Lionel Hallam Tennyson, 3rd Baron Tennyson (7 November 1889 – 6 June 1951) was known principally as a first-class cricketer who captained Hampshire and England. He was the grandson of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Early life and family

The son of Hallam Tennyson, the Governor of South Australia, Tennyson was born at Westminster in November 1889. His father would later be appointed Governor-General of Australia in 1903. He had lived in Australia since 1899, with his father and mother, Audrey, along with his siblings. He was initially educated in Australia at Melbourne Grammar School, where he first played cricket, before attending Eton College in England. There, he played for the college cricket team, initially as a fast bowler in 1907, before focussing on his batting in 1908. From there, he matriculated to Trinity College, Cambridge. before transferring to the Rifle Brigade in December 1912. His transfer allegedly came about from an agreement he reached with his father after losing £12,000 in the space of a week betting on horse racing, which had left him with £7,000 debt.

He served in the First World War with the Rifle Brigade, seeing action in September 1914 at the First Battle of the Marne. In October he was wounded in action, having been shot in the leg, causing him to fall into a trench and tear his ligaments. He was sent back home to recuperate, travelling home on board the , where he was informed by the wounded Lord Francis Scott that he had been pronounced dead by newspapers back home. He was promoted to lieutenant in December 1914, antedated to November 1914. Having recovered from his wound, Tennyson was seconded to headquarters as a staff captain to General Roy in March 1915, and returned to the Western Front in July 1915. Tennyson saw action in the allied defeat at the Battle of Loos in September–October 1915, with his promotion to captain occurring shortly after, but was not gazetted until March 1916.

Upon his promotion to captain, Tennyson undertook a machine gun course at Wisques and was shortly thereafter ordered to join the staff of General William Pulteney; however, his appointment to Pulteney was short-lived, as his brigade was ordered to the Ypres Salient and General Roy requested his return to his staff. He was made an acting major in July 1917, while commanding a battalion. Tennyson was wounded in action three times during the war, and was mentioned in despatches twice. He was decorated during the war with the Mons Star, and following the war with the Victory and General Service Medal's. one year after the conclusion of war, at which point he was granted the rank of major. He was later appointed Honorary Colonel of the 51st (London) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (a Territorial Army unit based in Chelsea, London) on 9 August 1931 and held the position until 1947.

Cricket

Pre-war cricket and Test debut

Tennyson made his debut in first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against Oxford University at Lord's in 1913, making a century on debut when he scored 110 runs in the MCC second innings. He made three centuries in his debut season, in which he scored 832 runs at an average of 46.22. He scored heavily alongside Cecil Abercrombie, with the two going some way to compensate for the loss of C. B. Fry from the Hampshire team. which he accepted. with his parents amongst the crowd of well-wishers who saw the team off.

Tennyson played in the first five first-class matches of the tour against provincial and regional teams, he made 52 batting at number four in England's only innings. Tennyson played in all five Test matches on the tour, He also played in eight further first-class matches on the tour against provincial and regional teams, making three appearances for Hampshire in the County Championship while on leave.

In 1933 he published his autobiography, From Verse to Worse. Returning from his second war-wound to the Western Front he records: "I have never liked 'travelling light', and so, though the amount of kit I arrived with may, in fact, have aroused a certain amount of astonishment, I was quickly forgiven by my commanding officer as well as by everyone else, when they found out that it included, amongst other things, a case of champagne." He published a second volume of memoirs, Sticky Wickets, in 1950.

Family and personal life

He succeeded his father, Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, to the title in 1928, having been known before that as Hon. Lionel Tennyson. He married Hon. Clare Tennant in 1918. They had three sons before they divorced in 1928:

  • Harold Tennyson, 4th Baron Tennyson (1919–1991), died unmarried
  • Mark Tennyson, 5th Baron Tennyson (1920–2006), married Deline Celeste Budler but died without issue
  • Lionel Tennyson (1925–1925), died in infancy

He was later married to Carroll Donner (née Elting) from 1934 until their divorce in 1943.

Notes

References

Works cited

  • From Verse To Worse by Lionel Tennyson (1933) (digitised version)
  • Brief footage of Tennyson from British Pathe (at 3.55, 4.14 and 7.00)
  • The Cricketer magazine article - The Hampshire prodigy