LIves in Cricket No 31 - Walter Robins

137 Acknowledgements This book could not have been written without co-operation and corroboration from Charles Robins and Richard Robins. Their response to my constant stream of questions while we exchanged more than 200 emails over a period of 18 months, together with the stories and anecdotes that flowed during a memorable lunch in the Committee dining room at Lord’s last summer, enabled me to build a unique picture of their father and the impact his life had had on cricket, cricketers, and everyone around him. I must also thank Guy Seaton of Stafford Cricket Club, who personally delivered to my home the club’s committee minute books from 1888 to 1913; James Newton, the archivist at Highgate School, who provided access to The Cholmeleian , the monthly journal of Highgate School, covering the years from 1921 to 1925; Dr Jonathan Holme, Keeper of the Records at Queens’ College, Cambridge; Neil Robinson at the MCC Library; Peter Wynne-Thomas, who supplied me with an index of all the significant references to Walter Robins in The Cricketer magazine as well as confirmation of his first-team appearances for Nottingham Forest Football Club; Philip Bailey and Gerald Hudd for their help on various statistical points, and David Jeater for his encouragement, patience, editorial skills and creative suggestions. Photographs in the book have come from a variety of sources and I am grateful to Patrick Jeater, Charles and Richard Robins, Roger Mann and David Taylor, in particular, for their assistance. For their contributions to the production of the book, may I thank Richard Shaw and his colleagues at City Press Leeds Ltd and the Association’s proofreaders for their good work. Bromley, Kent April 2013