LIves in Cricket No 31 - Walter Robins

85 The dangerous voyage had taken seven weeks and Kathleen wasted no time in collecting Penelope and Charles and obtaining a passage back to San Francisco on an American troopship before going on to Canada by train. In the autumn of 1942 Robbie was posted to a new R.A.F. station at Goderich on Lake Huron and then to Picton on Lake Ontario, one of the biggest such stations in Canada, where in addition to his other duties he chaired the Victory Bond committee which raised over $55,000. As station adjutant at Picton, Robbie was determined to provide leisure time for all the young men in his charge. One of the most popular sports among the Canadians during the long winter months was, of course, ice hockey and so Robbie made arrangements to take his trainees to the local ice-rink. The eight-year-old Charles Robins was an occasional witness to his father’s exploits on the ice: he ‘was no skater but determined to try and master yet another sport and practised intensely, although he still found that he spent much of his time down on the ice. Refuge was at hand as he had his cricket equipment with him and strapped the thigh-pad over his backside which proved effective on many of the falls!’ The Allied campaign in North Africa had reached a triumphal conclusion and an invasion of Italy was approaching so, in the spring of 1943, Robbie was told that he would be posted back to England. He immediately put in for passages for Kathleen and the children to follow but was told that there was an indefinite wait. Back once more in England, Robbie turned up at the nets at Lord’s one Friday evening and amazed the head of the MCC groundstaff with his accurate spin-bowling, despite not having played cricket for two years. He was then able to play in a couple of games at Lord’s that summer. The first was considered important enough to warrant two days at the beginning of August, and he captained an England XI against a Dominions XI, led by Keith Carmody, who had also been in Canada with the Australian air force. England scored 324 and the Dominions replied with 115. Although 209 ahead Robbie wanted to keep the game going for the entertainment of the large crowd and decided to bat again. His scheme backfired and England immediately lost four wickets for only six runs. Eventually Robbie joined Holmes at the wicket and they added 106 runs in 55 minutes. Wisden thought ‘Robins quite in his old dashing style, made the bowling length he desired by jumping in or stepping back, and audacity brought him a six and ten fours in his 69.’ The Dominions were left to make 360 to win and when 10 runs were wanted with two wickets in hand, Sismey was caught by Bedser, and off the last ball of the over Bailey caught Roper. It wasn’t until October that Kathleen could get a passage on a troopship and they sailed from Halifax in convoy to Liverpool where they were met by Robbie who took them back to London. And it was not long after that when Robbie was transferred to what he considered the best job he had during the war. The Air Ministry sent an instruction to ‘all Commands’ on 31 December 1943, under the heading ‘A.T.C. in J.T.C. Schools, appointment of a Schools Training Officer’: A Squadron Leader post has now been established in this Directorate The War Years