Martin Dewe Corke OBE (8 June 1923 – 14 January 1994) was an English cricketer. Corke was a right-handed batsman. He was also a prominent member of the Greene King Brewery.[1]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martin Dewe Corke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 8 June 1923 Murree, Punjab, British Raj | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 14 January 1994 (aged 70) Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Ronald Lake (uncle) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1946–1964 | Suffolk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 5 May 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
editA member of the Greene brewing dynasty,[1] Corke was born at the hill station of Murree in the British Raj, where his father, then Captain Francis Sinclair Corke, was serving with the 1st battalion 16th Punjab Regiment.[1] He was sent home from the Raj to be educated in England, where he attended Radley School, during which time he captained the school's cricket team.[1] By age fifteen he was working at the family brewery in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.[1] However, with the start of World War II in 1939, Corke returned to the Raj to be with his parents.[1] He was commissioned in his father's 16th Punjab Regiment in 1942 then later promoted lieutenant.[2] In 1944, he was struck down with tuberculosis, which ended his time in the British Indian Army.[1][3]
Cricket and later life
editReturning to England, he married Jean Armour, daughter of artist George Denholm Armour, in 1946.[1] He made his debut for Suffolk against Berkshire in that same seasons Minor Counties Championship.[4] He played regularly for Suffolk throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, making a total of 105 appearances for the county, the last of which came against Cambridgeshire in 1964.[4] He scored over 3,000 runs for the county, as well as captaining it for eleven seasons from 1954 to 1964.[1] Corke also played first-class cricket for the Free Foresters, making his first-class debut against Cambridge University at Fenner's in 1953.[5] He made four further first-class appearances for the Free Foresters, the last of which came against Oxford University at the University Parks in 1958.[5] He scored 116 runs in his five first-class matches, at an average of 11.60 and a high score of 53, his only first-class half century.[6]
His commitments to the brewery saw him become a director of Greene King, during which himself and his fellow directors resisted takeover manoeuvres from larger rivals; his directorship saw him have notable success as marketing director.[1] In 1961, he became a magistrate, while he began work alongside his business commitments for the West Suffolk Health Authority, leading to his chairmanship of the organisation from 1982 to 1993,[1] working which he later received an OBE for his services to the National Health Service in the Queen's 1993 Birthday Honours.[7] He held further positions as chairman of St Edmundsbury Bench as chairman of Suffolk County Cricket Club.[1]
He died at from cancer at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk on 14 January 1994.[1] His uncle Ronald Lake also played first-class cricket.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Scarfe, Norman (4 February 1994). "Obituary: Martin Corke". The Independent. London. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ "No. 35610". The London Gazette. 26 June 1942. p. 2823.
- ^ "Page 1737 | Issue 37009, 30 March 1945 | London Gazette | The Gazette". Archived from the original on 13 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Minor Counties Championship Matches played by Martin Corke". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ a b "First-Class Matches played by Martin Corke". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ "First-class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Martin Corke". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours List". 12 June 1993. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
External links
edit- Martin Corke at ESPNcricinfo
- Martin Corke at CricketArchive