Geoffrey Colman

Geoffrey Russell Rees Colman (14 March 1892 – 18 March 1935) was an English cricketer active in first-class cricket from 1912 to 1924.

Colman was born at Norwich to mustard manufacturer Russell James Colman, of Crown Point House, Norwich, and Edith Margaret (née Davies). He was educated at Eton College, before attending Christ Church, Oxford. While still attending Eton, Colman made his minor counties debut for Norfolk in the 1911 Minor Counties Championship, making three appearances in that season. His debut in first-class cricket came the following year for Oxford University against the touring South Africans at the Magdalen Ground, Oxford. Prior to the start of World War I, Colman made 22 first-class appearances for the university. He gained his Oxford blue in 1913.

With the onset of war, Colman enlisted in the British Army. He served in the 7th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade on the Western Front with the rank of second lieutenant. He later served in the Machine Gun Corps, achieving the rank of temporary captain in January 1917. During the course of the war he was severely wounded, which would affect him in later years. from endocarditis caused by a chest wound sustained during the war. After his death, the thatched pavilion at the County Ground in Lakenham was erected in his memory in 1936.