Lewis Vaughan Lodge

Lewis Vaughan Lodge (21 December 1872 – died: between 21 October and 26 November 1916) was an English sportsman who played international football for England and first-class cricket for Hampshire.

Early life and sporting career Lodge was born in County Durham at Newton Aycliffe in December 1872; his parents were both Welsh, with his father, John, being the vicar of Haverton Hill. His nephew was the rugby union international and cricketer Charlie Adamson. He was educated at Durham School, before matriculating to Magdalene College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he played football as a left- or right-back for Cambridge University and gained his blue in 1893, 1894 and 1895, when he played against Oxford University. He may or may not have captained England in their 1896 encounter with Ireland; primary sources give the captaincy to either Gilbert Smith, George Raikes or Lodge. To their disappointment, his teaching commitments as an assistant-master at Horris Hill School in Newbury restricted him to just this single appearance. During the 1897–98 season, a severe knee injury restricted his ability to play, but he would later play for Newbury Town and Durham Town. He later played for Durham in the 1902 Minor Counties Championship, making three appearances

Disappearance and death In his final year, Lodge's health declined. Having suffered a mental breakdown in August 1916, he spent the final weeks before his disappearance convalescing in a nursing home in Buxton, Derbyshire. Lodge subsequently managed to escape from the nursing home and was declared missing on 2 October 1916. An inquest returned a verdict of suicide, though it was noted by the jury that his mental state made him unaccountable for his actions.