Sidney Boucher | |
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Born | Rochester, Kent | 17 September 1899
Died | 4 August 1963 Wadhurst, Sussex | (aged 63)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1912–1951 |
Rank | Captain |
Commands held | HMS Lowestoft HMS Highlander HMS Cormorant HMS Tyne Senior Officer Reserve Fleet Director of Physical Training |
Battles/wars | Battle of Jutland Battle of the Atlantic Pacific Ocean |
Awards | Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire |
Captain Sidney Boucher CBE (17 September 1899 – 4 August 1963), also known as Sam Boucher, was an English Royal Navy officer who fought in both World War I and World War II. He played first-class cricket for Royal Navy Cricket Club between 1923 and 1929 as well as playing one match for Kent County Cricket Club in 1922.
Boucher was born in Rochester, Kent, the second son of Franklin and Ada Boucher. His father was a solicitor who served as the Town Clerk of Gillingham and in the 1920s was Treasurer of Rochester;[1][2] he was granted the freedom of the Borough of Rochester in 1932.[3]
Boucher and his brother Noël were both educated at Dumpton House Preparatory School in Ramsgate. From there Boucher went on to the Royal Naval College, Osborne in September 1912 where he became Chief Cadet Captain. In September 1914 he moved on to Royal Naval College, Dartmouth before being appointed to his first naval posting in June 1915.[1][4]
Cricket information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Batting | Left-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Left-arm medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1922 | Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1923–1936 | Royal Navy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First-class debut | 3 June 1922 Kent v Hampshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last First-class | 31 July 1936 Royal Navy v RAF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricInfo, 5 April 2017 |
Boucher played cricket alongside his brother Noël for The Mote in 1921 and went on to make his first-class cricket debut for Kent at Southampton in 1922 after impressing in a match for Band of Brothers. His naval career meant he was unable to play again for Kent, but he appeared in first-class matches for the Royal Navy Cricket Club between 1923 and 1929 when the club played its final first-class match. He continued to play for the Navy until 1936, captaining the team for a number of years.[4][6][7] He was a left-arm opening bowler for the Navy and batted left-handed.[8][9]
As well as his role in Navy cricket, Boucher was also the Secretary and a selector for the Royal Navy Football Association and the Royal Marines Football Association.[5]
Boucher's brother Noël served in World War I in the Royal West Kents, the Royal Flying Corps and, later, the Royal Air Force. After the war he qualified as a lawyer working in his father's firm in Rochester. He played several times for the Kent Second XI and played alongside Sidney for The Mote. He was President of Kent County Cricket Club in 1964.[10][11]
Boucher was married twice during the inter-war period, first to Phyllis Ellershaw in 1924 and then Betty Holt in 1938. He died in 1963 aged 63 at his home in Wadhurst in Sussex.[4][6]