Frank Bingham

Frank Miller Bingham (17 September 1874 – 22 May 1915) was an English doctor, all round sportsman and army officer who was killed in the First World War.[1] As a cricketer, he played for Derbyshire in 1896.

Frank Bingham

Personal information
Full name	Frank Miller Bingham
Born	(1874-09-17)17 September 1874 Alfreton, Derbyshire, England
Died	22 May 1915(1915-05-22) (aged 40) Ypres salient, Belgium
Batting	Unknown
Bowling	Right-arm medium pace bowler
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1896	Derbyshire
First-class debut	28 May 1896 Derbyshire v Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 1 Runs scored 17 Batting average 8.50 100s/50s / Top score 11 Balls bowled Wickets Bowling average 5 wickets in innings 10 wickets in match Best bowling Catches/stumpings 0/-
Source: , April 2012

Life and cricket career

Bingham was born in Alfreton, Derbyshire, the son of Dr Joseph Bingham. He was educated at St Peter's School, York, and qualified as a doctor at St Thomas's Hospital.

Bingham made one first-class appearance for Derbyshire, against Marylebone Cricket Club during the 1896 season. He made seventeen runs, batting in the lower order.[2] He also played rugby union for Blackheath F.C. and Middlesex. He was in practice at Alfreton for four years and then went to Lancaster.

Military career and death

Bingham was an enthusiastic Territorial Army officer. He was first commissioned as a medical officer with the rank of lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps on 24 March 1910,[3] unusually he transferred to 5th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) on 26 November 1910 as a line officer,[4] and so in the First World War served as a combatant rather than as a military doctor. He was promoted captain in 1914 and commanded a company. He took part in the Second Battle of Ypres in May 1915 and was killed on a reconnaissance mission after stopping to dig a man out of a collapsed trench. After digging the man out, Bingham and his men were spotted, and Bingham was shot in the heart, killing him instantly.[5][6] He has no known grave, but is commemorated on the Menin Gate.[7]

References

1. "Cricketers who died in World War 1 — Part 1 of 5". Cricket Country. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
2. Frank Bingham at Cricket Archive. Cricketarchive.com (22 May 1915). Retrieved 27 August 2011.
3. "No. 28371". The London Gazette. 13 May 1910. p. 3389.
4. "No. 28440". The London Gazette. 25 November 1910. p. 8691.
5. "Letter sent home by Frank Miller Bingham". www.oucs.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
6. Newspaper Obituaries of Frank Miller. Oucs.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
7. Casualty details—Bingham, Frank Miller, Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved on 9 November 2009.

External links

• World War I letter