Maurice Turnbull facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Maurice Turnbull

Personal information
Full name	Maurice Joseph Lawson Turnbull
Born	16 March 1906 Cardiff, Wales
Died	5 August 1944(1944-08-05) (aged 38) Montchamp, German-occupied France
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm offbreak
International information
National side	England
Test debut	10 January 1930 v New Zealand
Last Test	27 June 1936 v India
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 9 388 Runs scored 224 17,544 Batting average 20.36 29.78 100s/50s 0/1 29/82 Top score 61 233 Balls bowled – 390 Wickets – 4 Bowling average – 88.75 5 wickets in innings – 0 10 wickets in match – 0 Best bowling – 1/4 Catches/stumpings 1/– 280/–
Source: CricInfo, 19 October 2019

Maurice Joseph Lawson Turnbull (born March 16, 1906 – died August 5, 1944) was an amazing Welsh sportsman. He played Test cricket for the England team between 1930 and 1936.

Maurice was great at many sports. In cricket, he led the Cambridge University team. He also captained the Glamorgan County Cricket Club for ten years. In rugby union, he played for Cardiff and London Welsh. He even played two international games for the Wales team in 1933.

Turnbull also played field hockey for Wales. He was the squash champion for South Wales too! He is the only person ever to play cricket for England and rugby for Wales.

Maurice Turnbull's Early Life and Family

Headstone of Maurice Turnbull. Bayeux CWGC Cemetery.

Maurice Turnbull was born in Cardiff, Wales, in 1906. He came from a big family who loved sports. His father, Philip Turnbull, played international hockey for Wales. Philip won a bronze medal at the 1908 Olympics.

Six of Maurice's eight brothers, including him, played for the Cardiff Rugby Club. Maurice went to Downside School near Bath. The school even has a bar named after him for older students. After Downside, he went to Cambridge University. There, he earned special awards called "Blues" in both cricket and hockey. These awards are given to top university athletes.

On September 7, 1939, Maurice married Elizabeth Brooke. They had three children: Sara, Simon, and Georgina.

Maurice became a Major in the First Battalion of the Welsh Guards. He was fighting in France during World War II. He sadly passed away on August 5, 1944, during a battle for the French village of Montchamp. One of his soldiers, Sergeant Fred Llewellyn, found his body. Maurice's personal items were sent home to his family.

Maurice Turnbull's Cricket Career

Maurice Turnbull was a talented right-handed batter. He was known for scoring runs when his team really needed them. He was also a great fielder, especially close to the batter.

He first played for Glamorgan as a schoolboy in 1924. He became captain of Cambridge University's team in 1929. Then, he led the Glamorgan team from 1930 to 1939.

Maurice scored over 1,000 runs in a season ten times. He also hit double-centuries (over 200 runs) three times. His highest score was 233 runs against Worcestershire in 1937. That year, Glamorgan finished higher than ever before. This was thanks to Maurice's strong leadership.

He traveled with the England team to Australia and New Zealand in 1929-30. He also toured South Africa in 1930-31. He played for England against the West Indies and India at home.

Maurice also wrote two cricket books with another player, Maurice Allom. They were called The Book of Two Maurices (1930) and The Two Maurices Again (1931). These books shared stories from their cricket tours.

His leadership really changed the Glamorgan team. Before he became captain, the team often struggled. In 1978, Basil Easterbrook wrote in Wisden that Maurice helped Glamorgan become a much stronger team. By 1937, they won 13 matches and finished seventh in the Championship. This was their best finish ever!

Maurice Turnbull's Rugby Career

Maurice Turnbull loved sports from a young age. He played rugby for Downside School. At Cambridge University, he joined the rugby team too. One of his first rugby clubs was St. Peters in Cardiff. His older brother, Bernard Turnbull, had already played for Wales.

In the 1931–32 season, Maurice played his first senior game for Cardiff. He mostly played as a scrum-half. By 1932, he was playing rugby at the county level for Glamorgan.

Maurice was chosen to play for Wales in the first game of the 1933 Home Nations Championship. This game was against England. Maurice was one of seven new players on the Welsh team. He played alongside Harry Bowcott. Wales won the game 7–3. This was a big win because Wales had lost their last ten games at that stadium.

For the next game against Scotland, the Welsh team wanted to pick the same 15 players. But some players had to drop out, including Maurice due to an injury. Wales lost that game. For the final game of the Championship, Maurice was healthy again and returned to the team. However, Wales lost to Ireland 10-5. After this, many changes were made to the team. Maurice never played international rugby for Wales again.Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge