Henry Persse
English cricketer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Wilfred Persse MC & Bar (19 September 1885 — 28 June 1918) was an English first-class cricketer and an officer in the British Army.
near Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais, France
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Henry Wilfred Persse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 September 1885 Portswood, Hampshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 28 June 1918 (aged 32) near Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm fast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1905–1909 | Hampshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 20 February 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The son of the soldier Edward Persse and his wife, Margaret, he was born in the Southampton suburb of Portswood in September 1885.[1] Persse made his debut in first-class cricket for Hampshire County Cricket Club against Surrey at The Oval in the 1905 County Championship, with him making thirteen first-class appearances that season.[2] He took 39 wickets with his right-arm fast bowling in 1905, at an average of 34.25; amongst these was his maiden five wicket haul of 5 for 39 against Northamptonshire.[3][4] He did not feature for Hampshire in 1906, but returned to play in 1907, when he had his most successful season. In 22 matches,[2] he took 60 wickets at an average of 23.20; he took two five wicket hauls, with career-best figures of 6 for 64 against Leicestershire.[3][4] In addition to performing well with the ball, he also scored 571 runs at a batting average of 16.79, with three half centuries.[5] Over the next two years, Persse featured less for Hampshire, making ten and six appearances respectively in 1908 and 1909.[2] He was less effective with the ball, taking 18 wickets at an average of 39.38 in 1908 and 10 wickets at an average of 37.60 in 1909.[3] In total, he made 51 first-class appearances for Hampshire.[2] In these, he took 127 wickets at an average of 30.02,[6] whilst with the bat, he scored 889 runs at an average of 11.69.[7]
Persse's first-class career finished in 1909, with the reason given being he was travelling abroad.[8] He went to Siam, where he worked for the Siam Forest Company.[9] Persse later returned to England to serve in the First World War, with him being commissioned into the Royal Fusiliers as a probationary second lieutenant in August 1914.[10] He was confirmed in that rank in March 1915,[11] with promotion to lieutenant following in May 1915.[12] Persse was awarded the Military Cross (MC) in January 1916,[13] with a bar being added to his MC in June 1917.[14] Between his MC awards, he had been made a temporary captain in August 1916,[15] with him gaining the full rank in September of the same year.[16] He was made an acting major in April 1917, while serving at headquarters.[17] Persse was twice wounded in action during the war, with his second wounding, which occurred on the Western Front near Saint-Omer on 28 June 1918, proving to be fatal.[1] His brother, Edward, was killed in action four months later.[1]