Henry Rosher

Henry Louis Rosher (7 May 1866 – 14 April 1915) was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer.

Henry Rosher

Personal information
Full name	Henry Louis Rosher
Born	7 May 1866 Edmonton, Middlesex, England
Died	14 April 1915 (aged 48) Shaiba, Mesopotamia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1912	Europeans
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 1 Runs scored 13 Batting average 13.00 100s/50s –/– Top score 13 Balls bowled – Wickets – Bowling average – 5 wickets in innings – 10 wickets in match – Best bowling – Catches/stumpings 1/0
Source: Cricinfo, 31 July 2020

Life and career

Born at Edmonton in May 1866, Rosher was educated at Tonbridge Grammar School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[1] Commissioned as a lieutenant in the Dorsetshire Regiment on 7 February 1885, Rosher was promoted to captain on 19 November 1891.[2][3] Posted in Malta and Egypt, Rosher was transferred to British India in 1893, the same year he married Lillian Hall.[1] From 1897, he was stationed in Madras as a Deputy Assistant Adjutant General under George Wolseley. He was in South Africa for service in the Second Boer War, and was promoted to major after the end of this war, on 23 August 1902,[4] before returning to India on the SS Ionian in November 1902.[5] Promotion to lieutenant colonel followed in 1910.[1][6]

Rosher appeared in one first-class match for Europeans against Hindus at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground on 29 August 1912.[7] During the match, Rosher caught CV Metha off the bowling of Elliot Tillard and scored 13 runs before himself being caught by Palwankar Vithal off the bowling of JM Rasker.[8]

At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Rosher was commanding the 2nd Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment, which was part of the 16th Indian Brigade stationed in Poona.[1] The battalion was ordered to the Persian Gulf, where they landed at Fao in November 1914 as part of the Indian Expeditionary Force.[1][6] During the Mesopotamian campaign, Rosher was mentioned in despatches twice, once at the fall of Basra, and again at the Battle of Shaiba.[9] On 14 April 1915, the third day of the latter battle, Rosher was killed in action leading a bayonet charge against Ottoman forces.[1][9] He is buried at the Basra War Cemetery.[10]

References

1. "THE CARPENTERS' COMPANY ROLL OF HONOUR 1914-1918" (PDF). Carpenters' Company. p. 1. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
2. "No. 25439". The London Gazette. 6 February 1885. p. 523.
3. "No. 26228". The London Gazette. 1 December 1891. p. 6650.
4. Hart′s Army list, 1903
5. "The Army in South Africa - Movement of Troops". The Times (36930). London. 20 November 1902. p. 11.
6. "ROSHER, HENRY LOUIS". Tonbridge at War. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
7. "First-Class Matches played by Henry Rosher". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
8. "JC Greig's XI v Hindus in 1912/13". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
9. McCrery, Nigel (2015). Final Wicket: Test and First Class Cricketers Killed in the Great War. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-47382-714-1.
10. "Casualty Details: Henry Louis Rosher". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 31 July 2020.