Percy Jeeves
Encyclopedia
Percy Jeeves was a British
first-class cricket
er from England
, playing 50 matches for Warwickshire County Cricket Club
from 1912 to 1914. He joined the British Army
in the First World War and was killed in action in 1916. P. G. Wodehouse
named his character Jeeves
after him.
in Yorkshire
, England
, United Kingdom
. He played cricket at Goole Cricket Club, and became a professional player at Hawes Cricket Club. In 1910, he did trials with the Yorkshire County Cricket Club
.
In 1912, he joined Warwickshire
. In 1913, mainly a fast-medium bowler, he took 106 wickets in first-class matches, at 20.88, and scored 765 runs at 20.13. In 1914, he took 90 further wickets. In all, he took 199 wickets in his 50 first-class
matches at a bowling average
of 20.03.
In 1914, Jeeves was picked to play for the Players against the Gentlemen at the Oval
, assisting the Players to victory by taking 4-44 in the Gentlemen's second innings, and Plum Warner
predicted a bright future for him.
A few months later, after the outbreak of the First World War, Jeeves joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. On 22 July 1916 (aged 28), Percy Jeeves was killed in action in France, in High Wood
near Montauban
, during the Battle of the Somme.
P. G. Wodehouse
's characters Bertie Wooster
and his ingenious valet Jeeves
have become famous since their 1915 debut short story; Wodehouse has said that he named his Jeeves after Percy Jeeves. Wodehouse was having a short holiday in Wensleydale
, and happened to come across a cricket match at Hawes
where Percy Jeeves was playing and thought the name would be ideal for one of his characters.Wodehouse, in his 1953 semi-autobiographical book Bring on the Girls
!.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
er from England
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...
, playing 50 matches for Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire 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 Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
from 1912 to 1914. He joined the 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...
in the First World War and was killed in action in 1916. P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
named his character Jeeves
Jeeves
Reginald Jeeves is a fictional character in the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, being the valet of Bertie Wooster . Created in 1915, Jeeves would continue to appear in Wodehouse's works until his final, completed, novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, making him Wodehouse's most famous...
after him.
Overview
Percy Jeeves was born on 5 March 1888 in Earlsheaton, near DewsburyDewsbury
Dewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England
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...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He played cricket at Goole Cricket Club, and became a professional player at Hawes Cricket Club. In 1910, he did trials with the Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
.
In 1912, he joined Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire 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 Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
. In 1913, mainly a fast-medium bowler, he took 106 wickets in first-class matches, at 20.88, and scored 765 runs at 20.13. In 1914, he took 90 further wickets. In all, he took 199 wickets in his 50 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...
matches at a bowling average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 20.03.
In 1914, Jeeves was picked to play for the Players against the Gentlemen at the Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, assisting the Players to victory by taking 4-44 in the Gentlemen's second innings, and Plum Warner
Plum Warner
Sir Pelham Francis Warner MBE , affectionately and better known as Plum Warner, or even "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket was a Test cricketer....
predicted a bright future for him.
A few months later, after the outbreak of the First World War, Jeeves joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. On 22 July 1916 (aged 28), Percy Jeeves was killed in action in France, in High Wood
High Wood
High Wood is a small forest near Bazentin le Petit in the Somme département of northern France which was the scene of intense fighting for two months from 14 July to 15 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme.-Background:...
near Montauban
Montauban
Montauban is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse....
, during the Battle of the Somme.
P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
's characters Bertie Wooster
Bertie Wooster
Bertram Wilberforce "Bertie" Wooster is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of British author P. G. Wodehouse. An English gentleman, one of the "idle rich" and a member of the Drones Club, he appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose genius manages to extricate Bertie or one of...
and his ingenious valet Jeeves
Jeeves
Reginald Jeeves is a fictional character in the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, being the valet of Bertie Wooster . Created in 1915, Jeeves would continue to appear in Wodehouse's works until his final, completed, novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, making him Wodehouse's most famous...
have become famous since their 1915 debut short story; Wodehouse has said that he named his Jeeves after Percy Jeeves. Wodehouse was having a short holiday in Wensleydale
Wensleydale
Wensleydale is the valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire, England.Wensleydale lies in the Yorkshire Dales National Park – one of only a few valleys in the Dales not currently named after its principal river , but the older name, "Yoredale", can still be seen...
, and happened to come across a cricket match at Hawes
Hawes
Hawes is a small market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, being granted its market charter in 1699...
where Percy Jeeves was playing and thought the name would be ideal for one of his characters.Wodehouse, in his 1953 semi-autobiographical book Bring on the Girls
Bring on the Girls
Bring on the Girls! is a semi-autobiographical collaboration between P. G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton, first published in the United States on October 5, 1953 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, and in the United Kingdom on May 21, 1954 by Herbert Jenkins, London.Subtitled "The Improbable Story of...
!.