Holmes Errol Image 1 Surrey 1938

Description

Calcutta, Bengal, India born right-handed batsman Errol Holmes was educated at Malvern College, where he was coached at cricket by Charles Toppin. In a school match in 1922 he took 10-36 in an innings. He captained the First XI in 1923 and 1924. He first played for Surrey in 1924 before going up to Trinity College, Oxford. Holmes came to prominence as a dashing and hard-hitting batsman for Oxford University from 1925 to 1927, also playing a few matches for Surrey and for The Gentlemen against The Players. He also bowled fast-medium, though it was reported that his run-up tended to be rather more fearsome than the bowling that resulted from it.

He gained Blues in football and cricket in his first year. At a time when, he said, it was “desirable but by no means essential” for an Oxbridge student to finish with a degree, he approached his studies light-heartedly and did not sit for his exams in his final year, preferring to concentrate on his captaincy of the Oxford cricket team. He scored a century in the match against Cambridge, but Oxford lost. In the match against Free Foresters a few weeks earlier he had scored 236, including four sixes off four balls, and declared at the end of the first day when Oxford had made 520-8.

After Oxford, Holmes he toured Jamaica in February and March 1927 in a team captained by the Hon. L.H. Tennyson that played three first-classmatches against Jamaica, but then left first class cricket to work on the Stock Exchange. He played only a few first class matches in 1928 and 1929, and none from then until 1934, when H.D.G. Leveson-Gower, who was President of Surrey, accosted him in Throgmorton Street and in the course of conversation asked him to take over the County’s captaincy from Douglas Jardine.

He believed that cricket was to be enjoyed and was an instant success, making 1,000 runs in each of the next four seasons and being appointed vice-captain on the M.C.C. tour of The West Indies where he played four Test matches, making his Test match debut at Bridgetown in January 1935 and making his only notable Test match score of 85 not out at Port of Spain in the Second Test. He also played one Test at Lord’s against South Africa in June 1935, but business commitments led him to pull out of the 1936-37 tour to Australia under Gubby Allen, and he retired from the Surrey captaincy to resume his business career in 1938. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1936.

During the Second World War he was an officer in the Royal Artillery, achieving the rank of Major. He was described as a “flak expert”. He flew as British flak liaison officer with the first American bomber mission against the German naval base at Wilhelmshaven. When the waist gunner of his aircraft was injured, Holmes took his place, but did not have any opportunity to fire the weapon. He was awarded the US DFC in 1948 for his services during the War, having been the flak liaison officer with the 1st Bomb Wing/Division during all their operations over Europe.

After the war, Holmes was persuaded back to Surrey as captain for two further seasons from 1947, and as late as 1955, at the age of 49, he came back to captain Surrey in one match against Oxford University, batting at number nine and scoring 49 runs. In retirement, he sat on M.C.C. and Surrey committees. Sir Jack Hobbs, who played alongside him and served with him on the Surrey committee, wrote that Holmes “was a true sportsman and a lovable fellow”, “a fine attacking batsman” who “set a fine personal example in the field” and “would not tolerate anything shady or underhanded”.

In 301 first class matches Holmes scored 13,598 runs at an average of 32.84 with 24 centuries and 67 half centuries, and with his bowling he took 283 wickets at 33.67 apiece with a best of 6-16, taking five wickets in an innings on 4 occasions. He also held 192 catches including 4 in Test cricket.

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