History of Bucks CCC

Among other ACS members who have offered help, I would particularly mention Don Ambrose, a mine of information on public school registers, and Peter Wynne-Thomas, a paramount authority on the game’s earliest years. For information freely given on the military careers of those cricketers involved in World Wars I am indebted to Mike Spurrier. My thanks are also due to Bob Harragan for information about the aftermath of Bucks’ match against Carmarthenshire in 1911. I am grateful to Peter Griffiths for work undertaken to prepare the manuscript for printing. For many of the older photographs I am indebted to the Roger Mann Collection, whose pictures are identified in the text. In choosing those that might be suitable for the purposes of the history it has been a particular pleasure to find that Roger welcomes a challenge and then rises with unfeigned enthusiasm to meet it. I acknowledge also the provenance of two pictures that appear by courtesy of Bucks County Archives. A number of pictures have been made available through the Trent Bridge library, for which I extend thanks to Nottinghamshire CCC. Another source of more modern photographs is the Bucks Free Press, whose pictures have been made freely available for publication. The photograph of PN Durlacher has been supplied by Wellington College, that of FN Bird by the Old Wellingburian Club. The picture of Harry Pitchford has been provided by kind permission of Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. Other photographs are, in the main, the property of the County Club or myself, but for the loan of personal pictures I am grateful to: John Cockett, Judge Simon Fawcus, Paula Johns, Chris Parry, Judge John Slack and George Whiting. I am grateful, too, to Paula Johns and Robin Peppiatt, whose generosity has helped to defray the cost of commercially obtained photographs. It has been a privilege to write this short history, flawed as it may be. It has been written primarily for those with an interest in cricket in Buckinghamshire rather than for those whose preoccupation is with the game’s statistics. However, I am delighted that the ACS, with its rigorous disciplines, has agreed to publish it. It is too early to talk of a series of such histories, but I hope that my attempt to show something of what lies behind the figures may help to persuade others involved with the ACS scores project to take the plunge and follow suit. Douglas Miller April 2006 8