Robert Poore

Brigadier-General Robert Montagu Poore (20 March 1866 — 14 July 1938) was an Anglo-Irish first-class cricketer and British Army officer who, whilst serving in South Africa in 1896, played in three Test matches for the South African cricket team. He featured most prominently in first-class cricket playing county cricket in England for Hampshire. He had notable success in 1899, becoming the highest first-class run-scorer in England with 1,399 runs between 12 June and 12 August at an average of 116.58. He made 304 against Somerset, which was the highest individual first-class score for Hampshire until it was surpassed by Dick Moore's 316 in 1937, and was one of seven centuries Poore scored in that period. His average in 21 innings across the season was 91.23, which was a record average for an English season, that was not broken until Don Bradman averaged 98.66 in 1930, and not surpassed by an English batsman until Herbert Sutcliffe averaged 96.96 in 1931. He continued to play first-class cricket until 1913, and was prolific in club cricket into the 1920s.

In the British Army, Poore joined the militia of the Wiltshire Regiment in 1883, before gaining a regular commission in 1886. From there, he transferred to the 7th Hussars in the same year and would shortly thereafter serve in British India, where he was aide-de-camp to the Governor of Bombay. Poore would serve in the Second Matabele War in Southern Africa and later in the Second Boer War, in which he was seconded to the Mounted Military Police and served as provost marshal of South Africa. In this role, he played an important part in recording the war crimes trial and execution of Breaker Morant and Peter Handcock. Decorated with the Distinguished Service Order during the war, Poore later returned to the Hussars and served in the First World War, during which he commanded the Jhansi Brigade of the British Indian Army with the rank of brigadier-general, for which he was made a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1918. He retired from active military service in 1921. In later life, he served as a deputy lieutenant for Dorset.

Military career
The son of Major Robert Poore senior and his wife, Juliana Lowry-Corry, (daughter of Rear-Admiral Armar Lowry-Corry), he was born at Dublin in March 1866. Poore joined the Wiltshire Regiment (Militia) as a lieutenant in August 1883, before joining the 1st Battalion with a regular commission in April 1886. In the same year, he transferred to the 7th Hussars. He served in British India until 1895, where he was aide-de-camp to the Governor of Bombay, Lord Harris, from 1892. From India, he proceeded to South Africa, where he served in the Second Matabele War in Rhodesia from 1896 to 1897. He was promoted to captain during that conflict, before being promoted two years later to brevet major in May 1898.

Poore served in the Second Boer War, being seconded for service with the Mounted Military Police in October 1899. He was appointed provost marshal in South Africa in November 1899, and was mentioned in despatches in March 1900, to which the commander-in-chief, Lord Roberts, described how Poore "has exercised his responsible duties, whether as regards the care of prisoners, or in maintaining order in camp and on the line of march, in a most satisfactory manner". He was particularly active on the frontlines in the early years of the conflict, seeing action in the Orange Free State, where he was present at the Battles of Paardeberg, Poplar Grove, Driefontein, Vet River, and Zand River; he subsequently saw action in the Transvaal, where he was present for engagements at Pretoria and Diamond Hill, and later in August 1900 in Western Transvaal at Bergendal. He received the Distinguished Service Order in April 1901, in recognition of his war service. Poore was provost marshal during the trial and execution of Breaker Morant and Peter Handcock, with his diary including contemporary notes on their war crimes case. In August 1901, he gained the full rank of major, and was granted the local rank of lieutenant colonel in November 1901. He returned home aboard the SS Canada (1896) in 1902, but would return there on military service until his final departure in 1905.

Having returned to the 7th Hussars, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in June 1911, before returning to India. During the First World War, he was promoted to colonel in June 1915, and commanded the Jhansi Brigade in the British Indian Army for the remainder of the war, for which he was made a temporary brigadier-general. Poore was made a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in the 1918 Birthday Honours. He relinquished his command of the Jhansi Brigade in October 1919, nearly a year after the end of the war, and was subsequently placed on the half-pay list. Poore retired from active service in March 1921 and was granted the honorary rank of brigadier-general.

India and South Africa
Poore was not initially overly enamoured with cricket, which he had learnt not through classical coaching but the perusal of textbooks, reputedly chiefly from the Badminton Volume of Cricket (1888); it wasn't until, as a subaltern, that he visited India with the 7th Hussars did he realise his love for cricket. Styling his game on W. G. Grace, he subsequently made his debut in first-class cricket while serving there for the Europeans cricket team against the Parsees in August 1892 in the 1892–93 Bombay Presidency Match, with Poore playing a second match against the same opponents the following month. In December of the same year, he played for Bombay against Lord Hawke's touring team. He subsequently made four further first-class appearances for the Europeans across the 1894–95 and 1895–96 Bombay Presidency Matches, which included a maiden century. He was prolific whilst playing for Government House in minor matches, averaging 80 for the team.

Poore continued his prolific form when he went to South Africa, scoring over 1,600 runs over the period of a few months. Amongst these were nine hundreds, with Poore being the only batsman in South Africa to score centuries against Lord Hawke's touring team. His form led to him being called-up to the South African team, with him featuring in three matches against England in February–March 1896; these were subsequently afforded retrospective Test status. In his three Test appearances, he scored 76 runs at an average of 12.66, and took a single wicket. Wisden noted that he did not distinguish himself in what were heavy defeats for South Africa.

Hampshire and later cricket
Poore returned to England on leave in 1898, playing in a first-class match for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against Lancashire at Lord's in May, in which he scored a half century which helped the MCC to an innings victory. Just over one week later, he made his debut in county cricket for Hampshire against Somerset at Bath in the 1898 County Championship, at the age of 32. He made twelve appearances for Hampshire in 1898, alongside an additional two appearances for the MCC. In his first full season of first-class cricket in England, he scored 735 runs at an average of 28.26, making two centuries. The following season, Poore became the highest first-class run-scorer in England, scoring 1,399 runs (including seven hundreds) between 12 June and 12 August at an average of 116.58. Against Somerset, he made 304, which was the highest individual first-class score for Hampshire until it was surpassed by Dick Moore's 316 in 1937. While compiling his score, he shared in a partnership of 411 for the sixth wicket with fellow army officer Captain Wynyard (225) – as of this remains a Hampshire record for the sixth wicket. In 21 innings over the course of the entire season, Poore scored 1,551 runs at 91.23, a record average for an English season not broken until Don Bradman averaged 98.66 in 1930, and not surpassed by an English batsman until Herbert Sutcliffe averaged 96.96 in 1931. His form led to him being selected for the Gentlemen in the two Gentlemen v Players fixtures played that season at Lord's and The Oval. Had Poore met with success in these, he would likely have played Test cricket for England in the latter half of their series against Australia. In recognition of his success in 1899, Poore was selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1900.

Poore returned to South Africa after the 1899 season to fight in the Second Boer War. After he returned to England, a broken arm caused him to miss most of the 1902 season, but on his return match against the touring Australians, he made an unbeaten 62 against the bowling of Hugh Trumble, who was aided by a sticky wicket. He played two matches in the 1902 County Championship, in addition to playing for The Rest against a combined Kent and Sussex team at Hastings. Early in the 1903 season, he was presented with a silver bowl at the County Ground in recognition of his 1899 season. It was hoped he would be available to play again in 1903, but he returned to South Africa that summer. When he returned to Hampshire in the middle of 1904 to great expectations, his form was disappointing. In the nine matches he played for Hampshire in the County Championship, he scored 272 runs at an average of 18.13. After missing the 1905 season due to his military commitments in South Africa, Poore played in two matches in the 1906 County Championship, with him scoring a century (129) against Sussex at Chichester. However, an injury ended his season and as it turned out, his county career. For Hampshire, he made 36 first-class appearances, in which he scored 2,819 runs at an average of 47.77, with ten centuries.

Four years after his previous first-class appearance, Poore captained a combined Army and Navy team against a combined Oxford and Cambridge Universities team at Aldershot. Later, while serving in India in 1912 and 1913, he made two final appearances in first-class cricket for the Europeans cricket team, with Poore scoring a half century in the 1912 fixture against the Parsees. Described by Wisden as possessing one of the most powerful cover drives at the time, it was said that with his height and massive frame, that when he struck a cover drive it would race over the turf with such speed that a fieldsman, no matter how placed, could not stop it. It was also noted that once he became accustomed to English wickets, he developed a strong defensive game. In 55 first-class matches, he scored 3,441 runs at an average of 38.66. His great height, while benefitting his batting, was noted to be a hindrance to him when fielding, with Poore sometimes finding it difficult to get down to the ball. After the cessation of his first-class career, Poore remained a dangerous batsman in club games right up to his mid-fifties, scoring three consecutive fifties during an MCC tour of the West Country in 1923. Up until his final years, he ran a cricket school which encouraged the development of young cricketers.

Other sports
Cricket was not the only field in which his sporting talents lay: he was a first-rate swordsman, polo, tennis, racquets, squash, and shot player. As a swordsman, Poore was adjudged to have been the best man-at-arms in the 1898, 1899, 1906, and 1907 Royal Navy and Military Tournament's. He had success as a polo player for the 7th Hussars, winning the Inter-Regimental Tournament in India in 1891 and 1895, and in England in 1899 at The Hurlingham Club. As a tennis player, he was runner-up to Captain C. S. Smith in the 1894 West of India Lawn Tennis Championship. He also won several racquets and squash tournaments.

Family and personal life
In 1898, Poore married Lady Flora Mary Ida Douglas-Hamilton (1866–1957), daughter of Captain Charles-Douglas-Hamilton, and sister of the 13th Duke of Hamilton. The couple had no children. Three years after their marriage, Poore's sister Nina Mary Benita Poore (1878–1951), married her brother's brother-in-law, and became Duchess of Hamilton. He became a deputy lieutenant for Dorset in June 1932, and was also a justice of the peace for the county. Poore died at a nursing home in Boscombe on 14 July 1938. He was subsequently buried in the garden of his residence, Rose Lawn Coppice, in Wimborne. Following his death, the Hampshire Advertiser described him as "one of Hampshire's most famous amateur cricketers". A year after his death, a memorial was erected to his memory at Salisbury Cathedral. Writing in an introduction to A. A. Thomson's Odd Men In: A Gallery Of Cricket Eccentrics (1985), Leo Cooper wrote of Poore: "Of all the people in the history of the game [cricket], he seems to stand for the Eccentric Ideal."