Lives in Cricket No 46 - George Raikes

120 many times over the years.” George’s obituary in Wisden (see appendix) was relatively uninformative except that it declared that he had the nickname ‘Ginger Beer’ due to his initials and it reported his claim that he was once offered a place in the Nottinghamshire eleven (note 10) . A much rounder picture of the man was given in the Church Times , which not only referred to his sporting achievements but also stressed his sterling deeds as a man of the cloth: Obituary In Church Times “The Rev George Barkley Raikes died at the Old Rectory at Lamyatt, Somerset, on December 18 after a short illness. He was ninety-three … By his death a physical link with the Church of a bygone age has been broken. A son of the parsonage, George Raikes was a descendant of Robert Raikes, pioneer of Sunday schools. Both at school and at university he revealed great athletic gifts. He was awarded his blue for association football and for cricket in an era when these sports boasted such names as ‘Plum’ Warner and C.B.Fry. He was capped against Wales in 1895, and played in the three internationals of the 1896 season. On coming down from the university he played cricket for Hampshire and later captained Norfolk. He went from Oxford to Wells Theological College, and was ordained in 1897 to a title at St. Mary’s, Portsea, where he shared in the ministry of those two great incumbents, Cosmo Gordon Lang, and Cyril Forster Garbett. He used his considerable gifts in initiating notable work among boys and young men. He moved from Portsea to become Chaplain to the late Duke of Portland at Welbeck Abbey, where he exercised his ministry from 1905 to 1920. For the next 16 years he was Rector of Berch Apton (sic) with Holveston (sic), Norfolk, before being forced to retire through ill-health. “Apart from his considerable gifts on the sports field, George Raikes had many qualities which marked him out as person of considerable distinction – none more than his great personal humility and kindliness. His ministry was marked by great pastoral care and interest in the well-being of all who fell within the sphere of his care.” Raikes died as he had lived, a man of strong faith and, whether or not he was a ‘card carrying’ follower of Muscular Christianity matters little in the long run; perhaps he should best be remembered as the cricketer who left the pavilion at Lord’s beaming with pleasure at his friend’s selection for the Varsity Match, even though it meant that he himself was to be dropped. The Rev George Barkley Raikes was a sportsman that I would have liked to have known. note 1: Holverston, or Holverstone as it may be spelt, was an insignificant parish of 355 acres that, in 1916, was home to just 12 souls. note 2: As would have been expected, Raikes also turned out for the Norfolk Clergy and the Norwich Clergy in friendly matches. note 3: Ethel was a regular visitor to the Bungay course and was frequently in contention for silverware. The Rector of Bergh Apton - The End of a Muscular Christian