Alfred Soames Explained

Alfred Soames
Country:South Africa
Birth Date:16 September 1862
Birth Place:Mildenhall, Wiltshire, England
Death Place:Hulluch, France
Umpire:true
Testsumpired:2
Umptestdebutyr:1899
Umptestlastyr:1902
Date:7 June 2019
Source:http://www.espncricinfo.com/southafrica/content/player/47474.html Cricinfo

Alfred Soames DSO (16 September 1862  - 13 October 1915) was an English-born South African cricket umpire and soldier.[1]

Soames was born in Mildenhall, Wiltshire, where his father was rector. He was educated at Haileybury School in England. He served as a lieutenant with the Buffs in the Second Boer War, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1902 for his service.[2]

Soames umpired 15 first-class matches in South Africa between 1891 and 1902, including two Test matches in 1899 and 1902 and three Currie Cup finals.[3] [4] He gave the English batsman Pelham Warner not out in response to a stumping appeal in the 1899 Test, and later admitted it was a mistake that had probably cost South Africa victory.[5]

Soames served as a major with the Buffs in World War I, and was mentioned in dispatches. He died in action in October 1915 at Hulluch in northern France and is buried at the Loos memorial.[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Alfred Soames . Cricket Archive . 7 June 2019.
  2. Web site: Biographies . Victoria Falls Cenotaph . 14 January 2023.
  3. Web site: Alfred Soames as Umpire in First-Class Matches . CricketArchive . 14 January 2023.
  4. Web site: A. Soames . 7 June 2019 . ESPNcricinfo.
  5. Bruce Murray & Christopher Merrett, Caught Behind: Race and Politics in Springbok Cricket, Wits University Press and University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, Johannesburg and Scottsville, 2004, p. 19.
  6. In Memoriam . The Dragon . October 1923 . 398 .