Geoffrey Colman

Geoffrey Russell Rees Colman (14 March 1892 – 18 March 1935) was an English cricketer active in first-class cricket from 1912 to 1924.

Geoffrey Colman

Personal information
Full name	Geoffrey Russell Rees Colman
Born	14 March 1892 Norwich, Norfolk, England
Died	18 May 1935 (aged 43) Framingham Earl, Norfolk, England
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm slow
Relations	Stanley Colman (cousin) Charles Lyttelton (brother-in-law) Denis Wigan (brother-in-law)
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1924	Minor Counties
1912–1914	Oxford University
1911–1930	Norfolk
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 23 Runs scored 958 Batting average 24.56 100s/50s 1/2 Top score 127 Balls bowled 12 Wickets 1 Bowling average 14.00 5 wickets in innings – 10 wickets in match – Best bowling 1/14 Catches/stumpings 17/–
Source: Cricinfo, 23 September 2018

Colman was born at Norwich to Edith Margaret Davies and her husband Russell James Colman.[1] He was educated at Eton College, before attending Christ Church, Oxford. While still attending Eton, Colman made his minor counties debut for Norfolk in the 1911 Minor Counties Championship, making three appearances in that season.[2] His debut in first-class cricket came the following year for Oxford University against the touring South Africans at the Magdalen Ground, Oxford.[3] Prior to the start of World War I, Colman made 22 first-class appearances for the university.[3] Playing primarily as a right-handed batsman, Colman scored 946 runs, making one century score of 127 against Hampshire in 1913.[4][5] He gained his Oxford blue in 1913.[6]

With the onset of war, Colman enlisted in the British Army. He served in the 7th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade on the Western Front with the rank of second lieutenant.[7] He later served in the Machine Gun Corps, achieving the rank of temporary captain in January 1917.[8] During the course of the war he was severely wounded, which would affect him in later years.[6]

Following the war, Colman married Lettice Elizabeth Evelyn Adeane on 25 February 1919, with the couple having five children (including Timothy Colman).[1] He also resumed playing minor counties cricket for Norfolk, representing his home county until 1930,[2] but the wounds he sustained during the war curtailed his minor counties career.[6] He made one final appearance in first-class cricket when he was selected to play for the combined Minor Counties cricket team in 1924 against the touring South Africans at the County Ground, Lakenham.[3]

As a member of the Norwich Colman's family, he served as a company director until his death at Framingham Earl, Norfolk, on 18 March 1935,[9] from endocarditis caused by a chest wound sustained during the war.[10] After his death, the thatched pavilion at the County Ground in Lakenham was erected in his memory in 1936.[10]

References

1. "Profile: Geoffrey Russell Rees Colman". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
2. "Minor Counties Championship Matches played by Geoffrey Colman". CricketArchive. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
3. "First-Class Matches played by Geoffrey Colman". CricketArchive. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
4. "First-class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Geoffrey Colman". CricketArchive. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
5. "Hampshire v Oxford University, 1913". CricketArchive. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
6. "Wisden – Obituaries in 1935". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
7. "No. 28879". The London Gazette. 25 August 1914. p. 6696.
8. "No. 29894". The London Gazette. 6 January 1917. p. 358.
9. Church, Roy; Godley, Andrew (1 January 2003). The Emergence of Modern Marketing. Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 978-0714653907.
10. James, Derek (18 November 2013). "Last innings for former home of Norfolk cricket at Lakenham". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 23 September 2018.

External links

• Geoffrey Colman at ESPNcricinfo
• Geoffrey Colman at CricketArchive