Sir Francis Stanley Jackson Jackson's obituary in the 1948 ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''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" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

''. This gives his full name as ''Francis'' Stanley Jackson, whereas

Cricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...

and CricketArchive both give his full name as ''Frank'' Stanley Jackson. This article uses the name given by ''Wisden''. (21 November 1870 – 9 March 1947), known as the Honourable Stanley Jackson during his playing career, was an English

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, soldier and Conservative Party politician. He played in 20

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

for the

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

between 1893 and 1905.

Early life

Jackson was born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. His father was

William Jackson, 1st Baron Allerton William Lawies Jackson, 1st Baron Allerton, (16 February 1840 – 4 April 1917) was a British businessman and Conservative politician. Background and education Born in Otley, near Leeds, England, Jackson was the son of William Jackson, a leat ...

. He was educated at

Lockers Park School Lockers Park School is a day and boarding preparatory and pre-preparatory school for boys, situated in 23 acres of countryside in Boxmoor, Hertfordshire. Its headmaster is Gavin Taylor. History Lockers Park was founded in 1872 by Henry Monta ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

and

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

. During Stanley's time at Harrow his

fag Fag or FAG may refer to: * Cigarette, in British and Australian slang * Fagging, hierarchical servitude in British public schools * Faggot, a pejorative term for a homosexual * FAG, a brand of the Schaeffler Group * FAGS, now FADS Fun Sticks, an ...

was fellow parliamentarian and future Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. He went up to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

in 1889.

Cricket career

Jackson played for

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 ...

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 ...

and England. He spotted the talent of

Ranjitsinhji Colonel Kumar Sri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was an Indian cricketer who later became ruler of his native Indian princely state of Nawanagar State, Nawan ...

when the latter, owing to his unorthodox batting and his race, was struggling to find a place for himself in the university side, and as captain was responsible for Ranji's inclusion in the Cambridge First XI and the awarding of his

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

. According to

Alan Gibson Norman Alan Stewart Gibson (28 May 1923 – 10 April 1997) was an English journalist, writer and radio broadcaster, best known for his work in connection with cricket, though he also sometimes covered football and rugby union. At various times ...

this was "a much more controversial thing to do than would seem possible to us now". He was named a

Wisden Cricketer of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based "primarily for their influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1894. He captained England in five

in 1905, winning two and drawing three to retain

The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...

. Captaining England for the first time, he won all five tosses and topped the batting and bowling averages for both sides, with 492 runs at 70.28 and 13 wickets at 15.46. These were the last of his 20 Test matches, all played at home as he could not spare the time to tour. Jackson still holds the Test record for the most matches in a career without playing away from home.. An orthodox batsman with a penchant for forcing strokes in front of square on both sides of the wicket he was regarded as a very sound player of fast bowling. His own bowling was a brisk fast medium, with a good off cutter his main weapon. While his commitments outside of cricket limited the number of games he played he was a key member of the very strong Yorkshire sides who won 6 county championships during his career (although this did include 1901 when Jackson did not appear in the county championship). His performances in 1896 and 1898 in particular showed what his statistics could have been if he had been able to dedicate more time, scoring over 1,000 championship runs at better than 40.00 in each season and taking over 100 wickets across the two seasons at an average of under 20. He was also the first batsman to be dismissed in the so-called "nervous nineties" on Test debut. Gibson wrote of him as a cricketer that he had "a toughness of character, a certain ruthlessness behind the genial exterior... He does not seem to have been a particularly popular man, though he was always a deeply respected one." He was President of 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) in 1921. Jackson succeeded

Lord Hawke Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke (16 August 1860 – 10 October 1938), generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer active from 1881 to 1911 who played for Yorkshire and England. He was born in Willingham by Stow, near ...

as President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club in 1938 after Hawke's death and held the post until his own death in 1947.

Military and political career

As a former

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 ...

in the Harrow School Volunteers, on 16 January 1900 Jackson was gazetted to a captaincy direct rather than being promoted in the normal way. He was appointed

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 ...

in 3rd (1st Royal Lancashire Militia) Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster). He left with his battalion in February 1900 to serve in 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 ...

, and arrived 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 ...

the following month. He transferred to the

West Yorkshire Regiment The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was ...

as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1914. He was elected as a Member of Parliament at a by-election in February 1915, representing

Howdenshire Howdenshire was a wapentake and a liberty of England, lying around the town of Howden in the East Riding of Yorkshire. In the Anglo-Saxon period, the district was under the control of Peterborough's monastery, but it was confiscated by Edward ...

(

) until resigning his seat on 3 November 1926. He served as

Financial Secretary to the War Office The Financial Secretary to the War Office and for certain periods known as the Finance Member of the Army Council, was a junior ministerial office of the British government established in 1870. In May 1947 the office was unified with that of the ...

1922–23. In 1927 he was appointed

Governor of Bengal In 1644, Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hooghly district, Hughli, without fortifications. Various chief agents, Governors and presidents were appointed to look after co ...

and in that year was knighted with the GCIE and was made a member of the Privy Council. In 1928 while he was Governor of Bengal, he inaugurated The Malda District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd in Malda District of Bengal to promote co-operative movements. He was awarded the

KStJ The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

in 1932. On 6 February 1932, Jackson sidestepped and ducked five pistol shots fired at close range by a girl student named

Bina Das Bina Das (24 August 1911 – 1986) was an Indian revolutionary and nationalist from West Bengal. Biography Participation in India's freedom struggle Das was a member of '' Chhatri Sangha'', a semi-revolutionary organisation for women in Ko ...

in the Convocation Hall of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. Escaping unharmed and smiling, " en before the smoke had blown away, the Governor resumed his speech amid cheers." The attacker was tackled and disarmed by Lieutenant-Colonel

Hassan Suhrawardy Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan Suhrawardy CStJ, FRCS (17 November 1884 – 18 September 1946) was a Bengali surgeon, military officer in the British Indian Army, politician, and a public official. He was the former chairman of the executive commi ...

(the first Muslim vice chancellor of the University of Calcutta), who was knighted by the King for his heroism. Later that year, Jackson was appointed

GCSI The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India, GCSI) # K ...

Family

Jackson married Julia Harrison-Broadley, daughter of Henry Harrison-Broadley, of Welton House, Brough, Yorkshire, at St. Helen's Church, Welton, East Yorkshire, on 5 November 1902. They had one son, Major Henry Jackson (1903-1962), who married Grace Beddard, his cousin (a granddaughter of Lord Allerton).

Funeral

Jackson died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

of complications following a road accident.Kilburn, p. 122. Recalling his funeral, the

Bishop of Knaresborough The Bishop of Ripon is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. The bishop is one of the area bishops of the Diocese of Leeds in the Province of York. The area bishop of Ripon has oversight o ...

remarked "As I gazed down on the rapt faces of that vast congregation, I could see how they revered him as though he were the Almighty, though, of course, infinitely stronger on the leg side."

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Stanley 1870 births 1947 deaths Road incident deaths in London Cricketers from Leeds West Yorkshire Regiment officers King's Own Royal Regiment officers Lancashire Militia officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Cambridge University cricketers Deputy lieutenants of the West Riding of Yorkshire England Test cricketers England Test cricket captains Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Wisden Cricketers of the Year Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World Yorkshire cricketers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British sportsperson-politicians Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom British governors of Bengal Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights of the Order of St John UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 Younger sons of barons English cricketers England cricket team selectors English cricketers of 1890 to 1918 Gentlemen cricketers Chairmen of the Conservative Party (UK) Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Presidents of Yorkshire County Cricket Club Lord Hawke's XI cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers North v South cricketers A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers People educated at Harrow School Military personnel from Leeds Cricket people awarded knighthoods