Monty Garland-Wells
Encyclopedia
Herbert Montandon "Monty" Garland-Wells (14 November 1907 - 6 June 1993) was an English
amateur cricket
er. His first-class
career, first with Oxford University
and then with Surrey
, lasted from 1927 until 1939, being terminated by the outbreak of World War II
. He was a middle-order batsman and a bowler of medium-pace cutters. He captained Surrey in his final season. He was also a good enough footballer to play for the England amateur team in one match in 1930 as the goalkeeper. He subsequently played for Leyton Orient F.C.
, then known as Clapton Orient.
He was educated at St Paul's, before going up to Oxford. He was not selected to play for Oxford in the University Match against Cambridge University
in 1927, but did so in 1928 (when he made 64 not out and 70), 1929 and 1930.
1928 was easily his best season with the bat. He reached one thousand runs for the only time, with 1270 at an average of 43.79. He also made two of his four centuries, including his highest score of 128.
After his university days, his batting declined. Even so, he, Errol Holmes
and Freddie Brown, three amateurs of aggressive intent who often followed one another in the batting order, were referred to at Surrey as the "Biff-Bang Boys". His most memorable moment with the ball was to bowl Don Bradman for 32 in 1930 when he was en route to his thousand runs in May.
Under his captaincy in 1939, Surrey made an excellent start, but then faded to finish eighth, having been third the previous season. Nevertheless his Wisden
obituary is complimentary about his leadership. He is described as displaying "a touch of unorthodoxy in the tradition of Percy Fender
". He was liked by the professional players, showing no sign of any amateur aloofness. According to David Lemmon, he wrote: "For myself, I loved every moment of 1939 and other years when I played for Surrey."
At the end of the season, the war began, and his career as a solicitor
prevented him from resuming in 1946. Thereafter his main sports were golf
and bowls
.
According to Wisden:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
amateur 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. His first-class
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...
career, first with 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...
and then with Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
, lasted from 1927 until 1939, being terminated by the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was a middle-order batsman and a bowler of medium-pace cutters. He captained Surrey in his final season. He was also a good enough footballer to play for the England amateur team in one match in 1930 as the goalkeeper. He subsequently played for Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
, then known as Clapton Orient.
He was educated at St Paul's, before going up to Oxford. He was not selected to play for Oxford in the University Match against Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
in 1927, but did so in 1928 (when he made 64 not out and 70), 1929 and 1930.
1928 was easily his best season with the bat. He reached one thousand runs for the only time, with 1270 at an average of 43.79. He also made two of his four centuries, including his highest score of 128.
After his university days, his batting declined. Even so, he, Errol Holmes
Errol Holmes
Errol Reginald Thorold Holmes, born at Calcutta on 21 August 1905 and died in London on 16 August 1960, was a cricketer who played for Oxford University, Surrey and England....
and Freddie Brown, three amateurs of aggressive intent who often followed one another in the batting order, were referred to at Surrey as the "Biff-Bang Boys". His most memorable moment with the ball was to bowl Don Bradman for 32 in 1930 when he was en route to his thousand runs in May.
Under his captaincy in 1939, Surrey made an excellent start, but then faded to finish eighth, having been third the previous season. Nevertheless his Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
obituary is complimentary about his leadership. He is described as displaying "a touch of unorthodoxy in the tradition of Percy Fender
Percy Fender
Percy George Herbert Fender was an English all-round cricketer who played 13 Tests for England. He was a middle order batsman and bowled mainly leg spin.-Biography:...
". He was liked by the professional players, showing no sign of any amateur aloofness. According to David Lemmon, he wrote: "For myself, I loved every moment of 1939 and other years when I played for Surrey."
At the end of the season, the war began, and his career as a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
prevented him from resuming in 1946. Thereafter his main sports were golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
.
According to Wisden:
During the war his name was informally used as a code word in North AfricaNorth AfricaNorth Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
: Garland-Wells = Monty = Montgomery. This was more impenetrable to the Germans than the most complicated cipher.