Gerry Chalk

Frederick Gerald Hudson Chalk , born Gerald Frederick Hudson Chalk and known as Gerry Chalk, (7 September 1910 – 17 February 1943) was an English amateur cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman who played first-class cricket for Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and MCC between 1931 and 1939, captaining both Oxford and Kent. Chalk died in 1943, shot down over northern France whilst serving as a Spitfire pilot in the Royal Air Force.

Early life Chalk was born in Sydenham in Kent in 1910. He was the son of Arthur and Edith Chalk of Cooden Beach in Sussex. He was coached at Uppingham by Punter Humphreys who had been a professional in the Kent teams which won four County Championship titles in the years before World War I. He attended Uppingham School where he played cricket, leading the school in batting average in 1928. He went up to Brasenose College, Oxford in 1930. He played in 46 first-class matches for the university, captaining the team in 1934. He scored a century in the 1934 University Match, an innings which Wisden described as "brilliant", and made six centuries for the university team. he played for the county on a fairly regular basis during the summer holidays each season until 1938 when he was appointed captain of the team. He played throughout the next two seasons, making a total of 101 appearances for the county. He scored a century in the penultimate match of Kent's 1939 season in August against Yorkshire at Dover, carrying his bat through Kent's first innings against Hedley Verity's bowling, and played his final first-class match against Lancashire later the same month.

As well as playing for Oxford and Kent, Chalk played in two Gentlemen v Players matches and played four times for Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). He appeared for an England XI against the touring Indians in 1936 and for the Gentlemen of England in against Don Bradman's Australian team in 1938. His brother-in-law Peter Foster played under Chalk's captaincy at Kent in 1939.

As well as playing cricket, Chalk was a hockey player. He played for Oxford University and the Surrey county team, winning a hockey Blue. He was officially listed as Missing in Action and his obituary appeared in Wisden in 1945, having been listed as presumed dead in January 1944. His body was identified in February, 1989, and his remains transferred to the Terlincthun British Cemetery near Wimille in 1989, having originally been listed on the Runnymede Memorial.