A letter sent by Lieutenant Sidney Rolleston to William Underwood, a Nottingham cricket professional, regarding the appointment of Underwood as the cricket coach & groundsman to the naval college at Dartmouth. Letter dated January 1880. Underwood held the post for over 20 years. Rolleston was younger brother of Sir Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall Hall and was buried in the family plot in Watnall on 27th March 1926 (100 years ago). He had a long career at sea being sent away aged 13. He was captain of HMS Royal Oak amongst other ships and while a young tutor at Dartmouth College taught the young King George V and his brother Eddie onboard HMS Britannia ...
A Rolleston Royal Tutor - Lieutenant Rolleston's picture was one of just a few included in a keepsake photo album presented to the king as a souvenir of his time as a cadet. Prince George had been sent off with his older brother Prince Albert to toughen them up and instil some discipline but young George was small and had a rough time with bullies. He recalls "It never did me any good to be a Prince. The Britannia was a pretty tough place, and so far from our benefiting, the other cadets made a point of taking it out of us, on the grounds that they would never be able to do it later on. There was a lot of fighting among the cadets, and the rule was if challenged you had to accept. So they used to make me go up and challenge the bigger cadets. I was awfully small then, and I'd get a hiding time and again. But one day I was landed one on the nose that made me bleed. It was the best blow I ever had, as the doctor forbade me to fight any more."Read more about Rolleston's life and naval career at the Tales from Watnall Hall website (it's way down in the notes for the graves article)... https://watnallhall.blogspot.com/search/label/Robert%20Sidney%20Rolleston
Thanks to Clive O'Donnell for the heads up on the letter and cricket connection...
"William Underwood was one of several local players given the opportunity of first team cricket in 1881 when a number of Nottinghamshire’s professionals were on strike against the Committee. In keeping with most of the trialists, he did not do enough for a second invitation; he made 10 in his one innings, took no catches and was not called upon to bowl.
Underwood had previously appeared for the XXII Colts against the county in 1875 and 76 and in the latter season also played v Yorkshire Colts. He played most of his local cricket for Ruddington, where he was born on 26 February 1854, and was a free hitting batsman, slow right-arm bowler and fielded generally at point.
He had professional engagements at Rock Ferry, and Edinburgh Collegiate, in 1880 he became coach to the boys at the training ship HMS Britannia, at Dartmouth, a position he held until about 1900. Whilst at Dartmouth, he played county cricket for Devon, making several appearances, the last of which was v local rivals Dorset in 1895, when he made 12 and 1 and took no wickets.
William Underwood was a framework knitter by trade who died by his own hand at Bradmore, Nottinghamshire, on 9 May 1914."
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