Geoffrey Edward Beck (16 June 1918 – 5 March 2019) was an English first-class cricketer and Congregational minister.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Geoffrey Edward Beck | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 16 June 1918 Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 5 March 2019 (aged 100) Polegate, East Sussex, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1946 | Oxford University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1951 | Oxfordshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 19 November 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education
editGeoffrey Beck attended Whitgift School from 1928 to 1934,[1] and later studied theology at Mansfield College, Oxford, from 1942 to 1946.[2]
Cricket
editA middle-order batsman, Beck represented Oxford University at cricket, playing in the University Match in 1943 (when he top-scored) and 1945, both of which were one-day matches.[3] When first-class cricket resumed after World War II he played three matches for Oxford, with a highest score of 50 against Surrey in his first match.[4] He later played two matches for Oxfordshire in the Minor Counties Championship in 1951.
Marriage and ministry
editBeck married Joy Crookshank, a Cambridge graduate and fellow member of the Student Christian Movement, in 1946.[2] He also began his career as a Congregational minister in 1946. He served as the minister at Eccleston, St Helens, from 1946 to 1950, at Summertown, Oxford, from 1950 to 1965, as Warden of the Chapel of Unity at Coventry Cathedral from 1965 to 1971, and as minister at the Central Free Church, Brighton, from 1971 to 1984.[2]
British-German relations
editBeck was co-founder of the Adam von Trott Memorial Appeal Project in honour of the participant, a former student at Oxford, in the plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944. The appeal provides scholarships to German students to study at Mansfield College. In 2014 the German government awarded Beck the Cross of the Order of Merit for his work for British-German relations.[5][6]
Retirement and death
editBeck lived in retirement in East Sussex,[7] and died in March 2019 at the age of 100. His wife died in 2000; they had four children.[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Recent Deaths May/June 2019". Whitgiftian Association. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ a b c Geoffrey Beck, "65 Years of Friendship", Mansfield Magazine, Winter 2009, p. 30.
- ^ "Miscellaneous matches played by Geoffrey Beck". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ "Surrey v Oxford University 1946". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ Wynick, Alex (10 February 2014). "German honour for von Trott memorial". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ "Germany honours Herstmonceux man". Sussex Express. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ "Chairman's e Bulletin, Friends of Coventry Cathedral, January 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
- ^ James Roberts, "Obituary: Congregational minister Geoffrey Beck served in Summertown", This is Oxfordshire, 25 April 2019.
External links
edit- Geoffrey Beck at ESPNcricinfo
- Geoffrey Beck at CricketArchive