Ernest Cowdrey

The son of Ernest Charles Cowdrey, he was born in British India at Calcutta in January 1902. He was educated at Whitgift School, where he played cricket and showed promise as a cricketer, moving his way up through the age groups at Beddington Cricket Club in Surrey.^[1] Cowdrey harboured dreams of playing the game professionally, but did not progress his cricket to that level. After finishing his education he found employment at a bank in the City of London, before progressing to stockbroking where he bought and sold tea stocks. He met his future wife, Kathleen Mary Taylor, at Beddington Cricket Club, with the couple later marrying. The couple moved to India after they were married, with Cowdrey setting up a tea plantation high in the Nilgiri Mountains, 100 miles from Bangalore.^[1] He played first-class cricket in India for the Europeans cricket team, making a single appearance against the Indians at Madras in January 1927 in the Madras Presidency Match.^[2] Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed for 9 runs in the Europeans first innings by M. Venkataramanjulu, while in their second innings he was unbeaten on 27. In the Indians first innings he bowled 11 overs, going wicketless.^[3] He would often drive the ten hours to Madras to play club cricket, a perilous undertaking on the narrow and unpaved roads in the mountains. The Great Depression hit the tea industry hard, with prices dropping by over 50%, however Cowdrey was able to maintain the plantation, though the Second World War again hit the plantation, with the young English managers joining the war effort.^[1] In later life he suffered from a bad heart, dying in England in October 1954 at Sutton.^[1]