Archibald Difford

Archibald Difford
Personal information
Full name
Archibald Newcombe Difford
Born9 April 1883
Cape Town, Cape Colony
Died20 September 1918(1918-09-20) (aged 35)
Kh Jibeit, Ottoman Syria
BattingUnknown
BowlingUnknown
RelationsIvor Difford (brother)
Murray Bisset (brother-in-law)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1904/05–1907/08Western Province
1908/09–1911/12Transvaal
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 16
Runs scored 824
Batting average 29.42
100s/50s 1/6
Top score 103
Balls bowled 54
Wickets 2
Bowling average 16.00
5 wickets in innings –
10 wickets in match –
Best bowling 1/13
Catches/stumpings 8/–
Source: Cricinfo, 30 March 2021

Archibald Newcombe Difford (9 April 1883 – 20 September 1918) was a South African first-class cricketer and South African Army officer.

The son of Abraham Difford, he was born at Cape Town in April 1883.[1] He was educated at the Diocesan College,[2] with his obituary describing him as academically gifted.[3] Described by Wisden as "a useful cricketer",[4] Difford made his debut in first-class cricket for Western Province against Eastern Province in the quarter-final of the 1904/05 Currie Cup. He played first-class cricket until the 1911/12 season, making eleven appearances for Western Province, in addition to four for Transvaal and one for The Rest.[5] Playing primarily as a batsman, he scored 842 runs in sixteen first-class matches,[6] making six fifties and one century, a score of 103 against Griqualand West.[1] Alongside cricket, Difford also played rugby.[3]

Difford later married Katrina Wilhelmina van Lier Kuys in June 1913, with the couple having two children.[1] He served in the First World War with the South African Army, being commissioned in January 1917 as a temporary second lieutenant in the 1st Cape Corps.[7] He was killed in action in Ottoman Palestine on 20 September 1918, during the Battle of Nablus. He was buried at the Jerusalem War Cemetery.[1] His brother Ivor and brother-in-law Murray Bisset both played first-class cricket. His name was memorialised by the Gauteng Cricket Board in 2000, with the erection of a Memorial Wall for Transvaal cricketers killed in both world wars.[8]

  1. ^ a b c d McCrery, Nigel (30 July 2015). Final Wicket: Test and First Class Cricketers Killed in the Great War. Pen and Sword. p. 589. ISBN 978-1473864191.
  2. ^ "Old Diocesans Union" (PDF). Diocesan College. September 2013. p. 78. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. ^ a b Harmse, Kyle (2012). The Cape Corps: South Africa's Coloured Soldiers in the First World War. University of Johannesburg. p. 45. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Wisden - Obituaries during the war, 1918". ESPNcricinfo. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  5. ^ "First-Class Matches played by Archibald Difford". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  6. ^ "First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Archibald Difford". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  7. ^ "No. 30212". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 July 1917. p. 7870.
  8. ^ Watling, Linda (16 May 2000). "Gauteng erects a Memorial Wall". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 March 2021.