William Tomlinson
Encyclopedia
William James Vincent Tomlinson (10 August 1901 – 16 May 1984) was an English schoolmaster and cricket
er who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire
and Cambridge University
from 1920 to 1924.
Tomlinson was born at Winshill
, Derbyshire
the son of Robert George Tomlinson
and his wife Christiana Gibson Bowie. His father was a director of Salt's Brewery
in Burton-on-Trent and had also played cricket for Derbyshire. He was educated at Felsted School
and Emmanuel College, Cambridge
.
Tomlinson made his first class debut for Derbyshire in August 1920 when he bowled 5-53 against Sussex, taking the wickets of Harold
and Arthur Gilligan
and Maurice Tate
. However that was to remain his best performance. He played three more games in the season when Derbyshire failed to win a match. He played six games in 1921 when under Guy Jackson
the team moved up to 12th in the Championship. In 1922 he played two games for Cambridge University and twelve games for Derbyshire who reached 11th in the championship, accompanying Wilfred Hill-Wood
in both teams. In 1923 he played two games for Derbyshire and ten for Cambridge University culminating in the Varsity match
which that year, was nicknamed the "Thunderstorm match". Oxford ran up a high score before overnight storms created a very sticky wicket and the Cambridge team which included Gubby Allen
and Claude Ashton
were quickly dismissed in two innings. Tomlinson played one game for Derbyshire in 1924 and then stayed with club cricket. He was a right-arm medium pace bowler and took 58 first-class wickets with an average of 32.24 and a best performance of 5-53. He was a right-hand batsman and played 65 innings in 38 first class matches with a top score of 66 and an average of 14.94.
After university, Tomlinson joined the teaching staff of St Cyprian's School
preparatory school
in Eastbourne
and played club cricket for Free Foresters, Eastbourne, and for the school's St Cyprian's Cygnets team comprising staff, parents, old boys and friends. In 1933 he married Rosemary Vaughan Wilkes, the eldest daughter of the proprietors and in 1936 succeeded his father-in-law as headmaster. In 1939 the school buildings in Eastbourne were burnt down, and the school decamped to Midhurst, until the premises were requisitioned by the army in 1940. After a period in Gloucestershire, the school joined Summer Fields School
in Oxford. In 1948 Tomlinson took a headmastership again at Norwich
at Langley
Junior School. He retired to Elsing
, Norfolk
where he died aged 82.
Tomlinson's sister Wanda married Keith Bullen
a schoolmaster and poet in Cairo
and founded Manor House School
in Egypt.
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 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...
and 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...
from 1920 to 1924.
Tomlinson was born at Winshill
Winshill
Winshill is a suburb to the east of the town of Burton upon Trent, in the borough of East Staffordshire, England.Flanked to the north and east by the South Derbyshire border, historically the parish of Winshill had always been part of Derbyshire until it was transferred to Staffordshire in the late...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
the son of Robert George Tomlinson
Robert George Tomlinson
Robert George Tomlinson was an English brewer and cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1891 and 1893 and was later umpire in first class matches in Scotland....
and his wife Christiana Gibson Bowie. His father was a director of Salt's Brewery
Salt's Brewery
Thomas Salt and Co. was a brewery that operated in Burton upon Trent for 150 years.The brewery was founded in 1774 as Joseph Clay and son by Joseph Clay, described in The "British Directory" of 1791 as one of the famous "nine common brewers of Burton-on-Trent." Joseph Clay came originally from...
in Burton-on-Trent and had also played cricket for Derbyshire. He was educated at Felsted School
Felsted School
Felsted School, an English co-educational day and boarding independent school, situated in Felsted, Essex. It is in the British Public School tradition, and was founded in 1564 by Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich who, as Lord Chancellor and Chancellor of the Court of Augmentations, acquired...
and Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
.
Tomlinson made his first class debut for Derbyshire in August 1920 when he bowled 5-53 against Sussex, taking the wickets of Harold
Harold Gilligan
Alfred Herbert Harold Gilligan was a cricketer who played for Sussex and England. Gilligan captained England on their four-Test tour of New Zealand in 1929-30, which England won 1-0...
and Arthur Gilligan
Arthur Gilligan
Arthur Edward Robert Gilligan was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Sussex, Surrey and England....
and Maurice Tate
Maurice Tate
Maurice William Tate was a Sussex and England cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s and the leader of England's Test bowling attack for a long time during this period...
. However that was to remain his best performance. He played three more games in the season when Derbyshire failed to win a match. He played six games in 1921 when under Guy Jackson
Guy Jackson
Guy Rolf Jackson was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1919 and 1936, being captain for nine years....
the team moved up to 12th in the Championship. In 1922 he played two games for Cambridge University and twelve games for Derbyshire who reached 11th in the championship, accompanying Wilfred Hill-Wood
Wilfred Hill-Wood
Wilfred William Hill Hill-Wood was an English financier and cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1919 and 1936 as well as for Cambridge University and MCC....
in both teams. In 1923 he played two games for Derbyshire and ten for Cambridge University culminating in the Varsity match
The University Match (cricket)
The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club...
which that year, was nicknamed the "Thunderstorm match". Oxford ran up a high score before overnight storms created a very sticky wicket and the Cambridge team which included Gubby Allen
Gubby Allen
Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen, CBE was a cricketer who played for Middlesex, Cambridge University, MCC and England. Australian-born, Allen was a fast bowler and hard-hitting lower-order batsman, who captained England in eleven Test matches...
and Claude Ashton
Claude Ashton
Claude Thesiger Ashton was an English amateur footballer and cricketer. As an amateur, he played football for the Corinthians in several different positions including goalkeeper and centre forward, although his preferred position was wing-half. He made one appearance for the England national team...
were quickly dismissed in two innings. Tomlinson played one game for Derbyshire in 1924 and then stayed with club cricket. He was a right-arm medium pace bowler and took 58 first-class wickets with an average of 32.24 and a best performance of 5-53. He was a right-hand batsman and played 65 innings in 38 first class matches with a top score of 66 and an average of 14.94.
After university, Tomlinson joined the teaching staff of St Cyprian's School
St Cyprian's School
St Cyprian's School was an English preparatory school for boys, which operated in the early 20th century in Eastbourne, East Sussex. Like other preparatory schools, its purpose was to train pupils to do well enough in the examinations to gain admission to leading public schools, and to provide an...
preparatory school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
and played club cricket for Free Foresters, Eastbourne, and for the school's St Cyprian's Cygnets team comprising staff, parents, old boys and friends. In 1933 he married Rosemary Vaughan Wilkes, the eldest daughter of the proprietors and in 1936 succeeded his father-in-law as headmaster. In 1939 the school buildings in Eastbourne were burnt down, and the school decamped to Midhurst, until the premises were requisitioned by the army in 1940. After a period in Gloucestershire, the school joined Summer Fields School
Summer Fields School
Summer Fields is a boys' independent preparatory school based in Summertown, Oxford, England.-History:Originally called Summerfield, it became a Boys' Preparatory School in 1864 with seven pupils. Its owner, Archibald Maclaren, was a fencing teacher who ran a gymnasium in Oxford; he himself was...
in Oxford. In 1948 Tomlinson took a headmastership again at Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
at Langley
Langley School, Loddon
Langley School is an independent coeducational boarding school situated in the market town of Loddon in South Norfolk, England. The school was founded in 1910 and is a member of the HMC....
Junior School. He retired to Elsing
Elsing
Elsing is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some 6 miles north-east of the town of East Dereham and 12 miles north-west of the city of Norwich....
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
where he died aged 82.
Tomlinson's sister Wanda married Keith Bullen
Keith Bullen (poet)
Keith Brebner Bullen was a British poet and teacher who was part of the Salamander group in Cairo during World War II.-Early life and schools:...
a schoolmaster and poet in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and founded Manor House School
Manor House School
For the school in Ireland, see Manor House School, RahenyManor House School is a private school in Cairo, Egypt. The school provides both National and International certificates ....
in Egypt.