorded his best bowling figures, 5/57, in the Navy's first innings, helping his side win by an innings and 14 runs. Wilson had been commissioned into the army as a second lieutenant in the

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment Line infantry, of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the World War I, First and ...

on 5 September 1896, and 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 13 December 1897. He saw active service with the 1st battalion in South Africa 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 ...

, during which he was promoted to

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 ...

on 14 October 1901. After the end of this war in June 1902, the battalion returned home on the SS ''Canada'' in September that year. He reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel during 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 ...

. He was appointed an OBE in 1924, and retired the following year, settling in

Great Horkesley Great Horkesley is a village in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England, approximately 3 miles north of Colchester. Horkesley is located in what is known as "Horkesley Heath", which is a combination of two villages: Great Horkesley a ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

.Lt.-Col. Francis Tyrwhitt Drake Wilson
– The Peerage. Retrieved 27 November 2014. He played competitive cricket into his fifties, for the

Free Foresters Free Foresters Cricket Club is an England, English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. The Free Foresters were founded by the ...

and for Gentlemen of Essex sides.Miscellaneous matches played by Francis Wilson (13)
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 26 November 2014. Wilson died in Great Horkesley in 1964, aged 87. His son, Colonel Nathaniel John Wilson (also an OBE), married a daughter of Sir Pierce Lacy, 1st Bt., a previous

High Sheriff of Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The Sheriff was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Francis 1876 births 1964 deaths Army and Navy cricketers British Army cricketers British Army personnel of World War I English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Cottesbrooke Suffolk cricketers Suffolk Regiment officers Military personnel from Northamptonshire British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Cricketers from Northamptonshire