A QA Scores for the AMS Cricketers by Patsy May

 

My Dad was a fireman serving at Islington fire station, mad about cricket and played for a Sunday team. He also played for the London Fire Brigade and The National Fire Brigade Teams. My Dad could have taken up cricket professionally but as the eldest of 5 children he had to go out and earn a living at the age 14.

The Sunday cricket club were very sociable, and all the players’ wives, girlfriends and children went along every week. I attended cricket matches from the age of 3 weeks old and by the age of 15 I started scoring for the team. I learnt all the rules by going to night school in Hendon and took the exams.

I trained as a nurse at University College Hospital and at that time the junior student nurse always finished the 7-night stint on a Sunday morning. (The senior student nurse finished on a Thursday morning, thus getting the weekend off). As we only had 4 days off, I did not waste my Sundays sleeping, so I always went to cricket to score for the team.

I continued scoring at cricket matches the whole time I was in the army. I served at BMH Hanover from July 1981-July 1983 and whilst there went on tour with the AMS cricket team to BAOR (British Army of the Rhine).

I was posted to Hong Kong straight from Hanover in 1983. My Dad asked me to go to the library and look through the microfiche of the local paper, The South China Morning Post, to look for an article about him when he played for the Combined Services whilst doing his National Service. After many hours reading through the newspaper I found the article and sent it to him. He was delighted. Unfortunately, my Dad died age just 52, just 8 months after I returned home from Hong Kong.

Whilst serving at the QEMH Woolwich I was asked to go on a cricket tour to Barbados. I did not take much persuading. I went to Barbados 6 weeks after meeting my now husband, leaving him to go away for three weeks with 21 men. In Barbados I was not allowed to stay in the officers mess where all the players stayed as there were no bathroom facilities for females. I stayed with one of the Bajan cricket team.

I hired a mini moke and used it to get around Barbados.

Image by Paul C Leehttps://pixabay.com/

As a treat we were taken to where the West Indies play their international test matches -The Garfield Sobers cricket ground, which was amazing for us as we played at local cricket grounds where on occasions cows were grazing on the outfield. During cricket matches in the hot weather it is usual to have a drinks break of squash to rehydrate. However, in Barbados the drink brought out was rum and coke and as the coke is dearer than the locally produced rum it was more rum than coke. I am sure that gave the local teams an edge over us.

In 1989 I was posted to Bassingbourn Barracks as a WSLO where I stayed for 5 years. When I arrived, I took over from another QA who had not enjoyed the posting and was glad to leave. I can understand why, because she, and then me were the only female officer at Bassingbourn living in the officers mess. I was a Captain and many of the officers were subalterns whom I am sure were not keen to have to have a female officer who was more senior than themselves around. On arrival no one spoke to me I was completely ignored. Shortly after I arrived the CO's XI were playing the RSM's XI at cricket. I spoke to the CO and offered to score at the game. I always keep an immaculate score book in different coloured pens meaning each batsmen knew exactly which bowler he had scored his runs from. All the cricketers were amazed at my cricket bookkeeping skills; after that match I was suddenly one of the lads and treated no differently from any other officer.

I loved my time at Bassingbourn Barracks and I learnt a lot serving with the Army. I found out that during my time at Bassingbourn if you could talk about your love of cricket along with the men you must be ok.


Major (Retd) Patsy May (nee Cox)