Percy Hardy
Encyclopedia
Frederick Percy Hardy, born at Blandford Forum, Dorset
on 26 June 1880, and died at King's Cross railway station, London
, on 9 March 1916, was a cricketer
who played first-class cricket
for Somerset
.
Hardy was a left-handed batsman who sometimes opened the innings and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. He played for Surrey
's colts team, but left to join Somerset. He made his debut in 1902 and in his second match took the slip catch that dismissed Victor Trumper
for just five – Trumper was dismissed a second time for five by the same bowler, Gill, later in the match.
Hardy played as a professional in a mainly amateur team, and made fairly regular appearances for Somerset right through to 1914. In 1910, when the side lost 15 out of 18 County Championship
matches and failed to secure a single point all season, he headed the Somerset batting figures with 700 runs, including his own highest score of 91 against the champions, Kent
, at Taunton
. His best bowling figures, six for 82, also came in that season, against Middlesex
at Bath.
Hardy's death is something of a mystery. He was, in the words of Wisden
's 1917 edition, "found dead on the floor of a lavatory at King's Cross station (G.N.R.)... His throat was cut and a blood-stained knife was by his side." Hardy was serving with the City of London Yeomanry at the time. The historian David Foot wrote that the knife was Hardy's own and that the death was suicide brought on by distress at being sent back to the World War I
battlefield.
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
on 26 June 1880, and died at King's Cross railway station, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, on 9 March 1916, was a cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
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 Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset 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 Somerset...
.
Hardy was a left-handed batsman who sometimes opened the innings and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. He played for 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...
's colts team, but left to join Somerset. He made his debut in 1902 and in his second match took the slip catch that dismissed Victor Trumper
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found unplayable. Archie MacLaren said of him, "Compared to Victor I was a cab-horse to a Derby...
for just five – Trumper was dismissed a second time for five by the same bowler, Gill, later in the match.
Hardy played as a professional in a mainly amateur team, and made fairly regular appearances for Somerset right through to 1914. In 1910, when the side lost 15 out of 18 County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
matches and failed to secure a single point all season, he headed the Somerset batting figures with 700 runs, including his own highest score of 91 against the champions, 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...
, at Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
. His best bowling figures, six for 82, also came in that season, against 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...
at Bath.
Hardy's death is something of a mystery. He was, in the words of Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
's 1917 edition, "found dead on the floor of a lavatory at King's Cross station (G.N.R.)... His throat was cut and a blood-stained knife was by his side." Hardy was serving with the City of London Yeomanry at the time. The historian David Foot wrote that the knife was Hardy's own and that the death was suicide brought on by distress at being sent back to the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
battlefield.