A cricketer’s story for Remembrance Sunday

As we remember this Sunday, and on November 11, those who made the ultimate sacrifice, it can be very difficult to comprehend the nature of that sacrifice. It sometimes needs the story of one person to aid our understanding, and the tragedy of individual loss. One such story was discovered when researching the history of Rye Cricket Club.

In 1895 Rye Cricket Club employed a professional cricketer from Nottingham called Charles Pepper. He was 18 years of age, and had been recommended to the Rye President Lord Sheffield, by Arthur Shrewsbury.

Lord Sheffield gave Australia their premier cricket tournament and Arthur Shrewsbury played for Nottinghamshire and was a captain of the England cricket team.

Charles Pepper enjoyed a successful season in 1895 taking 100 wickets for Rye with his leg spin. In this article from a local report, at the AGM in 1895 the Rye Chairman Reginald Blomfield praised the performance of Charles Pepper. In reply Charles Pepper responded by saying it was easier to bowl Mr Blomfield than to respond to his speech.

Charles Pepper in subsequent years played for Nottinghamshire and a variety of clubs in England and Scotland before settling in Burton-upon–Trent.

When war broke out, Charles joined up with his local regiment, the Sherwood Foresters (sergeant 32476 Sherwood Foresters Notts and Derby Regiment).

He was part of the initial force sent to France at the start of the Great War as the Sherwood Foresters served with distinction in the major battles of world war one. He rose through the ranks from private to sergeant.

At the battle of Paschendale (the third battle of Ypres) in 1917, the Foresters were to play a major part in General Hague’s “big push”. The battle began in July and was known as The Battle of the Mud. On 18 July, a ten-day barrage of shells was fired over the German lines. Three thousand artillery guns fired over four million shells. Therefore, the German army in the area fully expected a major Allied attack – so any vague hope of surprise was lost, as was true in any attack that started with a major artillery bombardment.

The infantry attack started on 31 July. The Germans, as happened at the Somme, were fully prepared and the Allied attack, launched across an eleven-mile front, made only small gains. Then in the early days of August, the area was saturated with the heaviest rain the region had seen in thirty years. The area in Flanders became effectively a swamp.

Tanks, sent forward to help the infantry, simply got stuck. Infantry soldiers found movement very difficult. The impact of the artillery bombardment had destroyed the drainage systems of the region which greatly added to the problem. The shell craters made by the Allied shelling filled with water and did not allow advancing men the opportunity to hide in them. The fields through which men should have gone became impassable. These were fought between September and October 1917. These gave British forces the advantage in the territory to the east of Ypres. Haig became convinced that German morale was on the verge of collapsing and ordered that the offensive be continued to Passchendaele Ridge.

It was on 13 September that Charles Pepper was killed in action and he was buried in Belgium at La Clytte Military Cemetery. He died bravely in an action by the 16th battalion of the Sherwood Foresters, the Notts and Derby Regiment.

The very sad irony is that his grave and the La Clytte Cemetery Cross of Sacrifice were designed by that very chairman of Rye Cricket Club, Reginald Blomfield, the man he could more easily bowl, than respond to his speech, at the Rye Cricket Club AGM 22 years previously.

The link continues today as the grandson of Charles Pepper visited the Rye Cricket Salts a few years ago to see where his grandfather had played, and he continues to follow the fortunes of Rye Cricket Club.

Image Credits: Rye Cricket Club .