Neville Ford
Encyclopedia
Neville Montague Ford was an English cricket
er who played for Derbyshire
, Oxford University
, Middlesex
and MCC
between 1926 and 1934.
Ford was born at Repton
, the son of the Rev Lionel Ford
and his wife May Talbot. His father was then headmaster of Repton School
and in 1910 became headmaster of Harrow School
. His mother was the daughter of Edward Stuart Talbot
, who was successively Bishop of Rochester, Southwark and Winchester.
Ford was educated at West Downs School
and Harrow where he became head of the school and captain of cricket. While still at school he began playing for Derbyshire. He made his debut in August 1926 in a victory against Northamptonshire
and followed it up with a draw against Kent
. He played two games for Derbyshire in 1927.
Ford then went to Oriel College, Oxford having been awarded the Evelyn de Rothschild scholarship. At Oxford he played cricket for Oxford University
in three successive years from 1928 to 1930. His centuries all came for Oxford and were 151 against Nottinghamshire
and 118 against Free Foresters in 1929 and 155 against Kent, 183 against the Free Foresters and 180 against Surrey
in 1930. Against Surrey he added 276 for the fourth wicket with Patrick Kingsley in under three hours. Ford also won half Blues for rackets and fives at Oxford. Meanwhile he continued playing for Derbyshire at the end of seasons and also put in a game for minor county Devon
in 1929.
After Oxford, Ford joined the British Metal Corporation, and played for a variety of sides including the MCC and Free Foresters and made an appearance for Middlesex
in 1932. He was back with Derbyshire in 1934 and played 6 matches that year. In 1937 he toured Canada with MCC. Ford was a right-hand batsman and played 121 innings in 75 first-class matches. He made 2,925 runs at an average of 26.11, with five centuries and a top score of 183. As a bowler he took one wicket and his average was 117.
Ford had moved to work for the paper manufacturers Wiggins Teape and joined up in the Second World War. He served in the Berkshire Yeomanry
and then the Household Cavalry
. In 1940 he was ADC to Major-General Adrian Carton de Wiart
during the Norway campaign. When he took part in Operation Overlord
, Ford acquired the nickname "Foghorn". A captured German officer, having heard him on the radio leading armoured cars advancing into Belgium, inquired after him: "Excuse me, we have grown very fond of the British officer with the foghorn voice. We haven't heard him lately. Is he still alive?"
After the war, Ford rejoined Wiggins Teape, and became a director. For many years he was on the board of directors of the Theatre Royal, Windsor and supported the Royal Ballet's School of dancing. He was still playing cricket for the Household Division in his sixties. When his grandson Edward "Bear" Grylls
neared the summit as the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest, Ford gave him encouragement over the satellite telephone.
Ford died at Bembridge
, Isle of Wight
at the age of 94. At the time of his death he was the longest surviving member of both MCC and the Free Foresters.
Ford married in 1941 Patricia Smiles
, the daughter of Ulster Unionist MP W. D. Smiles and Margaret Heigway, and great-niece of Mrs Beeton
. When her father died in the MV Princess Victoria disaster in January 1953, she stood for the by-election and won, becoming MP for North Down
until the 1955 general election, when she stood down. The couple had two daughters – Sally, who married Sir Michael Grylls
and whose son is explorer Bear Grylls, and Mary Rose, who is married and has two daughters. The marriage was dissolved in 1956 and his ex-wife then married Sir Nigel Fisher MP
in 1956. In 1975 Ford married Beatrice Hudson, who predeceased him.
Ford's brother Sir Edward Ford became assistant private secretary first to King George VI and then to Queen Elizabeth II.
Ford belonged to a large family of cricketers. His grandfather William Augustus Ford played for MCC
from 1839 to 1849. His father and brother Clifford also played for minor counties. Of his uncles Francis Ford
played for England, Middlesex and MCC, William Justice Ford played for Cambridge University, Middlesex and MCC, Augustus Ford played for Cambridge University, Middlesex and MCC. His uncle Neville Talbot played for Oxford University and his grandmother, the daughter of the 4th Lord Lyttelton
, belonged to another family of cricketers.
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 for Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
, 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...
, Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
and MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
between 1926 and 1934.
Ford was born at Repton
Repton
Repton is a village and civil parish on the edge of the River Trent floodplain in South Derbyshire, about north of Swadlincote. Repton is close to the county boundary with neighbouring Staffordshire and about northeast of Burton upon Trent.-History:...
, the son of the Rev Lionel Ford
Lionel Ford
Lionel George Bridges Justice Ford was an Anglican priest who served as Dean of York after two headmasterships at eminent English public schools....
and his wife May Talbot. His father was then headmaster of Repton School
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
and in 1910 became headmaster of 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...
. His mother was the daughter of Edward Stuart Talbot
Edward Stuart Talbot
Edward Stuart Talbot was an Anglican bishop in the Church of England and the first Warden of Keble College, Oxford.-Education:...
, who was successively Bishop of Rochester, Southwark and Winchester.
Ford was educated at West Downs School
West Downs School
West Downs School, Romsey Road, Winchester, Hampshire, was an English independent preparatory school, which was established in 1897 and closed in 1988.-History:...
and Harrow where he became head of the school and captain of cricket. While still at school he began playing for Derbyshire. He made his debut in August 1926 in a victory against Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
and followed it up with a draw against Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
. He played two games for Derbyshire in 1927.
Ford then went to Oriel College, Oxford having been awarded the Evelyn de Rothschild scholarship. At Oxford he played cricket for 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 three successive years from 1928 to 1930. His centuries all came for Oxford and were 151 against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
and 118 against Free Foresters in 1929 and 155 against Kent, 183 against the Free Foresters and 180 against 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...
in 1930. Against Surrey he added 276 for the fourth wicket with Patrick Kingsley in under three hours. Ford also won half Blues for rackets and fives at Oxford. Meanwhile he continued playing for Derbyshire at the end of seasons and also put in a game for minor county Devon
Devon County Cricket Club
Devon County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Devon and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy....
in 1929.
After Oxford, Ford joined the British Metal Corporation, and played for a variety of sides including the MCC and Free Foresters and made an appearance for Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
in 1932. He was back with Derbyshire in 1934 and played 6 matches that year. In 1937 he toured Canada with MCC. Ford was a right-hand batsman and played 121 innings in 75 first-class matches. He made 2,925 runs at an average of 26.11, with five centuries and a top score of 183. As a bowler he took one wicket and his average was 117.
Ford had moved to work for the paper manufacturers Wiggins Teape and joined up in the Second World War. He served in the Berkshire Yeomanry
Berkshire Yeomanry
94 Signal Squadron forms part of 39 Signal Regiment. They are currently based in three locations in the Home Counties...
and then the Household Cavalry
Household Cavalry
The term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...
. In 1940 he was ADC to Major-General Adrian Carton de Wiart
Adrian Carton de Wiart
Lieutenant-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO , was a British officer of Belgian and Irish descent...
during the Norway campaign. When he took part in Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, Ford acquired the nickname "Foghorn". A captured German officer, having heard him on the radio leading armoured cars advancing into Belgium, inquired after him: "Excuse me, we have grown very fond of the British officer with the foghorn voice. We haven't heard him lately. Is he still alive?"
After the war, Ford rejoined Wiggins Teape, and became a director. For many years he was on the board of directors of the Theatre Royal, Windsor and supported the Royal Ballet's School of dancing. He was still playing cricket for the Household Division in his sixties. When his grandson Edward "Bear" Grylls
Bear Grylls
Edward Michael "Bear" Grylls is an English adventurer, writer and television presenter. He is best known for his television series Man vs. Wild, known as Born Survivor in the United Kingdom...
neared the summit as the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest, Ford gave him encouragement over the satellite telephone.
Ford died at Bembridge
Bembridge
Bembridge is an affluent village and civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to claims by residents that Bembridge is the largest village in England, and occasional claims that it is...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
at the age of 94. At the time of his death he was the longest surviving member of both MCC and the Free Foresters.
Ford married in 1941 Patricia Smiles
Patricia Ford (politician)
Patricia Ford, Lady Fisher was an Ulster Unionist Party politician in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom...
, the daughter of Ulster Unionist MP W. D. Smiles and Margaret Heigway, and great-niece of Mrs Beeton
Mrs Beeton
Isabella Mary Beeton , universally known as Mrs Beeton, was the English author of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, and is one of the most famous cookery writers.-Background:...
. When her father died in the MV Princess Victoria disaster in January 1953, she stood for the by-election and won, becoming MP for North Down
North Down (UK Parliament constituency)
North Down is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Sylvia Hermon, elected as an Independent in the 2010 General Election. -Boundaries:The county constituency was first created in 1885 from the northern part of Down...
until the 1955 general election, when she stood down. The couple had two daughters – Sally, who married Sir Michael Grylls
Michael Grylls
Sir William Michael John Grylls, known as Michael Grylls, was a British Conservative politician. He was implicated in the cash-for-questions affair, a poitical scandal of the 1990s...
and whose son is explorer Bear Grylls, and Mary Rose, who is married and has two daughters. The marriage was dissolved in 1956 and his ex-wife then married Sir Nigel Fisher MP
Nigel Fisher
Sir Nigel Thomas Loveridge Fisher MC was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.Fisher was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was in the Welsh Guards of the British Army during World War II, serving as a major in north west Europe. He was awarded the...
in 1956. In 1975 Ford married Beatrice Hudson, who predeceased him.
Ford's brother Sir Edward Ford became assistant private secretary first to King George VI and then to Queen Elizabeth II.
Ford belonged to a large family of cricketers. His grandfather William Augustus Ford played for MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
from 1839 to 1849. His father and brother Clifford also played for minor counties. Of his uncles Francis Ford
Francis Ford (cricketer)
Francis Gilbertson Justice Ford was a cricketer.Francis Ford was educated at Repton School and King's College, Cambridge...
played for England, Middlesex and MCC, William Justice Ford played for Cambridge University, Middlesex and MCC, Augustus Ford played for Cambridge University, Middlesex and MCC. His uncle Neville Talbot played for Oxford University and his grandmother, the daughter of the 4th Lord Lyttelton
George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton
George William Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton , was a British aristocrat and Conservative politician.-Early life:...
, belonged to another family of cricketers.