Charles Higginbotham
English cricketer and British Army officer (1866–1915)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Ernest Higginbotham (4 July 1866 – 11 March 1915)[1] was a British soldier[2] who also had a notable cricket career.[3]
Charing Cross, Glasgow, Scotland
Neuve Chapelle, France
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Charles Ernest Higginbotham | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 July 1866 Charing Cross, Glasgow, Scotland | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 11 March 1915 (aged 48) Neuve Chapelle, France | ||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | ||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
| 1906 | South African Army | ||||||||||||||
| 1912 | British Army | ||||||||||||||
| FC debut | 12 January 1906 South Africa Army v MCC | ||||||||||||||
| Last FC | 30 May 1912 Army v Royal Navy | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Source: CricketArchive, 4 December 2007 | |||||||||||||||
Biography
After attending Rugby School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst,[2] Higginbotham was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Northamptonshire Regiment on 5 February 1887.[4]
He was promoted to lieutenant on 16 April 1890,[5] and stationed in the Far East, where he played cricket for the Straits Settlements, playing three matches against Hong Kong between 1890 and 1891.[6]
Following promotion to captain on 2 January 1899, he served during the Second Boer War in South Africa,[2] and was superintendent of gymnasia until July 1902,[7] when he returned to his regiment.[8] He took part in some Minor Counties cricket for Devon in the first years of the 20th century.[9]
Whilst stationed in South Africa after the end of the war, he made his first-class debut in January 1906, playing for the South African Army against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) team,[10] who were in fact the touring England cricket team.[11]
He played one further first-class match, playing for the Army against the Royal Navy at Lord's in May 1912.[10]
He was killed in action while on active service during the First World War at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915.[2][12]