An Army cricket team, 1870 (c)
Photograph, 1870 (c).
Keeping troops occupied and out of trouble was a constant headache for the authorities. Eager to distract men from drink and prostitutes, senior officers recommended a range of leisure activities, including cricket. Cricket was thought to embody certain 'English virtues' such as strength, persistence, courage, leadership, camaraderie and sportsmanship. Such were the supposed moral and character-building powers of the game that in 1841 General Sir Rowland Hill, Commander in Chief of the British Army, ordered that a cricket ground be built in every military barracks in the country.
From an album of 360 photographs and 8 watercolours compiled by Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Kerr Bayly, 42nd (Royal Highland Regiment The Black Watch), 1855 (c)-1880 (c).
NAM Accession Number
NAM. 1982-05-136-175
Copyright/Ownership
National Army Museum, Out of Copyright
Location
National Army Museum, Study collection
Object URL
https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1982-05-136-175
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