Lives in Cricket No 36 - WE Astill

171 Acknowledgements This book would not have been possible without the encouragement and help given me in 1993 by Mike Turner, Leicestershire’s Chief Executive at the time, when in conversation with him I expressed the opinion that an interesting book could be written on the county’s all-rounders. It was he who persuaded me to try this myself despite the disadvantages of my residence in Canada and my inability to devote much time to the project until I was freed from academic duties by retirement. The project, not surprisingly, changed in the interim: its first fruit was a biography of Jack King, and this is the second. Mike gave me introductions, nearly two decades ago, to cricketers who willingly gave up time to talk about Ewart Astill, usually in their own homes. Sadly all have since died, but my sincere thanks to them I can at least record here: Trevor Bailey, Paddy Corrall, Colin Cowdrey, George Dawkes, Gerry Lester, ‘Hopper’ Levett, Charles Palmer, Tom Pearce, Ray Smith (of Essex), Jim Sperry, and Bob Wyatt. Three took the trouble to answer my questions by letter: the late Don Bradman, the late David Kemp and John Wrightson. For valuable information I am grateful also to the late Kathleen Snowden (Ewart’s sister), Tom Belton, Jeremy Barlow, the late Mike Spurrier, Peter Wynne-Thomas, and especially Tom Jayes’ grandson Colin Lissaman and the Ratby historian Doug Harwood. The late Eric Snow expatiated to me on subjects on which he had already published and his late brother Philip not only gave me much information in long conversations and numerous letters, but also wrote out many of his reminiscences of Ewart Astill specifically for use in this book. The graphologist Bob Malloney kindly and expertly examined Astill’s handwriting, and Richard Holdridge, the county club’s archivist, never failed to grant my numerous requests. British Library’s newspaper depository at Colindale, the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Record Office (I owe especial thanks to Adam Goodwin here), and the Carolina Rediviva of the University of Uppsala gave me every assistance. The Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study provided me with the most marvellous facilities for working in Uppsala in 2011, when Astill struggled with Byzantium for my research time; and I have always been able to rely on my own university for providing my needs. For photographs I am indebted to the late Grace Briggs (Ewart Astill’s cousin), who gave me many from her collection, and Doug Harwood (who also drew the map of Berry’s Lane), while David Frith scanned two items in his own collection and Philip Britt and Andrew Hignell scanned a Warwickshire and a Glamorgan scorebook respectively. The Leicester Mercury kindly gave permission for reproduction of some of their already published photographs and cartoons. Initially David Jeater and latterly