Stanley Foster

Philip Stanley Foster CMG (4 April 1885 – 20 March 1965) was a New Zealand surgeon and cricketer.

Stanley Foster
CMG

Personal information
Full name	Philip Stanley Foster
Born	(1885-04-04)4 April 1885 Timaru, New Zealand
Died	20 March 1965(1965-03-20) (aged 79) Christchurch, New Zealand
Height	5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off-spin
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1909-10	Wellington
1918-19 to 1919-20	Canterbury
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 3 Runs scored 51 Batting average 12.75 100s/50s 0/0 Top score 31 Balls bowled 0 Wickets – Bowling average – 5 wickets in innings – 10 wickets in match – Best bowling – Catches/stumpings 0/–
Source: CricketArchive, 18 April 2019

Life and career

Born in Timaru, Stanley Foster was educated at Otago Boys' High School from 1899 to 1903,[1] then studied medicine at the University of New Zealand.[2] He served as house surgeon at Wellington Hospital for 15 months before being appointed senior house surgeon at Christchurch Hospital in June 1910.[3] He undertook post-graduate studies in London from 1911 to 1913.[4] He married Florence Chisholm in Wellington in December 1914.[5]

In the First World War he served with the rank of captain as an army surgeon on the hospital ship Maheno.[6] He returned to New Zealand in October 1917.

Before the war Foster had played one first-class cricket match for Wellington while working in the hospital there. In January 1919 he opened the batting for Canterbury and made 31 and 13 when Canterbury beat Wellington to regain the Plunket Shield in Wellington.[7] In December 1919 he was selected to play for Canterbury against Wellington in Christchurch. During the first day's play, while Wellington were batting, he was called away to perform an urgent surgical operation in Waikari, a small town north of Christchurch. As Foster had neither batted nor bowled, the Wellington captain allowed a full substitute, and Harry Whitta took his place in the Canterbury team.[8][9] It was Foster's last first-class match, though he continued to play club cricket in Christchurch.[5] He later represented Hawke's Bay at the New Zealand Cricket Council's annual meetings in Christchurch for many years.[10][11]

A pioneer of neurosurgery in New Zealand, Foster was the director of surgical services at Christchurch Hospital from 1934 to 1946.[12] He served as President of the New Zealand branch of the BMA in 1939-40, and as Chairman of the New Zealand Medical Council from 1948 to 1957. He was awarded the CMG in the 1953 Coronation Honours.[12]

Foster was a prominent Rotarian in Christchurch for many years. He was appointed district governor of New Zealand Rotary in 1935.[13]

References

1. "London Personal Notes: New Zealanders' doings abroad". Evening Star. 17 March 1938. p. 17.
2. "Medical Examinations". New Zealand Herald. 30 January 1909. p. 8.
3. "The Hospital Staff: Some fresh appointments". Lyttelton Times. 16 June 1910. p. 3.
4. "London Personal Notes: New Zealanders' doings abroad". Southland Times. 20 August 1913. p. 2.
5. "FOSTER, Philip Stanley". South Canterbury Museum. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
6. "Philip Stanley Foster". Auckland Museum. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
7. "Wellington v Canterbury 1918-19". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
8. "Canterbury v Wellington 1919-20". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
9. "Plunket Shield Match". Sun. 27 December 1919. p. 11.
10. "N.Z. Cricket Council". Press. 3 October 1925. p. 18.
11. "News of the Day". Evening Post. 29 November 1943. p. 3.
12. "Foster, Philip Stanley, 1885-1965". The Community Archive. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
13. "Dr. Stanley Foster's Post". New Zealand Herald. 24 June 1935. p. 9.

External links

• Stanley Foster at ESPNcricinfo
• Stanley Foster at CricketArchive