YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club and the Green Howards Regiment are to combine to mark the centenary birthday of legendary cricketer and war hero Hedley Verity.
The great left-arm slow bowler, the only player ever to take all ten wickets for Yorkshire on two occasions, was born near the county club's Headingley headquarters on May 18, 1905, but was brought up in Rawdon and educated at Yeadon and Guiseley Secondary School.
He went on to capture 1,558 wickets for Yorkshire at a miserly 13.70 runs apiece and 144 for England at 24.37 before the Second World War intervened. A captain in the Green Howards' Regiment, Verity died on July 31, 1943, after being mortally wounded in action a few days earlier while leading his Company in Sicily.
On May 25, Yorkshire will begin a four-day Championship match against Essex at Headingley and on the first morning a memorial plaque to Verity will be unveiled in the long room by his son, Douglas Verity, who now lives in Wales.
The ceremony will be attended by Yorkshire officials and former players as well as senior representatives of the Army and the Green Howards' Regiment and during the lunch interval the Corps of Drums will play on the ground.
The long room will also house a Verity exhibition which will include items from Yorkshire's archives and the Imperial War Museum.
Assisting in organising the event are Yorkshire vice-presidents, Keith Moss and Sidney Fielding who is a close friend of the Verity family.
Updated: 10:33 Friday, March 18, 2005
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article