Sir James Reginald Conyers

CBE 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 ...

(3 September 1879 – 26 July 1948) was a Bermudian lawyer, politician, 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. Born in

Pembroke Parish Pembroke Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named after English aristocrat William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1580–1630). It occupies most of the short peninsula which juts from the central north coast of Bermuda's main ...

, Bermuda, Conyers was a keen member of the Hamilton Cricket Club, and toured the United States with the club in 1905. Having regularly played for Bermuda against touring American teams, he was invited to play for the

Gentlemen of Philadelphia The Philadelphian cricket team was a team that represented Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1913. Even with the United States having played the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 1844, t ...

during the team's 1908–09 tour of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. In the final match of the tour, against

Melbourne Park Melbourne Park is a sports venue in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Since 1988, Australia's bicentenary, Melbourne Park has been home of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament play ...

, Conyers scored 149 runs opening Philadelphia's batting, his highest first-class score and only first-class

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. ...

. He would later make several appearances for Philadelphia's

Merion Cricket Club Merion Cricket Club is a private club which is located in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1865. The current clubhouse is its sixth, the last four having been designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness and his partner, Allen Eva ...

in the Halifax Cup competition in 1909 and 1911. Conyers remained heavily involved in Bermudian cricket after the tour's end, often captaining the Bermudan national team against touring sides from North America. He was playing competitive cricket until as late as 1928, when he captained Bermuda on a tour of the United States aged 49. After the conclusion 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 ...

, Conyers established a law firm based in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, and in 1928 merged his firm with that of Nicholas Dill and James Pearman, forming the law firm of Conyers Dill & Pearman. Conyers was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

in 1936, and a

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in 1944, for "services to Bermuda". He served in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

from the 1930s, and served for a period of time as

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. Conyers also chaired a committee attempting to implement

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

during 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 ...

. He died in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts, in July 1948.James Reginald Conyers
– ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 November 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conyers, Reginald 1885 births 1948 deaths Speakers of the House of Assembly of Bermuda 20th-century Bermudian businesspeople Bermudian cricket administrators Bermudian cricketers Bermudian expatriate sportspeople in the United States 20th-century Bermudian lawyers Bermudian politicians Bermudian sportsperson-politicians Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Cricket people awarded knighthoods Knights Bachelor Members of the House of Assembly of Bermuda People from Pembroke Parish Philadelphian cricketers