Lives in Cricket No 21 - Walter Read

40 which, though associated with a highly respected profession, did not allow him to play cricket as a full-time occupation for out-of- pocket expenses only. Conversely, he did not share the working- class origins of his professional colleagues. Social class was significant in Victorian society, but like the diluted version of it a century and a half later, did not correlate directly with wealth. Like Grace, Read could not afford financially to be an amateur, nor did he wish socially to be a professional. The solution was simple. He became a paid amateur, drawing a salary and expenses from a job he did not do (or at least made no pretence of doing full time – certainly not in the summer) to recompense him for one that he did. He was an educated man, literate and articulate and had been Joint Secretary of the Reigate Priory, so he was not without the skills required for the job, but it is clear that he did not spend much time using them. There is some evidence that he did some, but not much, work as Assistant Secretary. A set of committee minutes is in his handwriting 69 and there is the occasional list of newmembers written into minute books. 70 Furthermore, he represented the club on occasion, along with the Secretary and the Captain at the annual meeting of county secretaries, so although it would not be true to say that he did absolutely nothing as Assistant Secretary, it cannot be pretended that the appointment was anything other than an ingenious device to enable a not-so-well-off amateur to play full-time professional cricket. It was to be imitated by other clubs and continued well into the following century. For instance immediately after the Second World War A.D.G Matthews was Assistant Secretary at Glamorgan, Desmond Eager Joint Secretary for Hampshire and ‘Billy’ Griffith Captain and Secretary at Sussex; later Trevor Bailey became Secretary at Essex. E.V.B Christian wrote, perhaps idealistically, in Cricket that cricketers have long been accustomed to boast that their sport levels ranks, The Earl, the Marquis and the Dook, The Groom, the Butler and the Cook, They all shall equal be. 71 That may have been true on the field and Trevelyan may well have 69 18 April 1889 70 17 April 1890 and 7 May 1891 71 Cricket 17 September 1891 Assistant Secretary... You’re ‘aving a larf