Dive into the poignant historical tale of Frank Milligan, England’s cherished cricket legend whose life was cut short by war. This biographical history documentary film unfolds an array of dramatic events from an arson epidemic to an assassination attempt, all the while showcasing Milligan’s remarkable journey from schoolboy to an England cricket hero.
Travel through Milligan’s brief life and discover the untold stories of loan sharks, gold mining, and the battlefield that defined an era of sports and heroism. Join us in honouring the legacy of the first England cricketer to be killed in military service.
Who was the servant drafted in to play for England?
Discover how a former England player used his cricketing skills to survive an assassination attempt.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:02 Early Life & Schooling
11:25 The Move To Low Moor
19:41 Life At Royds Hall
27:50 Cricket Career
58:57 Dedication of Milligan Memorial
1:07:17 Anglo-Boer War
1:31:55 Milligan Memorials
1:44:51 Final Thoughts
Consort for Brass – Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100681
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
Prelude No. 2 by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/preludes/
Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/
Hovering Thoughts -by Spence
This video concerns Frank Milligan: First England Cricketer Who Died On Military Service. But It also covers the following topics:
Tragic Cricket Hero
Frank Milligan Biography
England Cricketer History
Video Title: Frank Milligan: First England Cricketer Who Died On Military Service | Dodger’s Trips
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Hello and a warm welcome to Dodgers trips I’m Dodger today you find me outside the former St Mark’s Church in lmore Bradford the church closed in 2002 and is now private residence split into apartments on Sunday 19th of March 1901 the church was packed amongst the congregation was
Lord Hawk and the Yorkshire cricket team they had gathered to dedicate a brass Memorial plaque which they themselves had paid for the plaque read to the glory of God and in affectionate remembrance of leftenant Frank Milligan who was killed named mafin March 31st 1900 St Marks was the church that this
Officer and gentleman attended Frank Milligan was a highly regarded cricketer he was Captain of La Moore played for Yorkshire and England today we’re going to find out more about his life we’ll discover how he became a resident of LMO we’ll see where he lived and how he ended up in southern
Africa as St Marks is no longer a functioning Church we’re unable to see the brass Memorial plaque however we will finish an accessible and larger Memorial here in lmore dedicated to Frank Milligan so join me will you Frank William Milligan was born on the 19th of March 1870 to Captain Charles and Gertrude
Milligan at the time Frank was born the family were living at Sterling Villas in Alexandra Road farmor in Hampshire the precise house is not known however Sterling Village is composed of eight identical properties so you can get a good idea of the migan status farmor is near the Garrison town
Al thehot and Sterling Villas is less than three mil from the army camp Frank was baptized in the camp Chapel on the 22nd of May 1870 you can see the month of birth is very difficult to read in the register of baptisms it has been overwritten and
Can be read as March or April after a lot of study I have leaned towards March the year of birth is missing from the entry unlike most of the other infants by looking at the full page and indeed the pages either side it can be seen they are recorded sequentially and
The birth year for those children is 1870 we’ll see why I stress this as later in his life there are instances when his birth year would appear to be 1869 whilst there is a discrepancy about his birth year on other documents the date and month is always the 19th of
March Frank’s birth was registered in the third quarter of 1870 in the district of Harley winney in the county of Hampshire Harley winey lies 10 miles west of farmor the registration shows his mother’s maiden name was Shak this is confirmed on the 1861 census Charles Milligan and Gertrude
Were at that time residing at Gertrude’s mother’s home bucken Hill Mansion in Norton bromyard in herfordshire the building is still standing and is now at a hotel on the census her mother’s occupation is shown as a baronet’s widow Charles is shown as Captain in the 39th regimen gertude as the captain’s wife
And the family name is shaki having a child baptized in 1870 ensured they had legal status most people did not need identity papers to prove who they were as they went through life but the milligans were well connected and having a legal identity would make it far easier to
Claim inheritance for example so I find it very improbable that they would have had a child in 1869 and then waited 14 months to have it baptized and 18 months to register the birth it just wouldn’t have happened Charles Mulligan was promoted to Major 39th dorsetshire regiment shortly after Frank was born Charles
Would eventually leave the Army in 1877 and be given the bra or honorary rank of leftenant Colonel the year after Frank’s birth the milligans are living in London at number eight Clan rard Gardens close to Kensington Palace the census return for 1871 was based on how things were on the
2nd of April that year in completing the census the household members age at last birthday had to be declared this shows Frank Milligan aged one although been unable to obtain a photograph of number eight most of the houses are of a similar design such as these Frank Milligan enrolled at Chim
School in the London B of Sutton Chim is the oldest private school in the country in the 19th century the school was strictly for the sons of gentlemen and enrolled boys aged 3 to 13 years it was well known as a preparatory school for eaten her Winchester in the 1881 census Frank
William Milligan is declared as a pupil and Border but age 10 why not 11 the census of 1881 was based on actualities on the third of April this is where entries on some documents begin to swow confusion about Frank’s birth year Frank probably stayed at Chim until
He was 13 years old I know that he went to eat and 13 under the house tutorage of Mr Kohl’s the school record shows Frank’s age very clearly as 13 this would be correct based on the birth year of 1870 but the year of Entry is
Unclear it does look more like 1882 than 1883 however in the Eaton register a separate document the years of attendance are 1883 to 1885 School record shows Frank attended eatens till the 31st of July 1885 but then causes further confusion in given his age is 16 there is an unsourced report that
After leaving Eaton he went overseas I found nothing to support this I did find that Frank William Milligan had a service record following his death one newspaper reported that Frank had always wanted a career in the military and he went through the usual course at sandst but it was not to be as
The calls of business overrode this desire I have searched Sandhurst and cannot find Frank Milligan as a Cadet but their records are incomplete on Frank’s service record his date of birth is given as the 19th of March same as the baptism record but the year stated is
1869 the census returns from 1871 in 1891 show Frank’s age consistent with the birth year of 1870 it is the census when he was at Chim the leaving age at Eaton in 1885 and then his service record that throws doubt into the mix this is the difficulty when going so
Far back when there are no family descendants to check with and having to deal with sometimes illegible or incorrect transcribing of documents I shall stick with 1870 for the purposes of this film based on the baptism and birth registration records and the census returns completed by his father if anybody can categorically
Prove it different then I’d love to see your information whilst it would be nice not to have these conflicts around a birth year it is how Frank Milligan lived his life that is the most important thing here I believe there is a very real possibility Frank attended Heath end a
Campus of the army college at alersa there’s a report in the Sur Advertiser dated the 12th of February 1887 of a FW migan playing in a football match for Heath end College against nearby farham I have learned from an obituary that Frank was a keen Association footballer and his favorite
Position was halfback this is not the same as a halfback in Rugby Football in those days and until the 1970s in front of the two fullbacks would be a center half and either side of that position there would be a right half and left half in the Sur Advertiser
Report FW Milligan’s position is that of halfback the record of service shows that Frank had a knowledge of the German language and that he had not passed through the Royal Military College Sandhurst nor the staff college at Celly but that he did pass the schools of instruction on the 3rd of August
1888 for whatever reason he didn’t join the regular army but three months earlier on the 16th of may he had accepted a commission as a second leftenant in the fourth Battalion East Suri third regiment the fourth Battalion were a militia in other words the equivalent of today’s territorial
Army while Frank had been getting his education his father inherited Caldwell Hall from his aunt lady Sophia Katherine dvo this was a very large country mansion and estate near Bon on Trent in darbishire one point to note is that within the grounds Caldwell Hall had a cricket
Ground this was the home of Caldwell Cricket Club for whom Frank would later become president the Milligan family allowed the club to use the ground for for free Frank’s service record shows that he was promoted to left tenant in the fourth Battalion East Suri regiment on the 28th of January
1891 the census from that year has Frank Milligan listed as a resident at Caldwell Hall Charles Milligan’s occupation is given as a farmer as well as overseeing the large calwell Hall estate Charles Milligan was also a director of the Low Mo company in Bradford both he and the devor from whom
He had inherited the hall were descendants of Cristiana herd the aess and daughter of Richard herd one of the original partners of the company the LA Mo company was a raw iron Foundry established in 1791 in the village of L Mo about 3 miles south of Bradford the Iron Works were built to
Take advantage of the high quality iron or and low sulfur coal found in the area the company made raw iron products from 1801 until 1957 for export around the world at one time it was the largest Iron Works in Yorkshire controlling a large complex of Mines piles of coal and
AE kils blast furnaces forges and slag heaps all connected by railway lines in 1788 the lowo company purchased nearby roids Hall manor house and its extensive estate St to procure more land for mining several senior members of the company would reside at the house through the years right up to
1921 in 1892 Frank Milligan took up a managerial role with the company probably sent by his father to learn the business and act in his interests Frank then makes roids Hall Manor House his home on the 31st of March 1892 the Rippon Observer carried an advertisement
From Frank for a youth to act as a groom and valet to a bachelor in a small house when I read the small house part it threw me slightly although roids Hall is a large house in LM more I guess for somebody comfortable with the spaciousness of the 18 bedroomed calwell
Hall roids could be classed as a little on the small side the house carried a good roster of Staff but maybe Frank wanted to choose his own valet I’m standing with St Mark’s Church behind me we’re going to cross the road and head towards roids Hall the house
That Frank Milligan would call home for the next 6 years the street across the road is called Park bottom so park bottom here used to be longer and joined Huddersfield Road midway between St Marks which is just be through the trees and the Harold club which you can see there so about
Where that person’s walking that’s where Park botom came around and joined Huddersfield road to my right of the original Gate Post leading to where St Mark’s vicarage once stood you can even still see the Old Stone Road here now the the house was in quite large grounds
If you can imagine a large track going around the house nearest to us that is where the Turning Circle for carriages would have been the Vicor was set further back there’s several properties on this land now but in the 19th century it was only the vicarage that occupied the
Space uh as we walk towards the end of Park bottom here we see another set of gate posts and these are from the 18th century the the single story I just spotted a there look a lovely de you that’s great yeah so yeah uh this single story property that’s attached to
The two story the single story was actually the lodge for roids Hall State and the entrance here and driveway leads up to the house it S as we walk up the old track imagine Frank midan traveling the same way all those years ago maybe after he attended a shirt
Church service or being at the Iron Works or just having attended an engagement in LM more but this would have been the most direct route for him into LMO now there is another road leading from the Mana house actually called roids Hall Lane and that leads on to the main Halifax Road so
Depending which direction he was he was going they’d have a choice of Tracks all right here we are so this is part of roids Hall Lane the left is the boundary wall for roids Hall Mana house so we’ll walk down a little bit although you’re not we’re not going to be able to see that much of the house from the road side it’s quite shielded
Here we have a satellite image showing where we started the film in St Mark churchard following the track across the fields to royall Manor House itself and this is a like for like comparison between the years 1905 and 2023 showing just how much is still recognizable we’re now going to see two
Views from about the late 19th century looking back along the track we’ve just followed to get to roids Hall in the first you can see numerous wagons using the track and the wood line that is on their arrival is still there today this second view shows roids Hall
Lodge with the curvature of Park bottom joining Huddersfield Road near the Bowling Greens Harold Club can be seen on the left with the chimneys of The irw Works Rising behind on the right of the photograph is St Mark’s Church the the cottage properties that we’re going to see on the right hand
Side all Ed of be part of the roids Hall estate but through the 20th centuries the hall has been sold on um this part of the state has has been split up into different lots and so now Cottages in the house are under completely different ownership so what we can see right in
Front of us here is the old stable block and carriage Works see a little bit of the the Mana house there so I’m not going to go any further down that’s Roy’s Hall Farm uh but yeah this is the the stable block the gates there into the
Gardens what a beautiful big house that is all when he lived at roids Hall Frank Milligan partook of the many social and athletic opportunities afforded to such a well-positioned gentleman of the community he accepted an invitation to attend the banal leads bachelor’s ball held on the 24th of January 1893 in the
Town hall this was an event that the leads Mercury newspaper said everybody who’s anybody should be there Frank became chairman of the LA L Mo branch of the Primrose League this was a group dedicated to promoting conservative values it had previously taking part in Primrose League Gatherings when he lived at Caldwell
Hall on the 24th of November 1893 Frank Milligan hosted the aale beagles at roids Hall beagling is traditionally the hunting of hairs on foot with a pack of hounds the group is still in existence both according to their website no longer Chase hairs the beagles had close links with
Aale harriers who were CrossCountry Runners maybe a number of participants were members of both groups Frank was also involved in cross-country running the first Bradford harriers Athletics Club folded in 1894 but in 1895 the club was restarted and Frank Milligan was elected the first president Frank donated a trophy in his
Name the FW Milligan cup was awarded to the winner of the club’s Championship there was a good number of athletic groups in the city and merging was Common Place the cup was awarded for many decades well into the 20th century there’s a report in the Bradford Daily Telegraph of the 18th of December
1915 saying that although the active membership of the Bradford Athletic Club was diminished due to men enlisting in the army the race for the Milligan cup would be run that afternoon the race for the Cup by then was open to novices and new members the Bradford Observer of the 29th of October
1937 reports the race the competitors had to complete a 4 and a half mile course was still open to novices it would be wonderful to know what became of the trophy I’ve contacted Bradford Athletics Club asking the question but not had any reply if anybody watching this does know the
Whereabouts of the trophy I’d love to be able to see it possibly due to the demands placed upon him to learn the business of the Iron Works plus the pull of his sporting and social commitments the London cazette of the 8th of January 1895 carried a notice that Frank
Milligan had resigned his Commission in the East Suri regiment Frank would more than once entertain groups who enjoyed viewing the house and grounds the brig house news on the 1st of June 1895 reports that Mr Milligan hosted The Bradford historical and antiquarian Society the group had a formal tour of the house and
Gardens the president of the society Mr TT emsil then presented a paper about the history of the house and in particular the era that it was occupied by the Rooks family the brig house news then prints the full paper in their report at the conclusion of his paper Mr
Emil announced that in addition to Mr Milligan’s kindness in permitting them to visit the interesting old Hall he had very kindly provided in an adjoining room a cup of tea and light Refreshments for the ladies and a little lunch for the gentlemen the Reverend Brian Gail
Moved a vote of thanks to Mr Milligan for his kindness in permitting them to view the old Hall and for his generosity in providing in the refreshments this was seconded by Mr emel and was warmly accorded the rooms were then thrown open to the visitors and many of the party
Availed themselves of the privilege of a leisurely inspection a remembrance of Times Gone by at roids Hall appeared in the Bradford Observer on the 12th of February 1948 it was a gossip column account by an actor who had been appearing in Nell Gwyn at the theater Royal on Manningham
Lane he recalled that they would retire to the drawing room of the private house belonging to the well-known cricketer Milligan for bouts of fighting until breakfast time to make sure the police didn’t stop them they always included a few among the invited guests one other snippet of information
I discovered from Frank’s time at roids Hall was that in October 1894 he made a patent application for improvements in the method of and apparatus for adjusting the seats of carriages and other vehicles I’ve checked with the British Library who confirmed that this was a patent application only it never went to
The grant stage and so was never published many patent applications in the Victorian era never went to the ground stage until the early 20th century patents were quite exclusive as it cost several thousand to secure a patent and they will really reserve for the rich or well-connected the application may have been abandoned
Or withdrawn possibly due to financial concerns the cost may not have been justifiable from a business perspective the amount of items that needed to be sold to recuperate the cost may not have been possible it may well have been cheaper and quicker to Simply manufacture and sell the item without waiting and paying
For the full patent or the application could have been refused or deem void for something simple such as the paperwork not being completed on time or fees not being paid frequent guests at roids Hall especially when the Yorkshire cricket team played in Bradford were Lord hawk and The Honorable Stanley
Jackson his lordship was Captain and president of Yorkshire as well as becoming the chairman of the England selectors he was a great disciple for spreading the game of cricket to as many countries as possible Jackson would like Frank Milligan end up serving in the second B war in
1900 he would succeed Lord Hawk as president of Yorkshire Cricket Club and go on to Captain England later in his life he became governor of Bengal his athletic abilities gained through many years as a cricketer stood him in good stead when at the University of kolkota he survived an assassination attempt a
Student fired five pistol shots at close range and Jackson ducked and Sid stepped each bullet on one occasion when the pair were staying with Frank they were persuaded to take part in a Sunday school concert at LM moer the Bradford Observer recalled that the three yosa cricketers sang though not with the same
Unison and ability that they had displayed at Park Avenue in 1952 the Yorkshire Observer newspaper remembered that leftenant Colonel Milligan had sent sent his son Frank to live at roids Hall to learn the business of an iron master what progress young Frank made in the scientific intricacies of uh
Puddling smelting rolling and drawing we don’t know but in the joyful skills of batting and bowling he Advanced so rapidly he became the most renowned cricketer in Bradford and Spen Valley Club Cricket he was that rare person amid all the glories Yorkshire Cricket never produced again the gay Adventurer the
Debonaire amateur who played with a smile on his face to whom the fruits of Victory were nothing compared to the joy of the contest the newspaper described Frank as tall Sandy head and a straight as a Guardsman they said he became a hero to those who were privileged as
Youths to see his fast balling brilliant fielding and hard-hitting and it is here on this very field that Frank’s cricketing Talent blossomed here on his estate close to his home was the ground of the lmore Cricket Club I’m so thrilled and excited to be able to walk the very ground where Frank
Milligan spent so many hours practicing and playing I’m so grateful to the present owners of roids Hall manor house to allow me to film here today the LM more Cricket Club was formed around 1864 and they were initially known as royal blue the Yorkshire Observer article recalls a time when L Mo were
Due to play bowling old Lane whose professional was the famous shuy Harrison Frank decided he needed some practice so a few days preceding the game he engaged shuy to bow to him shuy obliged bowling all day long both were satisfied with the day’s work shy with
His handsome fee and and Frank with his excellent practice come Match Day shuy shattered Frank stumps with his very first delivery seems it wasn’t just Frank learning the thing or two about the opposition during the day spent practicing shuy had clearly spotted a weakness in Frank style a follow-up
Letter to the newspaper by Mr tulson of jewsbury remembered that Frank and also his opening batsman partner uh Reginal Wickham who was a director of the lmow company used to have private practice here at roids Hall in fact they were helped by the constant balling day after
Day of Willie Carr a renowned bowler from liversedge who was an employee of the Iron Works so I’m now standing in the very center of what used to be the cricet ground here at roids Hall this darkened area used to be a Jim caria area some years ago
Uh there’s no longer horses kept at rool but yeah this is right in the center probably be where the batting pitch was can just imagine tea being taken in roids Hall Manor House food and drinks laid on for the guests and Spectators what a beautiful Outlook this
Cricket ground obviously was back in its day probably one of the most picturesque in all of Yorkshire I should imag in so where I’m walking now towards the corner of the fenced area would have been where the Pavilion stood now I’ve got a little story about this that will interest the people of
Bradford who are watching somewhere in the corner of this field here just about where the shadow is on the ground would have been stood The Pavilion and a pavilion was first erected here at royall on the cricket ground in 1888 now in the early hours of Friday the 13th of June
1913 a fire was spotted at roids Hall a policeman PC Beverly was on duty in nearby abcot Lane and noticed a glare in the sky the fire was also spotted by a Workman at low mower works who raised the alarm PC bevle made his way up to
Roids Hall and discovered the Pavilion a blaze the fire brigade from odsal turned out promptly but nothing could be done to but stand and watch hopelessly the Bradford Daily Telegraph said that even if they had arrived earlier the difficulty of procuring water in so isolated a place would have
Made it impossible to save the building in addition to the cost of the iion a large quantity of cricket and Tennis accessories were destroyed apparently the Pavilion was used both by low more Cricket Club and the roids Hall Lawn Tennis Club whose Lawns are joined the cricket ground the newspaper asked the question
Is this the work of the suffragettes but it did go on to say that no direct Trace such as literature which they would normally leave had been found Bradford was experien in the next epidemic of fires there had been five big fires and four minor outbreaks in the previous six
Days superintendent Forbes of the fire brigade said they had never experienced such an anxious and eventful period he said firemen are supposed to sleep with one eye open but nowadays we are having to sleep with both open we have got beyond the theory that the fires have Arisen
Accidentally it seems to me that it is the deliberate Act of someone and the person must be wrong in the head a new Pavilion was opened the following year by Reginal Wickham thanks were offered to the Low Mo company for their ongoing support for the Cricket Club Wickam recalled with
Fondness the times he and Frank Milligan used to spend in their shared love for the sport Mr tulson of jewsbury in his letter of 1952 to The Observer borns that the beautifully situated ground is no longer us for good class Club Cricket he asked are there no cricketers
In the LMO districts who can revive the glories of the Milligan era when did the LMO Cricket Club cease to exist clearly before Mr tolson’s letter perhaps it was after the assets of the LMO company were sold off and the hall went into private ownership in the late 1920s early
30s I’ve been told by a former pupil that nearby Woodside Middle School used the cricket ground at roids Hall until the mid ’70s at least the ground was still being used for school Cricket until then so we’ve already heard something of Frank mig’s exuberant and exciting style of
Playing but what else do we know about his cricketing career Frank Milligan was no stranger to the game of cricket when he moved into roids Hall he’ played whilst at school and seemingly continued whenever the opportunity arose I found press cutting showing that in 1887 he turned out for lullington in
Darbishire a village just south of the then Milligan family home at calwell Hall Frank had even made an appearance for Hastings and St Leonard’s in July 1889 this match was possibly a result of an invitation to play whilst visiting somebody who was involved with the club
With the cricket pitch in the grounds at roids Hall he started playing for La Mo during the 1892 season in the leads Mercury of the 17th of April 1893 the club announces that they will again have the services of Frank Milligan they recall he rendered such valuable service to the team the
Previous year and that no doubt the 11 will occasionally be strengthened by gentlemen who were visiting Mr Milligan Frank was apparently a pretty good good allrounder useful as a change fast baller hard-hitting batsman an excellent Fielder his performances for Low Mo were soon grabbing the attention of the county in
1894 he was offered a trial for Yorkshire and played in a first class match against darbishire unfortunately the trial was not a success he only scored four runs in each of his Innings and his bowling was not that economical Frank would only play once more for Yorkshire that year continuing to put in
Strong performances for low more Cricket Club he was invited to trial again for Yorkshire in 1895 this time with some success so much so in fact that he became a regular for Yorkshire until 1898 he was even the standing captain on more than one occasion at the beginning of the 1895
Season the Sheffield daily Tel said of Frank he is a well-known West riding amateur enthusiastic who balls fast but erratically and who hits hard but rashly the paper goes on to say he’s young and he’s expected to improve in both Departments of the game by the end of
The 95 season Frank headed the Yorkshire bowling averages he tended to be used in the lower middle order of the batting lineup although he never made a century for the county the keithly news said he had provided good service in many a stiff contest on the 26th of August
1895 the Sheffield Daily Telegraph reported that Frank Milligan was part of Frank Mitchell’s team of English cricketers under the name Cambridge Oxford who had accepted an invitation from the association of Philadelphia to play a series of matches throughout September in North America Frank had never been to Cambridge or
Oxford universities but a minority of the touring party were selected from County sides hence Frank’s inclusion the first match was in New York on the 4th of September the tourists then traveled to Toronto to play all Canada the English cricketers then went to see Niagara Falls before a match in
Philadelphia the two are concluded on the 30th of September a North American cricket tour was not as unusual as it might be today American sides became frequent tourists during this era from 1896 to 1898 Frank Milligan took part in matches whenever his business engagements allowed in those days County cricketers
Were a mix of amateurs and professionals the keithly news gave the opinion that Frank was an amateur of the best type always displaying the best Spirit of sportsmanship as well as his club and County Frank also represented on occasion Bradford the MCC the North in matches versus the South he played for
The Yorkshire gentleman via the Yorkshire players also the national gentleman team versus The Players the gentleman V players matches were frequent fixtures right up until 1961 there were contests between a team consist cons in of amateurs the gentlemen and a team consisting of professionals the players that reflected
The English class structure of the 19th century typically the professionals were workingclass people who earned their living by playing Cricket while the amateurs were middle and upper class products of the public school system who were supposedly unpaid for playing the professionals were paid wages by their County clubs and some
Sometimes fees by match organizers while the amateurs claimed expenses however while rules to distinguish amateures from professionals were established by the MCC the system of allowable expenses was both controversial and complex enabling some leading amateurs to be paid more than any professional for playing cricket from the many press
Reports during the 1890s Frank Milligan was very much an exponent of the the present day basball approach a swashbuckling player who very often scored his runs at a fast pace for example he was 134 not out for the MCC and scored that total in only 100
Minutes another time he knocked up 65 in 74 minutes with his reputation as a dynamic batsman he would be expected to entertain the crowds whenever he took to the crease he recounts how clubs would pay him handsomely for for his attendance at their fixture as he was
Guaranteed to pull in the crowds the gluster echo in 1900 reminisced describing Frank as a dashing bat and a big hitter they said Birmingham people will remember him hitting a ball over the Pavilion at edgebaston Frank was credited with one of the mightiest hits in all cricket history
LMO were playing Spen Victoria in the 1896 heavy Woolen Cup final at the jewes in Sav ground the heavy Woolen cup began in 1883 and is the oldest Club Cricket competition in the country if not the world Frank is reported to have driven a ball from Ben Hurst a famous bowler of the
1890s straight out of the ground over a street and pitched it at the feet of the local policeman patrolling his beat the distance given was 130 yards this is surely accurate as it was striden out by the policeman on his wrathful way to castigate this public danger Mr tulson our letter writer from
Jewsbury who we previously heard from remembered the shot but wrote alas for human Glory Milligan was clean ball next ball for a score of 29 l Mo lost the final The oire Observer noted Frank Milligan was such an attraction clubs would write to him weeks in advance to
Ensure sure he was playing so that they could pay him these were the days when clubs appointed their own umpire and they were often the 12th man with their biased decision making Milligan was the great danger and after having persuaded him to play the next thing was getting him out Frank was
Rarely heard to complain but this was the one thing in club Cricket that annoyed him throwing his back into the corner of the dressing tent one Saturday afternoon after a particularly disgusting decision he exclaimed these teams pested me for weeks to play against them and then they give me out
Lbw when I’ve knocked the ball clean out of the field Frank was a member of the Yorkshire side that made an astonishing 887 runs against warshire at Edge Baston in the 1896 season this was a record-breaking score one that still stands today Frank only contributed 34 to that total
But contributed to history making all the same despite the massive score the match ended in a draw Lord Hawk who we have already Learned was a frequent visitor to roids Hall was the captain of Yorkshire from 1883 until 1910 he was also elected Yorkshire Club president in
1898 a position he held until his death in 19 38 in addition he was chairman of the England selection panel from 1899 for 10 years as well as Cricket Lord Hawk and Frank shared an enjoyment of both cycling and photography whenever the weather allowed they would both cycle to yorkshire’s
Matches in the Lloyd’s Weekly News of the 12th of May 1907 there’s an account of a presentation ceremony for a testimonial and they observe that during the speeches Lord Hawk was perilously perched on a precarious footing snapshotting the scene the paper recall that Frank Milligan was also an indefatigable
Snapshot and thanks to his unique chances possessed a remarkable collection taken of famous cricketers not always when they were playing Cricket either whatever became of these momentos have times passed Yorkshire cricket archives are held at the West riding archives at Marley I submitted an online search but there were no results
For Frank Milligan let alone his photographs maybe his collection passed to his family upon his death his father leftenant Colonel Milligan was an early photographer his sister blanch was also an enthusiastic photographer even having some of her work exhibited at the Kodak museum in London so it wouldn’t be
Surprising if Frank’s pitch ended up at Caldwell Hall when the Milligan family line ended in 1960 the hall and all its contents were auctioned a local man de Bry Sutton who was a keen photographer himself attended the sale hoping to buy blanche’s camera but this turned out to be included with
Other items and they put it out of his reach following the sale Workman were clearing out the junk items that hadn’t been offered for sale the foreman saw debroy looking at some old photographic plates and he said take them if you want this is why we now have the photograph
Of Frank Milligan in the uniform of the East Su regiment along with a family group picture where Frank is seated and wearing the bter maybe Frank’s photographs were simply bended as junk the darbishire record office have a collection of photographs by Miss Milligan but they’re not individually
Cataloged this means without paying on a lot of money to get copies of everything I’ve been unable to retrieve any other photographs there might be of Frank from blanche’s work I discovered that Frank Milligan left England on the 2nd of January 1897 aboard the RMS Norman Bound for the
Cape why he went and for how long I don’t know I’m into the Realms of conjecture I know you were still living at roids Hall and therefore still an employee of the Low Mo company on the passenger list his age is given as 27 when he wouldn’t have turned 27 until
The 19th of March maybe this was because he wouldn’t be returning until after that date on the list he uses his father’s occupation of farmer an orbit mentions an interesting mining opportunities when he went to the cape in 1898 was this trip a year earlier a reconnaissance operation on behalf of
The LMO company mining was certainly part of their portfolio or was this Frank starting to Tire of the Iron Works and looking to open business interests for himself no doubt in the cape he would have moved in well-connected Social Circles that would have offered up good
Contacts I know that Frank was back in England by may as he took part in yorkshire’s match against gluster Shire commencing the 13th of that month the Manchester career of the 11th of April 1900 suggested that 1897 was perhaps Frank’s best season for Yorkshire in the 1898 season Yorkshire
Romped to the top of the county championship and were never seriously threatened Frank played in 23 of the 26 matches that year the last match of the Season commenced on the 22nd of August against Sussex at Hove this would result in another victory for the Champions with the championship secured
The broodling Free Press profiled the yor players they said Frank had refined his skills greatly during the season no doubt helped by a consistent run of appearances the paper said he still required a little studying but his defense had shown a marked improvement and he played the forcing game perfectly
Frank had played several good Innings they thought thought his best performance had been at Sheffield when things were looking decidedly Bleak for Yorkshire the paper added he can be relied on to get wickets when the other Bowlers are struggling and Frank’s Fielding is brilliant they conclude that with a
Little application of tonic Cliff’s methods to his batting Frank will develop into a useful member following the end of the regular Championship season the Yorkshire side traveled overnight from Brighton to reach scarra for the opening day play of the annual Cricket Festival York were playing the
MCC in the first match Frank also turned out for the gentleman in their match against the players he finished the game with the excellent bowling figures of 7 for 61 the third and final match of the festival saw Frank and Yorkshire in action again this time against Mr thon’s
11 although he didn’t know it this would turn out to be Frank’s last game for Yorkshire and indeed his very last match on an English ground he was clearly a player with lots of unfulfilled potential where previously he’d only played when his business commitments allowed maybe now the pendulum was swinging more towards
His Sporting Life I think it extremely probable that at this moment Frank was given an ultimatum by his employers the lowo company choose business or cricket was he spending so much time in practice in playing and in traveling to matches that his Focus was not on company business
Anymore after the close of the 1898 season Lord Hawk was planning to take an England 11 overseas Hawk had originally wanted to take a side to the west Indies but the economy there and the devastation that a recent hurricane had caused scoer that idea so a very much last minute tour of
South Africa was arranged aside from himself Hawk chose four fellow Yorkshire cricketers for the tour the playing roster was made up of only 12 men yes only 12 players for what was to be a hectic tour from the Champions Hawk selected Frank Mitchell scoffield ha cem Wilson
And Frank Milligan Frank went out to the cape two weeks before the rest of the England side he departed Southampton on the 19th of November 1898 aboard RMS Britain the touring party proper left England on the 3rd of December traveling aboard RMS Scott arriving at Cape Town on the
20th an unsourced remark in a mini profile of Frank Milligan that I found stated that he went to the cape after several of his ideas were not taken up by the LMO company were his proposals the result of the previously unknown trip to the cape in early
97 whatever the reason the 1898 tour had come about he’d been selected and off he went evidently choosing Cricket over business at least for the time being by leaving two weeks earlier than the rest of the playing group makes me suspect that he had left the company had nothing
To gain staying in Bradford and headed to Southern Africa to renew acquaintances before the cricket tour began only days after Frank left England his friend and La more company director Reginal Wickham was installed as the new tenant at roids Hall the tour was comprised of 24 fixtures at the time the side believed
They had played four test matches against South Africa but in retrospect only two of those matches retained their test status a further three games were deemed first class Frank played in both test matches and the three first class games in fact he only missed three games of the entire
Tour with the playe staff being so minimal there were occasions when Replacements had to be called up an unofficial recruit was The Honorable eustus fees who was secretary to Frank rhs brother of CLE and a great friend of Lord Hawk fines played in two matches his grandson ranulf would lead the trans
Globe Expedition some 80 years later the tour was a success and England won both test matches the South Africa team were much improved since Hawk’s last tour there in 1896 the first test match started on the 14th of February 1899 at Johannesburg this resulted in England
Winning a close game by the margin of only 32 runs scor field heg one of the Yorkshire contingent reported that although there was grass on a couple of the pitches all Gamers were played on a matted Wicket the mat was allowed to loosen throughout each fixture this was very helpful for the
Bowers but on the other hand it made batting a very difficult proposition Lord Hawk found it particularly tough going and he would relegate himself to the bottom of the batting lineup this would be Lord Hawk’s last overseas tour Frank Milligan would put in some good bowling performances this one here
Against a Johannesburg 15 saw in take 10 wickets for 64 runs the promoter was James Douglas Logan known as one of the founding fathers of South African Cricket he guaranteed to cover all expenses any resulting profits were to go to the South African Cricket Association the tour had plenty of
Fringe benefits the Sporting Life reported Lord hawkside were being shown overwhelming Hospitality with an abundance of visits to the theater and dinner invitations and no end of people wanting to welcome them into their homes there was a lot of traveling involved between matches for example following the fixture at kimbley the touring party
Had a 55-hour train journey to bowo in rodesia neither was the traveling without incident on one occasion the train taking the team to Matt JS Fontaine was in collision with the goods train two England players were slightly injured one of them was Frank Milligan though it didn’t stop him playing in the
Match Lord Hawks 11 were often pitted against teams with anything up to 22 players as was the case in the Matt J Fontaine match an unlikely recruit who turned out for the England 11 in their match against Matt JZ Fontaine was Henry Lund now Henry Lund believe it or not was
Frank Milligan’s servant I’ve been unable to find anything else about lond except that in the 1901 census returns for roids Hall he is listed as being 28 years of age single British born with the occupation Butler domestic for the Wickam family was he the groom valet that Frank
Milligan advertised for when he first moved into roids Hall Lund would have been 19 years old at that time what a tale he had to tell in later Life playing for an England cricket 11 on tour in South Africa the second test match began on
The first of April in Cape Town and this resulted in a comfortable victory for the tourists in England winning by 210 runs the second test match was the final game of the tour the England players left the cape on the 5th of April 1899 with one exception Frank
Milligan when the party arrived back in England they were able to report a very enjoyable trip they had seen the mines at Kimberly and Johannesburg they had especially enjoyed their time in buo many the party he had brought back souvenirs scoffield heg had returned with many warlike items including guns
Shields and asag guys heg was very modest about his own efforts with the ball he had topped the bowling averages but praised Frank Milligan’s Bower in saying his 48 wickets were achieved at the low rate of 12 runs each so buo had left a favorable impression on the
England side and this is where Frank Milligan was heading next so as I mentioned at the beginning of the film we’re now heading to a well-known Memorial to Frank Milligan and it’s here in Harold Park lore now as we walk to the park I just want you to
Remember the backs of those Terrace properties over there and there’s a reason reason for that that be revealed in in a few minutes time there’s also a row of three terorist houses now the street behind and this row of terraces were all there in the time in the era that we’re talking about
Here in this film around 1900 so this is the cemetery road entrance to Harold Park and I want you to notice the two gate posts there and then compare it with the photograph here very probably a pre-ir World War photograph definitely taken after the year
1901 and if you just look over the the person on the right hand side with a white shirt just look over his left shoulder you can see a monument there can you see that with some steps leading up to it well we’re going to find the location of that now
In the photograph there’s obviously three gate PST where now there’s only two this was where the original Gate Post was and the lockin section here for the Double Gates the park was planted a bit more generously back in in the Victorian Edwardian era there were a lot more
Bushes and shrubs what have you but on the map you can see that this section here was like a screen so this when you came into the the park it was a little bit of a surprise you came around around that screen of trees and bushes and you came into this
Area when my kids were smaller about 20 30 years ago we used to come to Harold Park quite regular and there was always in this location step a stepped base and often wondered where it was but as the kids come through the entrance of the park they would make for these these
Two or three steps up to like nothing just a flat platform and then jump off and carry on but I always wondered what what that was for it was obviously something had been mounted on it in the past and we can see from the photos that
This is the original location of the the Milligan Memorial so if we compare it with one of the photographs the memorial was immediately in front of us here on the hexagonal three-stepped base and Beyond was the ornamental Pond which in later years became a paddling pool for kids so we’ll just wander over
And see a view from the other direction this drain cover I would suggest is probably from around the center of the the ornamental Pond probably where the the water was where the pond was filled or drained so looking at the one of the other photographs there from the opposite
Direction in front was the ornamental Pond and Beyond it where I’ve just been stood just in front of the cycle racks was the location of the migam memorial and you can see immediately behind the three Terrace proper it is there and further to the left although you can’t
Really see it through the trees you can see the back of of the street of terorist properties as well on the 27th of May 1902 Yorkshire Cricket Club the county Champions wrapped up another Victory after playing Kent at Park Avenue in Bradford following the close of play
Both both sets of players made their way to this very area of Harold Park they were joined here by the Lord mayor of Bradford William C Lupton members of the council Reginal Wickham of the lawm more company and many local people they had all come together to attend the unveiling of the migan
Memorial we heard at the beginning of the film that leftenant Frank Milligan was killed in action in southern Africa on the 31st of March 1900 there were differing reports coming out of South Africa but within weeks of his death being confirmed there were calls for some kind of Memorial to
Frank from the many testimonials that the newspapers carried there was clearly a substantial amount of affection for Frank Milligan an initial meeting on the 29th of May 1900 at Hilltop Infant School in L MOA to discuss the idea of providing a memorial saw officers elected and a commitment to meet again
The following month on the 19th of June the Yorkshire Cricket Club committee stated that whilst they supported a memorial they were conscious two of yorshire cricketers were at the time involved in the South African War the club felt it prudent to await the end of hostilities before committing
Themselves to a memorial to just one person the this thought changed very quickly as just 3 weeks later the Yorkshire Club committee agreed to organize a memorial and donated 100 ginies to head up the Dona list at the end of August a dona list was printed in the Yorkshire post as
Well as the 100 ginies from the Yorkshire Club the Low Mo company had donated £1 the fund closed at the end of November the fund organized by Yorkshire had raised 4 £55 the locally raised Fund in L MOA agreed to make this up to £600 so three cots could be donated to
The Bradford children’s hospital they would be known as the Frank Milligan cots and would each have his name upon them Lord Hawk was to arrange that a photograph of Frank Milligan would be near to each cot and wherever possible the children of cricketers would use them Reginal Wickham presided over the
Unveiling ceremony the Lord mayor formally acknowledged the handing over of the memorial from the city Lord hawk in addressing the crowd thought no other serviceman from the war had been honored three times in such a way as the brass pla in St Marks the cots for the children’s hospital and the ornamental
Sunnd dial here in Harold Park his lordship said to the listening youngsters that if they wish to succeed in life they should follow Frank Milligan’s example he said Frank was one of the kindest and best and that he was the most unselfish man he had ever
Known I wanted to show you where the Milligan Memorial sundal was originally placed before we go on to see the memorial itself it’s had quite a checked history in its own right and I will be covering something of that in a little while so as I made my way to the present day
Location of the memorial let’s head back to where we left Frank Milligan on his way to bowo in Rhodesia we’ll learn what the circumstances were that contributed to his death a little less than a year after the England 11s tour of southern Africa had come to a Close southern Africa in 1899 was a hot bed of tension and arm wrestling between the very ious republics and Empires who control that part of the continent British South Africa had borders with German Southwest Africa and Portuguese East Africa in between was the orange free state and the transval which were
Together known as the bore republics after the people of Dutch origin who had settled there SLE roads the prime minister of the cape had a vision of a British controlled Africa stretching from C Cape Town right up to Cairo in 1867 a diamond had been discovered near the Orange River later larger
Discoveries were made near kimbery several small gold rushes had predated what became the largest ever Gold Rush at wit Waters Rand Basin in the transval during the mid 1880s this resulted in an overwhelming number of white immigrants flu into the area ownership of the mines Qui quickly
Fell into the hands of a few entrepreneurs mainly white Europeans Paul Krueger who was the president of the transval was becoming increasingly alarmed at the number of foreigners he felt there was an imminent danger of the British Empire expanding its influence and so voting restrictions and heavy taxes attempted to stem this
The Bor republics were very concerned about retaining their independence the British in the Cape still with its thoughts on Imperial expansion were concerned that it was no longer the predominant economic power in southern Africa this was the land Frank Milligan was traversing on his way to rodesia Colonial settlers had made bullo
A boom Town it was still very much a Frontier Town when Frank was there it didn’t have its own Municipal council with elected members until November 1897 and the arrival of the railroad in that same year had made buolo the country’s major Center for mining ranching and
Industrial activity the area was rich in Mineral wealth from gold to base Metals where the Frank gained employment in buolo is unknown a piece in the athletic news of the 23rd of October 1899 stated that he had gone to buolo for the mining opportunities another newspaper makes mention that he planned
A hunting trip through Rhodesia my guess is he probably did plan to do some hunting and have some leisure time before seeking employment he was quite familiar with shoots as these were held frequently at Caldwell Hall apparently Frank was a very good shot no doubt he would have socialized
At the club in bolo this was the club for gentlemen in the town back in England a bankruptcy notice against Frank Milligan appeared in the London cassette of the 27th of June 1899 it was informing Frank Milligan later roids Hall and whose present residence the Judgment creditor had been
Unable to ascertain the high court ordered that the publication of the notice was deemed to be a service of the bankruptcy notice upon him the notice was brought by Jonas wolf of for Oxford Place in leads the amount owed is not detailed what is known is that Jonas wolf was a
Money lender at that time Parliament was scrutinizing the workings of such businesses their interest rates and particularly their practice of operating under different aliases Jonas wolf was one of the lenders who had been named before the Parliamentary committee because he also operated from Picadilly in London under a different
Name did Frank borrow money for his Venture into African mining I think it must be considered highly likely his father leftenant Colonel Milligan was hardly poor in fact when he died in 1902 he left an estate valued in excess of £100,000 which is almost 16 million
Pound in today’s money I think Frank was an independent type trying to make his way by and large through his own efforts whether that be sporting looking to register a patent or striking out on his own in Africa to pursue his goals through his own means southern Africa was heading almost
Inevitably towards war between the British Empire and the boa republics the British government didn’t want to appear as though this was unavoidable so they couldn’t openly send out reinforcements to the small army that it held in the colonies what the ministry for war did do was to order Colonel bayen Powell
Later to be founder of the Scout movement out to the cape to covertly raise train and equip two regiments of mounted troops the Press was told they were there in case of a native Uprising in actual fact they were a rodesia frontier force to be a deterrent
To any thoughts the boers may have had about invading the country when war broke out Colonel Bon Powell arrived in buolo in early August 18 1999 horses arms and Equipment all had to be brought in covertly as the British government didn’t want to be accused of inflammatory Behavior B and Powell was
To be assisted by about 20 special service officers they were handpicked from various British Army regiments Captain Kenneth McLaren of the 13th hazaz described how he traveled with seven other special service officers from Cape Town to buolo by train a Six-Day Journey covering over 1600 miles
Of the two regiments B and Powell would take command of one and take them South to the town of mafin the other regiment Franks was under the command of brev leftenant Colonel Herbert plumber Frank Milligan in a letter dated the 1th of September 1899 to Reginal Wickham an extract of which appeared in
The Bradford daily tele Telegraph mentions B and Powell raising three regiments but most sources do state that his orders were to enroll just the two in the letter Frank says their regiment has been formed some six weeks and they had moved to the current location for field practice before planned move 150
Mi towards the front war was not yet declared but you can see that the regiment was pushing ahead to be ready on the assumption that it was closed or as Frank writes when the Umpire call play Frank mentioned that a racket club had been formed at Bela and he was just
Getting good at the game when it had been time to move Frank Milligan proudly writes how he was the only person to gain a commission in the Rhodesia regiment he was given the rank of left tenant and was second in command of the 55 man strong C Squadron I think when the
Opportunity arose to enlist he would have done so pretty sharply from his training at Heath end army college and his service with the militia he’d been drawn towards the military his father had served in the Crimean War his brother George who was seven years the Elder had only recently retired as a
Captain in the Kream guards George had served during the Sudan campaign in the 1880s Frank probably thought everything had fallen into place so he could now have a cracker active Sy service himself he continues in his letter to wickhams saying the job may be over in 3 weeks or
3 months but that if the orange Free State join with the transal there’s no knowing how long it will last he said that businesses are at stand still in buo and he is glad to be out of it until things liveen up again in a strange link
To Bradford he says that he won a race the other day on a pony called Low MOA in a match against one of CLE rhs’s ponies he describes the duty in camp at Uni zingani as hard he says rali is at 5:15 a.m. and the officers are expected
To be up before then to kick the men up they are generally in bed between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. so they get plenty of sleep except that night he was on night Duty so it meant an all night sitting Captain McLaren had said that they got a lot of their recruits from
People who had come out from England in the hunt for gold and not found any the rodesia regiment was going to be patrolling guarding harassing and flustering the enemy apart from defending the Border regions they would tie up enemy troops and keep them away from the coast so British troops would
Be able to land unopposed the rhia regiment was to be a short-term Venture with a six-month enlistment extended to nine should War break out in the end the regiment was disbanded in September 1900 colonel Baden Powell would initiate the siege in mafin by which he would become a household name he deliberately
Did this to constrain the bors in large numbers the bors were aware of a certain buildup of troops close to their countries and sent the British in ultimatum to desist when they didn’t the BS crossed their borders and attacked indeed as they believed before they themselves were attacked by the British
The second B War being began on the 11th of October 1899 C Squadron were in a fortified position on the transal border across the Limpopo river near Fort Tully when war was declared as expected there was plenty of movement over the coming weeks and months as they ran into skirmishes
And kept the enemy guessing where they were and how strong the rhia regiment were often bettered in these fights but the BS never pressed home their advantage when in a position to do so their watchword were where’s plumber they were always afraid of overextending themselves or being lulled into an
Ambush C Squadron were also sent to reinforce the Garrison at Fort moski for a Time by aggressive patroling plumber had been able to disguise the weakness of his forces Frank posted a letter to the Secretary of Yorkshire Cricket Club on the 13th of November 1899 whilst he was based at
Mousy a summary of the letter appeared in the herald in January he mentions being out on patrol from 6:00 a.m. on a Sunday until the following Thursday Frank said it was hard riding as the camps were often 30 m apart with no roads they navigated by compass and
Covered 189 Mi Frank advised the secretary that he intends to be in Sheffield in May for the new Cricket season if all goes well Frank’s return from Southern Africa was also mentioned in the athletic news the paper said there is a hope that he will be back by Midsummer and that he
Will prove to be bulletproof while he is there as we heard in Frank’s letter the work was very gruelling as this was tough country to cross Captain Jarvis from D Squadron wrote to his mother that it’s the same game hunting and stalking each other we March out at 2:30 a.m. and return at
8:00 p.m. we have tea and Bully beef and Bully beef and tea breakfast lunch and dinner he goes on to say you’ve never seen so many Beatles scorpions creepy things generally that are about the place men are worried about bathing in the water because of crocodiles by December 1899 the threat
Of a bore Invasion into rishia had dissipated and leaving a small force of about 100 50 to 200 men at Fort Tully plumber marched his column 200 miles south by January they were at gabaron plumber intended to low any of both forces away from rodesia and also mafin
The town still under siege and if possible affect a relief I hope that overview of the situation in southern Africa and the type of country the soldiers were confronted with was helpful in understanding the circumstance that led to Frank going to war and the conditions he
Faced the camp at gabaron is where I believe the last photograph of Frank Milligan was taken I found this small picture in an old and very faded scrapbook that Captain McLaren and his family made the writing underneath says Milligan Gabon you can see it’s a photograph of Frank outside his bivwak in Camp
We shall now see how the final day of Frank Milligan’s life unfolded it is the 31st of March 1900 from reporting that I had 988 men in February 1900 the strength of plumber’s column evaporated as he left Men Behind as cover at various locations during the journey South and
Westwards Frank along with C Squadron was still with plumber’s main column plumber Scouts found that there was no B at the small village named rabama he left a small Detachment of 30 dismounted men there and moved South Colonel plumber’s column now down to about 270 men got within four miles of
Mafin the B forces of which they were estimated to be about 2,000 laying Siege to the town soon began to turn their attention to plumber after making contact the rodesia regiment had some initial success however after fighting on a two mile wide front the superior numbers of
The enemy forced them to fight their way back to remat laama with the continual threat of been flanked what plumber Scouts hadn’t realized earlier in the day was that there was a boowa camp in the vicinity and they had reoccupied this there was then a standing fight for a time at
Where the the only cover was a twoot high Railway embankment again the Bowers tried flanking his Force plumber had no choice but to continue a slow fighting withdrawal in good order at walking pace the mounted squadrons falling back in succession covering the dismounted men as they slowly fought their way back to
Sephi Tilly about 30 miles Northwest of mafin it was during this fighting withdrawal that Frank Milligan was was mortally wounded there was much confusion in the days and weeks that followed regarding Frank’s fate there’s an account that Frank was hitting the Cal near to mafin but managed to ride
Back to Ramat laama unaided before being hit again and he was unable to be helped as he could not then move the most numerous versions said that he was hit with Vol fire during the fight at ramut labama while his Squadron was in position covering the withdrawal of the dismounted
Men his Skipper Captain McLaren was himself hit a few minutes later Captain McLaren would at first be reported killed until it was ascertained he was wounded and a prisoner of the boers a nine-page handwritten document written by Captain McLaren recalling the actions of the plumber column was found at a
Flea market and put up for auction in 2015 McLaren describes the action that led to the moment Frank was killed he said we Advanced on mafin hoping to draw the bo away from there and give Colonel Robert B and Powell a holiday they were too strong and gave us a very warm time
We only had about 200 mounted men and they killed or wounded 40 of us I was very sorry to have my subaltern killed by my side besides being a great friend he had sure himself to be a most reliable officer and full of pluck and judgment I was able to give him no
Assistance as 10 minutes afterwards I was severely wounded in three places and left on the velt from 5:00 p.m. one day till 11 a.m. the next the B came along and took me and two other prisoners 16 miles over Ruff felt to the hospital a letter from a correspondent
At plumber’s base camp describes the circumstances of of Frank’s death and Captain mcclaren’s wounds Captain McLaren got hit in the thigh and Mr Milligan in the calf four or five horses went down so most of us wanted to help those who had lost their nags all this time the bullets were
Coming like hail Captain McLaren was hit again in the stomach and Mr Milligan rolled out of his saddle we all pulled up again but we could do absolutely nothing as Mr Milligan could not move and to all appearances Captain McLaren was dead two men supported him in his
Saddle for three or four miles until he was hit the second time Captain McLaren rode for Miles with a shattered thigh first reports back in England give Frank is killed the times correspondent reported from buolo on the 3rd of April that Captain McLaren was severely wounded and leftenant Milligan fatally
Wounded while holding with the utmost tenacity the position which had been assigned to them as the days passed suggestions appeared saying Frank was wounded but a prisoner until those hopes were extinguished and there really was no doubt that he’d been killed what an awful time this must have been for his
Family eventually they accepted his death and posted an obituary advertisement in the times two officers and six men were killed in the fight three officers and 36 men were wounded and one officer and 11 men were taken prisoner the other officer to be killed was Captain Crew who was head of
Plumbers Scouts I presume that he died of his wounds rather than being killed out right as the next day his body and that of two troopers were repatriated crew was buried in mafin Cemetary when the repatriation party arrived they discovered only the three bodies they found that their pockets had
Been rifled while the boots of one had been removed they said the action of removing boots from the dead savers of the barbaric but then pointed out that the boers and some of their own men were almost soulless they assumed that leftenant Milligan had been buried by
The bo during the last week in April Father Andrew Hartman the Roman Catholic chaplain who had been with plumber’s column and the Anglican Arch Deacon James uper went to Ramat labama and a group of borers took them to the spot where Frank Milligan had been buried Frank had only received a cursory burial
In a shallow where an Adar had been burrowing father Hartman doesn’t disclose whether Frank’s property was also rifled but both he and archdeacon uper identified Frank and marked his grave with a wooden cross I discovered the arch Deacon up was or had been a keen cricketer a copy
Of a report that had appeared in the Rhodesia Herald was carried in an 1893 issue of cricket weekly it shows Arch Deon uper appearing in two matches in Salsbury the capital of Rhodesia one for an allomer side against the civil service and then also for the home Bor side against a colonial Bond
Side so it’s not beyond the Realms of possibil that the arch Deacon saw Frank play for Lord Hawks England 11 in their game at buolo in 1899 the visit of the England side would have been a big attraction at the time in rodesia and now here he was a year
Later being responsible for giving Frank a Christian committal so Frank Milligan was left at the place he died father Hartman stated Frank was buried near Cottage 174 at the AG 80 mile Peg following the ending of the B War The Guild of loyal women dedicated themselves to marking
And registering the graves of her fallen from both sides they would erect metal crosses known as Gregory crosses after The Foundry that made them and where possible a brass inscription plate would be attached the British were not that meticulous in keeping records and so the graves of the Fallen particularly such
As Frank in an isolated place that was in effect Behind Enemy Lines we never registered The Guild of loyal women were quite the opposite and very disciplined with their record keeping they attended large cemeteries and also out of the way locations where maybe a single grave was
Known of course only the two priests really would have known where Frank was buried they had done their job at the time by erecting a cross they wouldn’t have memorized the location Frank as we have already heard was buried in a shallow dip where an arvar had been
Borrowing this would mean there was a body of ants nearby and certainly the South African vals generally had them in abundance the cross over the years would have been eaten by ants destroyed by Wildfire or simply rotted away and the grave location lost forever I’ve searched the records of the Guild of
Loyal women and every other website I could find relating to B War burials and check dozens of cemeteries just in case Frank was reburied in a formal graveyard but to no avail I have attempted to contact people in Ramat laama which even today is only a small place there’s a smattering of
Houses the railway still runs nearby and the land is flat and open but G no success in finding the grave site R labama is a border crossing in present day Botswana with South Africa’s Northern boundary in May 1900 Colonel Milligan expressed gratitude for the sympathy he had received following Frank’s death he said
That Frank was offered the chance to be invalided to Durban but chose to stick it out and complete his service Colonel Milligan said they had received a letter dated just four days before he was killed in which Frank noted Providence had watched over him so
Far and he hoped to be in MAF in a few Days I’m drawn to the words of that great opening batsman and Frank’s fellow tourist to South Africa pelum Warner who expressed sorrow at the loss of Frank Milligan and the fact that somewhere on the desolate V he Sleeps So as we near the conclusion of the film we’re back in Harold Park l in Bradford heading towards the Milligan Memorial we learned earlier that it was originally cited near to the cemetery road entrance you can see that position detailed on this map of the park from the year
195 the SD is an abbreviation for Sund dial which sat a top the memorial we’re making our way to the area which is marked Bowling Green in 1915 but he now the present day location for the memorial so this film has really only come about because one day I was in the
Park doing my usual circuit and the foot path just tends to lead you past this area on the right which is known as the Rose Garden I knew of the B war memorial this one particular day I thought I’ll take a closer look and as I got to the memorial and read the
Inscription it was the wording on there that made me think this is something worth researching one thing led to another and before you knew it I had enough information I thought this this man’s had although short life it’s quite an interesting life I didn’t really think that people
Would not many people would know that much about him so I just so I decided to make this film and I’ll show you the the inscription now this is the inscription that sort of teased me and made me want to find out more I’ll read it for you to
The memory of liutenant Frank W Milligan of roid Hall and a member of the Yorkshire county cricket 11 he fell bravely defending the position assigned to him while serving under Colonel plumber with the Rhian Frontier force in the attempted relief of mafin 31st of March 1900 the memorial was erected by public
Subscription in addition to the endowment of the Frank W Milligan cops in the Bradford Children’s Hospital so it normally on a a war memor you just see a name and a date and that’s it and behind every name on a warm Memorial of course there’s a life there’s friends
There’s family they each have a story to tell but it was this where it mentioned he fell bravely defending the position assigned to him which made me want to know all what was that position what was his what were his orders that caused his death there and that was the beginning of of
The film basically so from being a monument dedicated just to Frank Milligan it was then adapted to the memory of those others who fell in the B war from Bradford the monument was unveiled by the right honorable the Lord Hawk 27th of May 1902 and the memorial was restored at
The instigation of the late Mrs Mary Saxton of white the last head mistress at Bradford High School who died in 87 now the Milligan Memorial has had quite a life in its own right and maybe we should you know say a little bit about that as
Well but you can see the hexagonal base now this is a new base because the one at the original location the steps were were there for many years they’ve clearly mounted the memorial on a new set of steps we previously heard that there was almost an instantaneous wish for some
Sort of Memorial to Frank this letter to the Y post probably reflects those calls with every other follower of Yorkshire cricket and doubtless thousands outside the county it is with deep regret that I read in your issue the absolute confirmation of the death of Mr Frank Milligan he died the death that every
True Britain and good Sportsman might desire fighting bravely to relieve his fellow countrymen for Queen flag and Empire peace to his ashes his pleasing presence genial gentlemanly Manner and pluy play in the field and deared him to all who took an interest in cricket and it will
Be a long before the lad from lore is forgotten by true ties a letter to the oire observer in 1936 remarked that there are a large number of people in lore and W that knew Frank Milligan who are indignant on account of the vandalism which has been
Done to the memorial erected to his honor in Harold Park the writer tells us the angle of the sun dial went missing and the bronze plaque was wrenched from its setting the letter goes on to say that when one of the park dams was cleaned the missing part of the sunnd dial was
Found in the mud also the bronze was found weeks later in a potting shed a plea is made may I appeal to the the parks committee to repair the damage and make the memorial once again a treasure then in 1952 another person has caused to write to the newspaper
Concerned at the Memorial’s Decay it is described as a disgusting shambles the writer points out that the upright and the dial has disappeared the inscription is almost illegible and the copper plate partly unscrewed is is a massive verdigre the writer hopes that the authorities into whose charge the
Public placs the memorial will show the respect that is due to a great yorkman by restoring it in connection with its 50th Anniversary was the sunnd dial ever found after its Disappearance in 1952 or was it replaced only to vanish again with this photograph which I believe was taken around
2014 the footprint of the dial can be clearly seen I’d be very interested to learn when the memorial was moved to the Rose Garden and also when the restoration Works funded by Mrs Saxton were completed if you do know please let me know in the comments I think the bronze inscription
Plate could do with some protection not only from any future attempts at vandalism but also the weather rust has appeared and caused staining possibly a perspect screen over the bronze inscription maybe something to preserve the original commemoration Stone too which is showing its ede something in keeping and not too
Obtrusive we now know how the public very quickly subscribed to remember Frank Milligan in Bradford his sacrifice has also been honored elsewhere the parishioners of the Church of St Giles in Caldwell darbishire and members of Caldwell Cricket Club for whom Frank was president raised 36 in
1901 this enabled a pair of brass alter rails with an inscription and black polished marble steps with green conim Mara risers to be installed in the church liutenant Colonel Milligan and his wife funded a stained glass window to their son it Bears the image of St
Hubert the Hunter and At His Feet the inscription to the glory of God an Ever dear memory of Frank William Milligan left tenant Rhodesian Frontier Force killed in action near mafin 31st of March 1900 this window is dedicated by his father and mother the bishop of southwell dedicated both memorials on
Sunday the 29th of September 1901 on the 2nd of November 1905 a memorial service was held in Lupton Chapel at Eaton College it was for old etonians who fell in South Africa during the bore war or who died of disease or other causes and whose names were
Recorded on a brass erected in the chapel Frank is number 126 on the list of names and his inscription reads Frank William Milligan leftenant Rhodesian regiment killed in action at ramath labama near mafin 31st of March 1900 Yorkshire Cricket Club has a war memorial at headingley stadium in leads
That bears the names of five Yorkshire cricketers who were killed in action or died of their wounds Frank is at the top of the board with the inscription leftenan FW Milligan rhasia Frontier Force killed ramth labama South Africa 31st of March 1900 age 30 it’s to their share that
After contacting the England cricket board and the MCC I discovered that they don’t honor their former players who were killed in the boa War their remembrances only commence with World War I whilst boa War memorials are not as numerous in this country as those dedicated to the Fallen of World Wars 1
And two surely those cricketers should be remembered publicly too it’s not too late to retrospectively honor men such as Frank Milligan I like to think of him as he was summed up in this tribute from 1916 there was a schwar deiva about all Frank Milligan’s Cricket he was always
After runs when batting always after wickets when bowling and always striving for the seemingly impossible in the field though he was a cricketer from the late Victorian era Frank Milligan certainly won’t look out of place in the current England side with their excit approach to playing the game which has
Won them so many plaudits it would have been the perfect fit although he wasn’t around for long I hope Frank enjoyed his 30 years of life and that he was happy and satisfied for the most of it there been no books or documentaries about Frank Milligan so this film is a first I
Would love to hear from you in the comments if you were able to add anything to the story or just let me know what you thought I do read and acknowledge every comment that I receive if you’ve liked the film please share it with your friends family or colleagues
Who you think may also be interested in watching it the memorial now acts as a more General Senator and the friends of Harold Park and hold Remembrance Day Services here when you go home tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today Sh well I hope you’ve enjoyed the film it’s taking some putting together I can tell you I certainly enjoyed doing the research and putting everything together it’s probably been taking me the longest out of all the videos that I’ve done I feel it was well worth telling often with war
Memorials the more poignant for the people who have living memories of the people who died obviously when you go back to the B war and and Beyond those conflicts are more or less forgotten we do tend in in our age to concentrate on World War I World War II and wars and
Conflicts that have taken place since the end of the second world war no doubt as we go into the the century as we get to the end of the century World War I World War II sacrifices will be almost will have turned the page and we’ll be concentrating on people who
Have died in conflicts in more recent times that’s the way of the world that’s that’s time for you um but I just thought I’d bring the life Frank Milligan and they sacrifice just one man back to the the Forefront of people’s minds and if if you’re Liv in low more maybe you can
Come and come and see the the memorial in the Rose Garden yourself okay so I hope you’ve enjoyed the film and thank you very much for watching especially if you’ve watched it all the way through cuz it’s been quite a marathon hasn’t it and I hope to see
You again wherever the next trip takes us until then Dodger and out
3 Comments
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Great video my friend…
What a terrific video Dodger, absolutely top notch. So interesting and a real eye opener. I've walked past the rose garden in the park, Royds Hall, St Mark's Church etc so many times,. Really appreciate your research and the time it must have taken. Great work, nice one. All the best