Lives in Cricket No 5 - Rockley Wilson

correspondence to endeavour to keep in touch with the cricket scene and the doings of his many cricketing friends and acquaintances, and also to further his own cricketing knowledge. Any person with some cricketing connection that he comes across in Palestine gets a mention in Rockley’s letters. Here is a typical example which illustrates Rockley’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the game: “I met an old Colonel Delacombe, DSO. A.F.Delacombe, brother of W.B., left hand bowler played for Derbyshire? 1885.” The record books reveal that William Barclay Delacombe did indeed play for Derbyshire, in ten first-class matches between 1894 and 1900 and that he was the county’s Secretary from 1889 to 1907. The officers enjoyed a relatively comfortable life style. Each had an army servant to do the washing, mending and other menial tasks. The food was generally good and drink plentiful. But not everything was rosy: irritants included the summer heat, frequent sandstorms, flies and other unpleasant insects, and occasional German bombing raids. As to Rockley’s military duties in Jaffa, these were varied and could be demanding. His section’s responsibilities included the translation and interpretation of captured material and documents, the drafting of official letters Great War Interlude 65 Members of the Turkish Interpreters Course at the School of Oriental Studies, London, probably 1917. Rockley Wilson, with moustache, is third from the left in the middle row.