Lives in Cricket No 34 - Frank Mitchell

102 individual army records of officers during World War I were destroyed by a massive fire, caused by a bombing raid, in World War II. The name ‘F. Mitchell’ or ‘Frank Mitchell’ reveals many such servicemen but not the one now wanted. The National Archives at Kew have neither original nor copy of Mitchell’s military record. In England the Headquarters of the 62 nd Division were initially at Leeds, familiar ground for Mitchell, before that Headquarters moved on to Matlock Bath which he thought ‘ ... not a very nice place for infantry, though it may be alright for goats’. During the summer of 1915, Mitchell then moved to the Royal Artillery section of the 62 nd Division which was based at Doncaster, but not for long: in the summer of 1915 the whole division decamped and moved on to the Dukeries in Nottinghamshire, with the artillery then based at the Duke of Portland’s Welbeck Park. ‘The cricket ground was as big as Lord’s and fit for County cricket. In fact Nottingham have played matches there. We had the run of it and I had some practice, although there was not much leisure for cricket’. Mitchell records that he was only able to play in three matches for the 62 nd R.A. in the two summers of 1915 and 1916. He was to write warmly of the Sportsman’s Battalion whom he came across whilst training at Clipstone. This battalion was made up for the most part of men who were past their prime of sporting life but who still wished to serve their country. ‘ They were a gallant lot of has-beens who set a good example to some of the younger ones who were not for the battle...Ernie Hayes, of Surrey, was one of the early ones and he did so well that he became a company commander, a jolly good performance, but he always had guts’. From Welbeck it was back to Doncaster, with Mitchell in the autumn of World War I Welbeck Park, in Nottinghamshire, was where many awaiting the wartime call to go to France played their recreational cricket.