William Arthur Holdaway (18 March 1893 – 23 August 1967) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played a single first-class match for Otago during the 1918–19 season.

William Holdaway
Personal information
Full name
William Arthur Holdaway
Born(1893-03-18)18 March 1893
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
Died23 August 1967(1967-08-23) (aged 74)
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1918/19Otago
Only FC18 March 1919 Otago v Southland
Source: CricketArchive, 28 February 2024

Holdaway was born at Dunedin in 1893. He worked as a tinsmith.[1] During World War I Holdaway served in the Otago Infantry Regiment. He saw active service on the Western Front in France during 1917 where he was gassed during the Battle of Passchendaele in October 1917, requiring hospital treatment. His condition did not improve and in March 1918 he was deemed unfit for service as a result of his wounds and returned to New Zealand where he was demobilised.[2]

A club cricketer for the Grange club in Dunedin, Holdaway's "fine bowling" received praise from the Otago Daily Times as early as 1910.[3][4] He made his only first-class appearance came against Southland in March 1919, scoring nine runs in the match.[5]

At the start of World War II, Holdaway was working for Farra Brothers as a sheet metal worker. He was a member of the National Military Reserve and was called into the Territorial Force in 1941, although he was released from service the following year due to his occupation in an important wartime industry.[2] He died at Dunedin in 1967 aged 74.[6] His wife, Phoebe, died aged 82 in 1976.[2]

References

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  1. ^ McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 68. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. ISBN 978 1 905138 98 2 (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2023-06-05.)
  2. ^ a b c William Arthur Holdaway, Online Cenotaph, Auckland Museum. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  3. ^ Cricket, Otago Daily Times, issue 14978, 31 October 1910, p. 8. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-22.)
  4. ^ Cricket, Otago Daily Times, issue 17587, 31 March 1919, p. 8. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-22.)
  5. ^ William Holdaway, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2023-12-22. (subscription required)
  6. ^ William Holdaway, CricInfo. Retrieved 2023-12-22.