Lives in Cricket No 46 - George Raikes

110 bells. In the end, Lawrence’s bequest was saved for a rainy day and church plate dating from 1675 to 1789 was sold off; the £200 raised, plus an extra £37, was employed to have the bells re-hung in a modern metal frame; the work being completed by 1934. Village Cricket: An Enormous Fish in a Tiny Pond Raikes may not have been an enthusiastic farmer but he maintained his interest in cricket when he moved to Bergh Apton. Given his habit, both as a cricketer and as a footballer, of picking up a game wherever he could, although it meant playing at a standard well below him, the Bergh Apton village team could have been custom-made for Raikes. I have already described in my biography of Lionel Robinson how the nature of the coverage of a Norfolk cricket club’s matches in the Eastern Daily Press can reveal much about the status of that club and examining the evidence for Bergh Apton indicates that they were a fairly lowly bunch: in many matches only the batsmen’s scores were reported, with modes of dismissal not given, and bowling figures were frequently absent. Often only the innings totals were printed. After the Great War, cricket in Bergh Apton had resumed somewhat tentatively. The Eastern Daily Press for Monday, 2 June 1919 reported that: “A meeting was held in the Reading Room on Friday to consider the advisability of restarting the cricket club. The Rev H.W.G.Thursby was re- elected president, Mr F.Farrow and Mr Denny Cooke were elected vice- presidents, and the following officers were appointed: F.A.Bloomfield captain, J.Brookes vice-captain, W.Preston secretary, committee Messrs M.Vincent, T.Redgrave, D.Stone, J.Read and J.Royal. The vice-president, Mr Farrow, has granted free use of the ground. Practice evenings are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.” The results of eleven matches were reported in the press but, as three matches appeared to be ‘knock-up’ games between two elevens selected from within the club, only eight games were arranged against other villages. As was to be expected, most of their opponents were locally The Rector of Bergh Apton - The End of a Muscular Christian A sample entry in the records of marriages made in Bergh Apton set down whilst Raikes was serving as the vicar of that parish. The bride was incorrectly listed as being a spinster and Raikes has initialled an alteration to indicate that she was in fact a widow.