Reginald Harry Myburgh Hands (26 July 1888 – 20 April 1918) was a South African cricketer who played in one Test match in February 1914. He died in France as a result of injuries sustained on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. His death was an indirect cause of the tradition of the two-minute silence, instigated by his father Sir Harry Hands when Mayor of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

Biography

Reginald Hands was born in

Claremont, Cape Town Claremont is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is situated 9 kilometres south of the city, and is one of the so-called " Southern Suburbs", it is situated alongside Lansdowne. It is an important commercial and residential area, which is c ...

, South Africa, son of Sir Harry Hands

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

and Lady Aletta Hands (née Myburgh)

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

and elder brother of

Philip Hands Philip Albert Myburgh Hands (14 April 1890"South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2004," database with images, ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-23589-14765-34?cc=1468076 : acces ...

and

Kenneth Hands Kenneth Charles Myburgh Hands (22 March 1892 – 18 November 1954) was a South African cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1912 to 1931. Kenneth Hands was born in Stellenbosch, Cape Colony in 1892, son of Sir Harry Hands KBE and L ...

. He was educated at

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established o ...

Rondebosch Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with shopping and business districts as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town. History Four years after the first Dutch s ...

from 1899 to 1907. He won the Jamieson prize for the best all-round sportsman at the college in 1906. He went up to

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

, in 1907 as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, earned a degree in

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...

and became a lawyer, being called to the bar (

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

) in May 1911. Hands played as a South African

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er in one Test match in February 1914. Not surprisingly given the period, his entire

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 ...

career lasted just 15 months, in which time he played a few matches for Western Province in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

(1912–13) and against the visiting the MCC led by

J. W. H. T. Douglas John William Henry Tyler Douglas (3 September 1882 – 19 December 1930) was an English cricketer who was active in the early decades of the twentieth century. Douglas was an all-rounder who played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1901 to 1 ...

(1913–14). During that English tour, Hands made his only Test appearance in the fifth match of the series, played at

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, S ...

. A useful right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, th ...

, he scored 0 and 7 in a match won convincingly by the visitors by 10 wickets. He was dismissed

stumped Stumped is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket, which involves the wicket-keeper putting down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground. (The batsman leaves his ground when he has moved down the pitch beyond the popping crea ...

in both innings.. No mention of his representative appearance was made in his ''

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" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' obituary, nor that his brother, P. A. M. Hands, also played in that same Test. Reginald Hands was also a talented rugby forward and played two international matches for

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 ...

in 1910 against

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and

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, as well as playing for Blackheath and

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. He (along with his two brothers, also Rhodes Scholars) had previously won his rugby blues at Oxford University in 1908 and 1909. At the outbreak of the first Great War he joined the Imperial Light Horse and went with them to German South West Africa (now

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...

). He transferred to SA Heavy Artillery and was posted to the

, where he was seconded to the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA ...

. He was promoted to captain and became second in command of his battery. During the Germans' final large offensive, begun on 21 March 1918, he was gassed, and succumbed to the effects of gas poisoning while off-duty and seemingly safe behind Allied lines, dying aged just 29 on 20 April 1918 at

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C� ...

, France. At the time of his death, he was serving in the 73rd Siege Battery under Major Walter Brydon, who died about a week earlier. His death was one of the indirect causes of the tradition of the two-minute silence, instigated by his father when Mayor of

. Reginald Hands was awarded the 1914–15 Star, the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and the Victory Medal for his military service. He is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France

rave VII. A. 39 A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

At his old school, every year a boy is awarded the Hands Memorial Essay Prize.

References

Sources

* ''World Cricketers - A Biographical Dictionary'' by Christopher Martin-Jenkins published by Oxford University Press (1996) * ''The Wisden Book of Test Cricket, Volume 1 (1877–1977)'' compiled and edited by Bill Frindall published by Headline Book Publishing (1995) * ''Who's Who of Cricketers'' by Philip Bailey, Philip Thorn & Peter Wynne-Thomas published by Hamlyn (1993) * www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players * ''The Complete Who's Who of England Rugby Union Internationals'' by Raymond Maule published by Breedon Books Publishing Company Ltd. (1992) *
Taylor, Anton, "Honouring a Century of Silence", ''The Old Diocesan'', Vol.1, (March 2018), pp. 58–60.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hands, Reginald 1888 births 1918 deaths South African military personnel killed in World War I South Africa Test cricketers South African cricketers Western Province cricketers English rugby union players England international rugby union players South African rugby union players Cricketers from Cape Town Members of the Middle Temple Alumni of University College, Oxford South African Rhodes Scholars

Biography

See also

References

Sources