A 75-year-old Cricketing Mystery from the School Archive
Back to News
First featured in issue 6 of The Burfordian, published on Friday 8 December 2023, former Head of Sport Bill Williams delves into our archives…
"Mrs Kaaber, Head of Boarding, recently came across this photo of an unknown man, coaching cricket in the yard of the Grammar School (now the school boarding house) and wanted to know who he was!
Intrigued to find out more and after discussion with the school archivist Mr Norridge, we have discovered that the man in the photo is a Mr William Gregson, who spent the summer term of 1948 coaching cricket at Burford Grammar School (BGS).
The Burfordian that summer had this to say:
‘At the beginning of the cricket season for 1948 we have had the very able services of Mr Gregson, who did good work in coaching both the senior and juniors. As a result of his efforts there has been considerable improvements in stroke production! The many enquiries after his return to Lancashire explained how much his help was appreciated, as were his cricket reminiscences. We felt that he had done much to further good cricket, but also promoted sportsmanship during his short stay!’
Clearly, the school had been very pleased with his contribution that summer.
William Gregson (1877-1963) was a Scottish cricketer who had played ‘first class cricket’ for Lancashire during the summer of 1906, during which he scored 62 runs but more impressively took 24 wickets, with a best performance of 5 wickets for 8 runs against Leicestershire at Blackpool, which included a ‘hat-trick’ (three wickets in three consecutive deliveries). Gregson was one of only 19 cricketers playing for Lancashire in the 20th century to achieve that feat!
Despite sustaining a knee injury, Gregson continued to play in the local leagues for several years, before becoming the Head Groundsman and Athletic Coach at Liverpool University in 1923, where he was incredibly successful.
On his retirement aged 69 in 1946 the University described him as, ‘Something of a genius in his way as he has lifted University sport to a very high plane!’
Which begs the question: What brought Mr Gregson to BGS in the summer of 1948?
It’s a mystery!"