William Territt Greswell

1889 - 1971  (81 years)

• Name	William Territt Greswell  [1, 2, 3]
  Known as	"Bill"
  Birth	16 Oct 1889	Cuddalore, India   [1, 2, 3, 4]
  Residence	Mar 1901	Norfolk House School, High St, Beaconsfield   [1]
  Occupation	1909 -	Ceylon ; Tea & rubber planter  [5]
  	not found in 1911 UK census
  Marriage	13 May 1914	Christ Church, Galle Face, Colombo
  	Gwendolyn Doris Rose Marshall,   b. abt May 1886, Clapton d. 26 Jan 1960, North Devon Infirmary, Barnstaple
  Military Service	- 1920	Lieutenant, Somerset Light Infantry  [6]
  	Special Reserve of Offices. Infantry. The following Lieutenants relinquish their commissions:-- ... 3rd Somerset L.I. -- W. T. Greswell, and retains rank of Lt. [London Gazette, 03 Jul 1920] No record found of service
  Marriage	06 Dec 1928	Mayfair
  	Rachel Mary Sadler,   b. 28 Oct 1899, Kensington d. Mar 1994, West Somerset
  Residence	- 1971	Orchard Combe, Weacombe   [7]
  Death	12 Feb 1971	Weacombe House, Bicknoller   [4, 7]
  	On 12th February, 1971, William Territt Greswell, of Orchard Combe, Weacombe, Bicknoller. Funeral private. Memorial service at Bicknoller, to be announced later. [The Times]
  Burial		St George, Bicknoller   [8]
  		William Territt Greswell (1889-1971) Gravestone, St George, Bicknoller, churchyard
  Notes	William Greswell. Major teams: Ceylon, Europeans (India), Somerset. Batting style: Right-hand bat. Bowling style: Right-arm slow-medium. First Class Debut: Somerset v Middlesex at Taunton, 1908. Last First Class Match: Free Foresters v Oxford University at Oxford, 1933. [Cricket Info website] Greswell, William Territt, who died on February 12, aged 81, was reputed to be the first bowler to introduce the in-swinging delivery to first-class cricket. Gaining his colours at the age of 15, he was in the Repton XI from 1905 to 1908, heading the bowling figures in the last season with 59 wickets for 12 runs each. He began playing for Somerset in 1908 and continued to do so from time to time until 1933. Meantime he represented Gentlemen against Players three times. In first-class matches in England, he took 525 wickets for 20.77 runs each with bowling of slow to medium pace, deceptive flight and spin. His best analysis was nine wickets for 62 for his county against Hampshire at Weston-super-Mare in 1923. As a batsman, he hit 2,499 runs, including a century against Middlesex at Lord's in 1909, for an average of 14.95, and he held 91 catches, mostly in the slips, where his fielding reached a high standard. He became President of the County Club in 1962. It came as a blow to Somerset when Greswell left for Ceylon in 1909 to take up a position with the family tea and rubber estates, though he continued to turn out for the county when on leave. In Ceylon cricket he achieved great things and he became known as the best European player to appear there. Between 1909 and 1923, he disposed of 1,016 batsmen for 8.72 runs each, nearly all of them in first-class fixtures. Twice he took all 10 wickets for Colombo C.C. - for 26 runs against Malay C.C. in 1911 and for 21 runs against Mercantile XI ten years later - and on no fewer than 29 occasions obtained at least eight wickets in an innings. He dismissed four men with consecutive balls against Galle C.C. and three other times in first-class cricket he performed the "hat-trick". In 1911, he set up a Ceylon record with 232 wickets for just over eight runs apiece. Besides his cricketing ability, Greswell showed aptitude at other ball games. He played hockey for Somerset and the West of England and captained hockey and Association football teams in Ceylon. He also won the Ceylon A.A.A. half-mile championship. [Wisden, obituary] passengers on Bibby Bros "Gloucestershire" arr London 15 Aug 1915: 1st class, emb Colombo, last resid Ceylon, future resid England: Mr W T Greswell [crossed out], 26, military; Mrs Greswell, 28. Mr. William Greswell, the Somerset cricketer, has died at the age of 81. He was born on October 15, 1889, and first played for his county in 1908 when at the age of 18 he took 22 wickets in the August after he left Repton; also he dismissed both Hayward and Hobbs for single figures and had 7 for 67 against Yorkshire. Earlier in the season, when Repton beat Malvern in an innings, he had taken 14 wickets between one and six o'clock against a strong batting side. As a bowler he varied in pace from slow to medium with a deceptive flight, and relied largely for his wickets for a very late and deadly in-swing - uncommon in those days - with an occasional ball that straightened or went away. In 1912 he took 132 wickets, and played for the Gentlemen both at Lord's and at the Oval. In all, despite his sporadic appearances, he captured over 500 wickets before his retirement from first-class cricket in 1933. [The Times]
  Person ID	I1523	Tatham | Bloxham branch | Descendant
  Last Modified	06 Jun 2013

  
  

  Father	Charles Herbert Greswell,   b. abt Aug 1852, Kilve d. 29 Mar 1926, Wayville, Bicknoller (Age ~ 73 years)
  Mother	Edith Tatham,   b. 05 Apr 1860, Nuwara Eliya, Ceylon d. 18 Aug 1913, Minehead (Age 53 years)
  Marriage	22 Nov 1881	[2, 9]
  Notes	Passengers on "Khedive" arrived London ex Madras 18 Apr 1891 : Mr Greswell, 40, engineer; Mrs Greswell, 36; 3 children 9, 7, 5; 1 infant. Apr 1911: 5 ch, 3 living, 2 died.
  Family ID	F0066	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Gwendolyn Doris Rose Marshall,   b. abt May 1886, Clapton d. 26 Jan 1960, North Devon Infirmary, Barnstaple (Age ~ 73 years)
  Marriage	13 May 1914	Christ Church, Galle Face, Colombo   [2, 10]
  	On the 13th inst., at Christ Church, Colombo, by the Rev. A. E. Dibben, William Territt, son of E. H. Greswell, of Wayfield, Bicknoller, to Gwendolyn Doris Rose, daughter of M. Wilberforce Marshall, of Lagham, Ashtead. [The Times] married 13 May 1924 per Curtis - typo
  Notes	Gwendolyn described as single woman in probate record 17 Jun 1960.
  Children	+ 1. Jeaffreson Herbert Greswell,   b. 28 Jul 1916, Ashtead d. 19 Nov 2000, Chiltern district (Age 84 years) + 2. Anthony Territt Greswell,   b. 08 Jan 1920, Ceylon? d. Jul 1998, Trowbridge (Age 78 years)
  Family ID	F1609	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	05 Aug 2013

  
  

  Family 2	Rachel Mary Sadler,   b. 28 Oct 1899, Kensington d. Mar 1994, West Somerset (Age 94 years)
  Marriage	06 Dec 1928	Mayfair   [11, 12]
  	On Dec. 6, 1928, in London, W. T. Greswell, younger son of the late Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Greswell, of Bicknoller, Somerset, to Rachel Mary, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Sadler, of Tiverton, Devon. [The Times]
  Children	+ 1. Living + 2. Living
  Family ID	F0063	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	17 Nov 2011

  
  

• Sources

  [S01] Census, 1901, UK. age 11 b Cudalore [S04] H Curtis: Notes for a Pedigree of the Tathams of Co. Durham. [S02] BMD Index, 1Q1971, death reg Taunton. b 15 Oct 1889 [S39] Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. cricinfo website accessed 21 Mar 2011 [S39] Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. [S35] London Gazette, 02 Jul 1920. [S05] The Times, 15 Feb 1971, death notice. [S23] Monumental Inscription, St George, Bicknoller. [S01] Census, 1911, UK. marr 29 yrs [S05] The Times, 20 May 1914, marriage notice. [S05] The Times, 08 Dec 1928, marriage notice. [S02] BMD Index, 4Q1928, marriage reg SGHS.