IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): WARNER
Held at: Marylebone Cricket Club Library
Title: Sir Pelham Francis Warner Collection
Date(s): 1900-1980
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 0.56 cubic metres
Name of creator(s): Warner | Sir | Pelham Francis | 1873-1963 | Knight | cricketer
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Sir Pelham Francis Warner was born in The Hall, Port of Spain, Trinidad, on 2 October 1873. He was the son of Charles William Warner, Attorney General of Trinidad. He married Agnes Blyth in 1904 and they had three children, two boys Esmond and John and a daughter Elizabeth.
Warner was educated at Rugby School and Oxford University, where he played in the varsity match against Cambridge. He made his first-class debut for Middlesex in 1894 and in 1897 was called up to play for Lord Hawke's XI in the West Indies. He then made his debut for England vs. South Africa in Johannesburg in 1899.
In 1903 Warner had the honour of being the first captain of an MCC touring side following the decision to make MCC the governing body responsible for England cricket tours overseas. The tour was to Australia and England won the series 3-2, thus bringing back the Ashes. Warner was rewarded with a place on the MCC Committee, and captained the first ever MCC tour of South Africa. During the First World War, Warner served with the Inns of Court and the Ministry of Information at the Foreign Office. After the war he returned to play first-class cricket in Middlesex and helped them to win the championship in 1920, scoring 79 and being led off the pitch by spectators - a framed picture of which is included in this collection.
After he retired from cricket Warner remained active in the game. He became manager of the MCC touring team during the infamous Bodyline series of 1932-1933. Warner was knighted in 1937 and during the Second World War he became Deputy Secretary of MCC. In 1950-1951 Warner was President of MCC and celebrated his 80th birthday with a dinner in the Long Room - two events that make up the bulk of correspondence and telegrams included in this collection. Warner died at West Lavington, near Midhurst, Sussex, on January 30, 1963.
This collection was bequeathed to MCC by Marina Warner, Warner's granddaughter, in 2009. The collection focuses on Warner's achievements away from the game - his MBE, his knighthood, his election as MCC President in 1950-1951, the release of his book 'Lord's 1787-1945' and his 80th birthday. The collection also includes material acquired during the course of Warner's life, including poetry, menu cards, orders of service and certificates. The material was held in a Louis Vuitton trunk with one sticker with 'The Grand Hotel, Melbourne' written on it, and with the scarlet and gold colours of MCC. MCC has retained the trunk.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Correspondence, telegrams, photographs, postcards, newspaper cuttings, posters, menu cards, scorecards, printed material, certificates, drafts of Warner's book 'Gentlemen vs. Players'.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material:
English.
System of arrangement:
See Scope and Content.
Conditions governing access:
Records under 30 years old are closed to the public, records between 30-40 years require permission of the MCC Secretary before access. All other records are open.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copies available subject to the condition and status of the original.
Finding aids:
Further details of the collection can be found on the online catalogue available via www.lords.org
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Accruals:
Accruals are not expected.
Archival history:
Bequeathed to MCC by Marina Warner, granddaughter of Sir Pelham Francis Warner, in 2009. The documents were taken from a suitcase which also included a duffle bag, which have also been catalogued on MCC's museum database.
Immediate source of acquisition:
Marina Warner, granddaughter of Sir Pelham Francis Warner.
ALLIED MATERIALS
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note: Compiled by Robert Curphey, Documentation Assistant, MCC. The following sources were used to compile a history of this collection: http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/22311.html Warner, Sir Pelham Francis, 'Long Innings: The Autobiography of Sir Pelham Warner' (London: George G Harrap, 1951) Warner, Sir Pelham Francis, 'How We Recoved The Ashes' (Chapman and Hall, 1904)
Date(s) of descriptions: June 2013