Thomas Bevan (14 February 1900 – 12 June 1942) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

first-class cricketer and

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. Bevan was commissioned into the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

in December 1919 after graduating from Sandhurst. He would serve with the Coldstream Guards until his death 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 ...

, at which he commanded the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards. He also played

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 ...

for the

British Army cricket team The Army cricket team is a cricket team representing the British Army. The Army team played 51 first-class matches between 1912 and 1939, although a combined Army and Navy team had played two games against a combined Oxford and Cambridge team ...

. He was the grandson of Thomas Bevan (politician).

Life and military career

Bevan was born at

Crayford Crayford is a town and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in South London, South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the Historic countie ...

in February 1900 to Wilfred Bevan and his wife, Ethel. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, before attending the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

. Graduating from Sandhurst in December 1919, he entered into the

as a second lieutenant. Two years later he was promoted to the rank of

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 December 1921. He later appeared in a single

match for the

against the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

in 1928. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed for 6 runs by Richard Utley in the Army's first-innings, while following-on in their second-innings he was dismissed by Charles Blount for a single run. Bevan was promoted to the rank of

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 November 1929. He was promoted to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in September 1937. Bevan served during the

and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

for distinguished service in the Middle East during the period December 1940–February 1941. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel during the war and commanded the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards during the

Western Desert campaign The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the Sahara Desert, deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main Theater (warfare), theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with ...

. He saw action at the

Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala, also the Gazala Offensive (Italian language, Italian: ''Battaglia di Ain el-Gazala'') was fought near the village of Gazala during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, f ...

and

The Cauldron ''The Cauldron'' was a non-profit, independent, esoteric magazine featuring in-depth articles on traditional witchcraft, Wicca, ancient and modern Paganism, magic, and folklore. It was published quarterly in the UK in February, May, August, and ...

. Days after the engagements at The Cauldron, Bevan was present at the Knightsbridge Box with the 201st Guards Brigade when it was attacked and surrounded by the

15th Panzer Division The 15th Panzer Division () was an armoured division in the German Army, the Wehrmacht, during World War II, established in 1940. The division, formed from the 33rd Infantry Division, fought exclusively in North Africa from 1941 to 1943, event ...

on 11 June 1942. He was seriously wounded the following day and died from his wounds shortly after. Bevan was survived by his wife, Sylvia of Oakham, Rutland. He was subsequently buried at the Tobruk War Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, Thomas 1900 births 1942 deaths People from Crayford Cricketers from the London Borough of Bexley People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Coldstream Guards officers English cricketers British Army cricketers Military personnel from the London Borough of Bexley British Army personnel killed in World War II Cricketers from Kent 20th-century English sportsmen