James Gordon Leaf was a British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 officer and English cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

er who played first-class cricket

First-class cricket

First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

 for the British Army cricket team

British Army cricket team

The Army cricket team is a cricket side representing the British Army. The team played a number of first-class matches between 1912 and 1939, although a combined "Army and Navy" side had played two games against a combined Oxford and Cambridge team in 1910 and 1911...

 and played international matches for the Egypt national cricket team

Egypt national cricket team

The Egypt national cricket team was the team that represented the country of Egypt in international cricket matches. They were active from 1909 until World War II.-Early years:...

.

Biography

Born in Shipston-on-Stour

Shipston-on-Stour

Shipston-on-Stour is a town and civil parish on the River Stour about south of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. It is in the northern part of the Cotswolds, close to the boundaries with Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire....

 in 1900, James Leaf attended Harrow School

Harrow School

Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...

, playing a match for them against Winchester College

Winchester College

Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...

 in 1918. From Harrow he went to Royal Military College Sandhurst, and on graduation was commissioned as a second lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 in the 15th Hussars on 24 December 1920. The regiment merged with the 20th Hussars

20th Hussars

The 20th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. In 1922 it was amalgamated with the 14th Hussars to form the 14th/20th Hussars, later the 14th/20th King's Hussars.-History of the 20th Hussars:...

 in 1922, Leaf continued as a second lieutenant in the new regiment, the 14th/20th Hussars, until his promotion to lieutenant

First Lieutenant

First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...

 on 24 December 1922 when he transferred to the 15th/19th Hussars. He played two matches for Egypt against the Free Foresters

Free Foresters Cricket Club

Free Foresters Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' club, having no home ground....

 in 1927. He resigned his commission on 20 October 1928, but rejoined the army (and the 15th/19th) on 10 December 1930, with reduced seniority (from 29 August 1926). He was promoted captain

Captain (OF-2)

The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...

 on 20 November 1934.

He played his one first-class match for the Army against Oxford University

Oxford University Cricket Club

Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...

 in May 1937. He was promoted major on 12 February 1940, shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War. Between 1942 and 1945, he played six matches for the Catterick Garrison

Catterick Garrison

Catterick Garrison is a major Army base located in Northern England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world with a population of around 12,000, plus a large temporary population of soldiers, and is larger than its older neighbour...

 cricket team against Durham

Durham County Cricket Club

Durham County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Durham. Its limited overs team is called the Durham Dynamos. Their kit colours are blue with yellow trim and the shirt sponsor was...

. He retired from the army on 18 October 1947. He died in Osmaston

Osmaston, Derbyshire Dales

Osmaston is a small village in the Derbyshire Dales in the county of Derbyshire in England.Located two and a half miles south of Ashbourne, Osmaston is an archetypal English village with thatched cottages and a village pond.-History:...

in 1972.