The Coming Storm, page 20
Chalk continued to play for Oxford University until 1934, captaining the side in the same year. He made his final appearance for Oxford against Cambridge on 9 July 1934 at Lord’s. Oxford won the toss and decided to bat making 415. Chalk made a brilliant 108 before being bowled by Jack Davies, who also took five wickets for 43 during the innings. The England test cricketer David Townsend made 193. In reply Cambridge made 400, Anthony William Allen making 115. In their second innings Oxford made 182, Chalk making 12 before being caught by Allen off the bowling of James Grimshaw. In their second innings Cambridge made 94 for two. The match was drawn.
Chalk began playing for Kent in 1933. He made his debut for them against Surrey on 15 July 1933 while on holiday from Oxford at the Rectory Field, Blackheath. Kent won the toss and decided to bat making 251, the England test cricketer Alfred Gover taking six wickets for 82. In reply Surrey made 261, the England test cricketer Jack Berry Hobbs (Wisden cricketer of the year 1909 and 1926) making 101. Freeman took six wickets for 110. In their second innings Kent made 377, Chalk who opened for them only making one before being bowled by Frederick Charles Gamble. Leslie Ames made 137 and Leslie John Todd 121. In their second innings Surrey made 152, Freeman once again proving deadly and taking a further five wickets. Kent won by 215 runs.
Chalk went on to play for Kent ninety-three times between July 1933 and August 1939. He made his final first-class appearance for Kent against Lancashire on 26 August 1939 at Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, in the county championship. Lancashire won the toss and decided to bat making 262, Norman Walter Harding taking five wickets for 54. In reply Kent made 182, Chalk making eight before being bowled by the England test cricketer Richard Pollard. The England test cricketer Leonard Litton Wilkinson took five wickets for 54. In their second innings Lancashire made 301. In their second innings Kent made 382, Chalk making a solid 94 before being bowled by Wilkinson. Arthur Edward Fagg made 138. Kent won by five wickets. It was a good end to a distinguished career.
Chalk also made five minor counties championship matches for Kent Second XI. During his career Chalk made 6,732 runs with eleven centuries and thirty-one fifties, his highest score being 198 against Sussex. He also bowled 605 balls taking seven wickets for 409 runs. He made 62 catches.
He married Rosemary, daughter of G.N. Foster, of the Worcestershire family, who also played for Kent.
At the beginning of the war Chalk enlisted into the ranks of the Honourable Artillery Company as a gunner. Later he took a commission as a pilot officer (London Gazette 28 June 1940) in the RAF. After training he joined Bomber Command in February 1941 as a rear gunner with 218 Squadron. During a raid on Hanover his Wellington was attacked by a German fighter, probably a Messerschmitt ME 110. As a result of Chalk’s accurate fire the fighter was driven off and probably shot down, last seen plunging towards the ground on fire. For his actions he was awarded the DFC. His citation read,
One night in June, 1941, this officer was the rear gunner of an aircraft which took part in an attack on Hanover. On the return journey, whilst over the Amsterdam area, the aircraft was attacked by a Messerschmitt which pressed home two attacks from close range. Chalk fired two steady bursts which were observed to enter the enemy aircraft causing it to break away with flames coming from the starboard side. By his cool and accurate fire, Pilot Officer Chalk undoubtedly saved his aircraft and probably destroyed the attacker. Since February, 1941, this officer has participated in 20 operational missions and has shown high courage and devotion to duty throughout.
He was promoted to flying officer (LG 28 August 1941) and after training joined 124 Squadron as a Spitfire pilot. He was shot down on 17 February 1943 while flying Spitfire VI BR 585 during a dogfight over the St Omer area. No one saw his plane crash but his death was assumed to have happened on that date.
Mr G. de L. Hough, the Kent secretary later wrote,
Gerry Chalk will be greatly missed by his many cricket friends – especially in Kent. Apart from his ability as a batsman and fielder, he was an excellent captain in the field. The way in which he nursed the bowling in 1939 was outstanding. He nearly always managed to keep one bowler fresh for use at a pinch, and I think it is fair to say that our rise in the Championship from twelfth in 1938 to fifth was largely due to this, and his example in, and placing of, the field.
Neither his aircraft nor his body were discovered and he was commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial to the missing. However in 1989 a positive identification of his remains was made and Chalk was finally interred in Terlincthun British Cemetery, grave reference, plot 14, row F, grave 12, on 30 June 1989.
Batting and fielding averages
Bowling averages
Wing Commander (pilot) Geoffrey Phelps Longfield
Royal Air Force
Two first-class appearances
105 Squadron RAF Volunteer Reserve
Died 26 February 1943, aged 33
Right-hand bat/Right arm bowler
Bravest of the brave, died in an accident over the target
Geoffrey Longfield was born on 4 December 1909 at High Halstow, Kent. He was the son of the Reverend Thomas William Longfield of High Halstow Rectory, Rochester, Kent. He was educated at the Aldenham School in Elstree, London where he played in the first XI. On leaving he took a commission with the RAF.
Longfield made two first-class appearances, his debut being for the RAF against the Army at the Oval on 4 July 1931. The RAF won the toss and decided to bat making 192. Longfield made one before being caught by Francis Hugonin of the bowling of Bernard Howlett (killed in action 29 November 1943). Adrian Clements Gore (Wisden cricketer of the year 1919) took five wickets for 51. In reply the Army made 416. Longfield bowled 16 overs taking two wickets for 51, Alexander Wilkinson caught Reginald Fulljames for 74 and Gore caught Brian Edmund Baker for 13. In their second innings the RAF made 187. Longfield made two before being caught by Montagu Burrows off the bowling of Bernard Howlett. Ernest Dynes took five wickets for 31 of 11 overs. The Army won by an innings and 37 runs.
He made his second first-class appearance just under a year later once again against the Army at the Oval on 29 June 1932. The Army won the toss and decided to bat making 490. Longfield bowled 19 overs and failed to take a wicket for 87. Reginald Eustace Hamilton Hudson made 217 and Cyril Hamilton (killed in action 10 February 1941) 105. Roy Scoggins took five wickets for 112. In reply the RAF made 159. Longfield made seven before being caught by Arthur Wellesley Tyler off the bowling of John Walford. Forced to follow on, the RAF made 201. Longfield made 26 before being caught by John Stephenson off the bowling of Arnold Minnis. The Army won by an innings and 130 runs.
Longfield also made two Second XI appearances for Kent in August 1928. He also made five further non-first-class appearances for the RAF against the Frogs, Royal Navy and the Army. He married Margaret Joan of Shorne, Kent.
Promoted to wing commander he was given command of 105 Squadron, a fighter Mosquito squadron. On 26 February 1943 he took off from RAF Marham in Norfolk in a Mosquito FB Mk IV DZ 365 for an attack on Rennes in France. The official report takes us from there:
op.Rennes. Collided with DZ413 and crashed in target area. T/o at 16:45 hrs. Seven aircraft successfully bombed target from heights varying from 50 to 800 feet. Clouds of smoke and debris seen in target area, which was severely damaged. One aircraft unable to bomb on first run up, circled and bombed from 800’. Smoke seen from distance of 20 miles, visibility being very good. One aircraft abandoned task over target, owing to leading aircraft’s bombs exploding just as aircraft was in run up to target. W/Cdr Longfield led the formation, and owing to a navigational error, turned sharply, causing a collision with the second aircraft, piloted by F/O Kimmel. The W/Cdr’s aircraft was seen to crash out of control, and F/O Kimmel’s aircraft was seen to be losing height with a glycol leak, apparently under control.
Longfield is buried in Rennes Eastern Communal Cemetery, grave reference section 18, plot 1, row C, grave 6.
His brother Thomas made eighty-two first-class appearances, mostly for Cambridge and Kent. He died in 1981.
Batting and fielding averages
Bowling averages
Longfield is seated on the floor with legs crossed on the left.
Flying Officer Stuart Patrick King
Victoria
Twelve first-class matches
20 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force
Died 28 February 1943, aged 36
Right-handed bat/Wicketkeeper
‘Australian hero on and off the field of play’
Stuart King was born on 22 April 1906 in Ararat, Victoria. He was the son of David James and Emily King of Victoria. A well-known all round Australian sportsman, King played twelve first-class matches for Victoria between 1926 and 1933, seven in the Sheffield Shield.
He made his debut for Victoria against Queensland on 17 December 1926 in the Sheffield Shield at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Queensland won the toss and decided to bat making 147. King managed to catch William Rowe off the bowling of the Australian test cricketer Donald Dearness Blackie for 23. In reply Victoria made an impressive 533. King made 50 before being bowled by the Australian test cricketer Ronald Keven Oxenham. The Australian test cricketer William Harold Ponsford (Wisden cricketer of the year 1935) made 151 and the Australian test cricketer Hunter Scott Thomas Laurie Hendry made 140. In their second innings Queensland made 217. Victoria won by an innings and 169 runs.
King went on to play against New South Wales (won by an innings and 656 runs), South Australia (won by 571 runs), Queensland (lost by 234 runs), Tasmania (won by five wickets), Tasmania (twice, matches drawn), South Australia (lost by three wickets), New South Wales (drawn) and South Australia (Victoria won by 73 runs).
King made his final first-class appearance for Victoria against Tasmania on 14 March 1933 at the Richmond Cricket Ground, Melbourne. Tasmania won the toss and decided to bat making 90. King made two catches, Arthur Owen Burrows bowled by the Australian test cricketer Chuck Fleetwood-Smith for 15, and Gerald Thomas Henry James bowled Fleetwood-Smith for 13. Fleetwood-Smith took nine wickets for 36 during the innings. In reply Victoria made 229, King making 32 before being caught by Burrows off the bowling of James Michael Walsh. In reply Tasmania made 162, Fleetwood-Smith taking a further five wickets for 49. King bowled five overs taking one wicket for 33. Walsh stumped Stanley Oldfield Quin for zero. In their second innings Victoria made 34 for four. Victoria won by six wickets.
During his career King made 417 runs including three fifties, his highest score being 73 against Tasmania. He also bowled 126 balls taking two wickets for 98 runs. He made five stumping’s and ten catches as a wicketkeeper.
As well as cricket King played Australian Rules football for Victoria League Club, Saint Kilda. Playing mostly as a defender he made forty-three appearances during three seasons between 1931 and 1933, scoring fourteen goals. He was also made captain and coach. King later studied to become a solicitor, practising in Ararat. He married Kathleen, of Glen Iris, Victoria, and they had two children, Diana and Gerald.
On 30 March 1942 King enlisted into the Royal Australian Air Force and was posted to 20 Squadron as an intelligence officer and reached the rank of flying officer. In August 1942 he wrote a moving letter to his wife:
It’s Saturday evening and I’m going to the pictures tonight. Bud Costello and some other equally exciting feature, but there is nothing much for a man in love with his wife to do . . . Lots of love darling, to you and the little ones
He was reported missing on 28 February 1943 after flying in a Catalina A24-25 from 11 Squadron and is presumed to have crashed into the sea on that date. The Catalina was on anti-submarine patrol off Cairns to protect a convoy. A garbled message was received at around 11 pm which contained the words ‘force land’, then nothing. An RAAF guard reported that he had seen an aircraft circling Fitzroy Island. The aircraft rounded Cape Grafton and disappeared in a north-easterly direction. A three-day search was mounted for the crew but found nothing. It was assumed that the Catalina had crashed into the sea north-east of Green Island. The crew consisted of Captain, 140 Wing Commander John (Jack) William Daniell, 2nd Pilot, 250281 Squadron Leader Eric Hamilton Barkley, Navigator, 406672 Flying Officer Lewis (Lou) Melvin Dunham, 1st Engineer, 408861 Sergeant Norman Notley Moore, 2nd Engineer, 2437 Corporal John Corbett Stain (No. 20 Squadron), 1st W/T Operator, 402703 Sergeant Allen Richard Eather, 2nd W/T Operator, 415378 Sergeant Alexander Eric John Elsbury, Rigger, 5778 Sergeant John Daniel O’Grady, Armourer 13970 Corporal Douglas Giffen Shaw Russell, Supernumerary, 22692 Sergeant Keith Arnold Watson and Supernumerary, 255266 Flying Officer Stuart Patrick King (Intelligence Officer No. 20 Squadron).
King’s daughter Diana later recalled getting the telegram giving her family the awful news: ‘I was wearing a yellow and brown spotted dress. Gerald and I were outside playing in the garden and a telegram boy came to the front gate and gave us the telegram. We ran inside to mum and said “Look what we’ve got”. Mum came to the front door with my grandmother, and she opened the telegram and simply collapsed. I remember the doctor came.’
His son Gerald later recalled, ‘When I was a youngster, I used to think he just got lost and one day that there would be a knock at the door and he’d be back. I was young, [but] reality soon set in.’
His wife never fully recovered from his loss and never remarried.
King is commemorated on the Port Moresby Memorial in Papua New Guinea, panel 9.
This wasn’t quite the end of the story. The wreck of King’s plane was discovered by a recreational diver from Cairns, near the Frankland Islands, about forty kilometres northeast of Innisfail in 2013.
Batting and fielding averages
Bowling averages
1487094 Gunner Norman Henry Bowell
Hampshire/Northamptonshire
Three first-class matches
HQ 35 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery
Died 5 March 1943, aged 39
Right-handed bat/Right arm slow
‘Son of a famous father, who suffered as a PoW under the Japanese’
Norman Bowell was born on 2 February 1904 in Oxford. He was the son of Alex Bowell (1880-1957) who played 475 matches for Hampshire between 1902 and 1927 scoring over 18,000 runs.
Norman made three first-class appearances, two for Hampshire and one for Northamptonshire, in 1924/5, his debut being in the county championship for Hampshire against Northamptonshire on 11 June 1924 at the County Ground, Northampton. Northamptonshire won the toss and elected to bat. After only two overs had been bowled and one run scored the match was abandoned as a draw due to the weather.
He made his second first-class appearance against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge on 14 June 1924. Nottinghamshire won the toss and decided to bat making 273. Bowell bowled seven overs and took no wickets for 32. In reply Hampshire made 217, Bowell making two before being lbw to the England test cricketer Samuel James Staples (Wisden cricketer of the year 1929) for two. In their second innings Nottinghamshire made 307. The England test cricketer William Wilfred Whysall (Wisden cricketer of the year 1925) batted throughout the innings and made 150 not out. Bowell bowled three overs taking no wickets for 27. Nottinghamshire won by 124 runs.
Bowell made his final first-class appearance for Northamptonshire against Dublin University at the Country Ground, Northampton on 18 July 1925. Dublin won the toss and decided to bat making 197. Philip Wright took five wickets for 45. Bowell bowled four overs taking no wickets for 16. In reply Northamptonshire made 396, Bowell making 48 before being bowled by Acheson William Blake Kelly. In their second innings Dublin made 143. Northamptonshire won by an innings and 56 runs.
Norman’s father, Alex Bowell.
Bowell also made three minor county matches for Oxfordshire all against Monmouthshire all in 1927.
During the war Bowell enlisted into the ranks of the Royal Artillery as a gunner. Serving in the Far East he was captured by the Japanese during the fall of Singapore and imprisoned in Changi. He was one of the casualties during the infamous Kokopo and Ballalae massacres. At the end of 1942 Bowell, together with 517 other PoWs, was shipped to a camp on Ballalae Island in the Solomons to build an airstrip for the Japanese. They were very badly treated by their captors. Kicked, beaten, punched, thrashed and clubbed on a daily basis they were soon in a terrible state. This combined with dysentery, malaria and beriberi, took hundreds of lives including that of Norman Bowell who succumbed to his ill treatment on 5 March 1943. Not a single one of the 518 soldiers who had been shipped to the island survived the war. It was later discovered that, as the allies closed in, those prisoners who had survived the awful conditions and allied bombings were rounded up and either shot, bayonetted or decapitated by sword. In December 1945, an Australian War Graves unit exhumed 436 bodies from one mass grave and reinterred the remains in the Bomama War Cemetery at Port Moresby. A total of 188 war crimes trials were held at Rabaul after the war. The courts sentenced 93 Japanese war criminals to death, 78 were hanged and 15 were shot by firing squad.
Norman Bowell’s remains were never identified and he is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial Column 13.
Batting and fielding averages
