John Manners

John Errol Manners (25 September 1914 – 7 March 2020) was an English first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer. He served in the Second World War and held several commands, earning the Distinguished Service Cross for his role in the sinking of the German submarine U-1274 in April 1945 while commanding the destroyer .

As a first-class cricketer, Manners was a hard-hitting right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler. He began his playing career with Hampshire in 1936, but found his availability limited due to his commitments as a naval officer. With his career further interrupted by the war, Manners returned to first-class cricket in 1947 after securing a shore-based position at Sandhurst. He played county cricket for Hampshire in 1947 and 1948, but played most of his first-class cricket after the war for the Combined Services cricket team. He scored over 1,000 runs in his first-class career, which included four centuries.

Following his retirement from the navy, Manners worked for 18 years as the bursar at Dauntsey's School in Wiltshire. He was also a photographer who contributed to Country Life, and he had an interest in traditional country crafts, on which he wrote several books. In September 2018 he became the longest-lived first-class cricketer, surpassing the previous record of 103 years and 344 days held by Jim Hutchinson.

Early life The son of the admiral and theologian Sir Errol Manners and his Australian wife, Florence Maud Harrison, John Errol Manners was born in Exeter on 25 September 1914. He was the middle of three brothers: Errol Rodney Manners (1910–1988) and Errol Adrian 'Sherard' Manners (1920–1990); there was also a sister, Angela (born 1918).

Manners was educated at Ferndown School, before attending Britannia Royal Naval College as a cadet from the age of 13, following in a family tradition of studying in Dartmouth, Devon. His time as a cadet saw him visit the West Indies and appear for the college in the schools' match at Lord's in 1930. He played cricket for the United Services in 1935, against a strong Hampshire Club & Ground side, scoring 81 runs in his first innings before he was dismissed by Reg Sinfield and thus falling short of becoming the first Hampshire batsman to make a century on first-class debut. He headed Hampshire's batting averages in 1936 and impressed future Test Match Special commentator John Arlott, with Arlott commenting, "no player in Hampshire’s modern history was more intriguing", and went on to remark "not only was he potentially prolific, but his strokeplay was brilliant". Others suggested he had the technique for Test cricket.

As an amateur, his cricket after 1936 was heavily curtailed by his commitments with the navy. In December 1937, he was promoted to lieutenant, with seniority antedated to July of that year. From 1937, he served aboard torpedo boats in the Mediterranean and the Far East. Manners was admitted to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1937, after the club waived their usual membership qualification rules to admit him after recognising it was hard for him to play county cricket whilst serving overseas in Madras. Prior to the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Germany in September 1939, Manners had been saving his leave in order to have a full summer playing for Hampshire in 1940, but the subsequent declaration would mean it would be more than ten years before he played first-class cricket again, having last played in 1936. With war looking likely Birmingham sailed for Singapore, where she patrolled the Sunda Strait When war was declared, Birmingham left for Japan, but did not enter its territorial waters. Manners was recalled to Britain in December 1939 aboard and the troopship .

Six months later, with Eglinton based at Harwich, Manners and his wife again avoided death under similar circumstances, when their rented house was hit by a bomb while they were in the bathroom; although they were unscathed, four other occupants of the house were killed. He served aboard Eskimo in Operation Harpoon during the siege of Malta in June 1942, One of the recovered bottles was sent by a Captain Ruck-Keene to Winston Churchill in a wooden casket made by Viceroy's carpenter, for which Churchill conveyed his thanks and congratulations in a letter to those who had taken part in the successful attack;

Later career and return to cricket Upon leaving Viceroy in July 1945, Manners was assigned to the troop ship for its voyage to Australia, Wisden described the innings as "perfect stroke play, drives, cuts and hooks". His commitments as an officer still limited his availability for Hampshire; he did not play for the county after 1948, and scored 75 against the touring South Africans in 1950. His time at Dauntsey's was not without controversy, when in 1964 he was temporarily suspended after pupils organised a strike to protest the food they were being served. However, he was reinstated after a week following a letter of support, signed by all but one of the teaching staff. His club cap, and one presented to him by Wiltshire County Cricket Club, are held in the MCC collection.

Manners was also a photographer who contributed to Country Life. He had an interest in crafts, and was the author of the books Country Crafts Today (1974), Country Crafts in Pictures (1976), Crafts of the Highlands and Islands (1978), and Irish Crafts and Craftsmen (1982). Manners also donated his wartime photography collection to the National Maritime Museum.

Later life and death His wife, with whom he had a son and two daughters, died in April 1995. Manners was invited to the Russian Embassy in London in 2014, where he was decorated with the Medal of Ushakov for his service in the Arctic convoys. In September 2017, at the age of 103, Manners took part in the ITV documentary 100 Year Old Driving School, but gave up driving after his appearance. Manners died on 7 March 2020 at the age of 105 at a nursing home in Newbury, Berkshire.