Robert_Airey

Robert Airey

Robert Airey

English cricketer and British Army officer

Robert Berkeley Airey CMG DSO (21 September 1874 – 23 June 1933) was an English first-class cricketer and an officer in the British Army.

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The son of Robert Airey senior, he was born in September 1874 at Southminster, Essex. Airey was educated at Tonbridge School,[1] before attending the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. He graduated from there as a second lieutenant into the South Wales Borderers in March 1895.[2] He transferred to the Army Service Corps (ASC) in January 1898,[3] at which point he was also promoted to lieutenant,[4] with a further promotion to captain following in January 1901.[5] He saw active service in the Second Boer War in South Africa, from which he returned in September 1902.[6] He was seconded for service with the Egyptian Army in November 1902,[7] and stayed there until 1907.[8]

Airey was appointed to the Army Service Corps Training Establishment at Aldershot Garrison in September 1911,[9] having made three appearances in first-class cricket the month before for Hampshire, playing twice against Sussex and once against Surrey in the County Championship.[10] In these, he scored 52 runs at an average of 10.40, with a highest score of 30.[11]

In the ASC, he was promoted to major in April 1912[12] and served with it in the First World War. In November 1914, he was appointed a deputy-assistant quartermaster general,[13] prior to being made a brevet lieutenant colonel in February 1915.[14] During the war, Airey was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in the 1916 Birthday Honours.[15] He gained the full rank of lieutenant colonel in October 1916,[16] with him later being invested as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1918 Birthday Honours for services rendered on the Western Front in France and Flanders.[17] He was later appointed deputy director of supplies and transportation in September 1918.[18]

Following the war, he was promoted to colonel in January 1921,[19] prior to his retirement from active service in August 1924.[20] Airey was invested into the Order of Saint John as an officer in June 1931.[21] He died suddenly at Westminster in June 1933;[22] his wife, Helen (whom he married in 1907),[23] predeceased him by five years.[24]

References

  1. [1]
    Hughes-Hughes, Walter Oldham (1893). The Register of Tonbridge School, from 1820 to 1893. R. Bentley. p. 274.
  2. [2]
    "No. 26604". The London Gazette. 5 March 1895. p. 1319.
  3. [3]
    "No. 27039". The London Gazette. 3 January 1899. p. 5.
  4. [4]
    "No. 27045". The London Gazette. 24 January 1899. p. 462.
  5. [5]
    "No. 27286". The London Gazette. 19 February 1901. p. 1230.
  6. [6]
    "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36857. London. 27 August 1902. p. 6.
  7. [7]
    "No. 27504". The London Gazette. 16 December 1902. p. 8681.
  8. [8]
    Who's Who: Men and Women of the Time. 1926. p. 24. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  9. [9]
    "No. 28531". The London Gazette. 15 September 1911. p. 6801.
  10. [10]
    "First-Class Matches played by Robert Airey". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  11. [11]
    "First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Robert Airey". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  12. [12]
    "No. 28595". The London Gazette. 2 April 1912. p. 2397.
  13. [13]
    "No. 28985". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 November 1914. p. 9958.
  14. [14]
    "No. 29074". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 February 1915. p. 1686.
  15. [15]
    "No. 30716". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1918. p. 6453.
  16. [16]
    "No. 29844". The London Gazette. 1 December 1916. p. 11733.
  17. [17]
    "No. 30716". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1918. p. 6453.
  18. [18]
    "No. 30941". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 October 1918. p. 11843.
  19. [19]
    "No. 32177". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1920. p. 12810.
  20. [20]
    "No. 32969". The London Gazette. 29 August 1924. p. 6497.
  21. [21]
    "No. 33728". The London Gazette. 23 June 1931. p. 4072.
  22. [22]
    "The funeral of Colonel Robert Berkeley Airey". West Middlesex Gazette. London. 1 July 1933. p. 10. Retrieved 14 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  23. [23]
    "Marriage". Gentlewoman. London. 2 March 1907. p. 36. Retrieved 14 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  24. [24]
    "Mrs. Helen Mabel Airey deceased". Sydenham, Forest Hill & Penge Gazette. London. 30 November 1928. p. 1. Retrieved 14 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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