David Wilson (cricketer, born 1917)

David Clement Wilson (1 March 1917 – 19 July 2005) was an English first-class cricketer.

The son of the cricketer Clem Wilson, he was born in March 1917 at Eccleston, Cheshire.[1] He was educated at Winchester College, before going up to Trinity College, Cambridge.[2] While studying at Cambridge, he played first-class cricket for Cambridge University in 1938 and 1939, making nine appearances but did not gain a blue.[3][1] Playing primarily as a right-arm medium pace bowler, he took 10 wickets at an average of 64.80, with best figures of 4 for 50.[4] As a tailend batsman, he scored 93 runs with a high score of 23 not out.[5] He toured Jamaica in the summer of 1938 with the combined Oxford and Cambridge Universities cricket team,[1] during which he played one first-class match against the Jamaica national team,[3] taking a five wicket haul in the Jamaican first innings with figures of 5 for 81 from 20.3 overs.[6]

The onset of the Second World War delayed the completion his studies at Cambridge, with Wilson serving in the war with the Royal Artillery. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in November 1940.[7] He saw action in the Far East and was mentioned in dispatches for his service against the Japanese in the 1942–43 Burma campaign.[8] Following the war, he once again mentioned in dispatches for his service in Burma, this time holding the temporary rank of major.[9] In April 1947, he was promoted to captain, with seniority antedated to May 1944.[10] He returned to Cambridge following the war to complete his studies, graduating in 1946,[2] after which he became a solicitor in Sheffield.[11] Wilson died in July 2005. His uncles, Rowland Wilson and Rockley Wilson, also played first-class cricket.[1]