Richard Worsley (cricketer)
Richard Stanley Worsley DSO (7 September 1879 – 4 May 1917) was an English cricketer who played one first-class match and a British Army officer who served in the Boer War and World War I.
Worsley was born at Harrington Hall, Lincolnshire, the son of Major General Richard Worsley. He went to Wellington College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and joined the Royal Army Service Corps as a second lieutenant in February 1900. He fought in the Second Boer War (1900–1902), earning the Queen’s and King’s South Africa Medals with five clasps and a promotion to lieutenant.
In cricket, he appeared in a single first-class match for Orange Free State against Transvaal in Bloemfontein in 1904, scoring 2 and 10. He was promoted to captain in June 1904.
His military career continued with various duties: in January 1911 he became an adjutant with the East Lancashire Divisional Transport and Supply Column, and in 1913 he was seconded to the Egyptian Army. During the First World War, he rose to major in October 1914, fought at Gallipoli in 1915, and took part in the Anglo-Egyptian Darfur Expedition of 1916. He was mentioned in dispatches three times and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in May 1916; he received further mentions during Darfur and a letter of thanks from the Sirdar, Sir Reginald Wingate.
Worsley died at sea on 4 May 1917 when the transport ship SS Transylvania was torpedoed by the German U-boat U-63 off Bergeggi, Liguria, Italy. Of the 412 people aboard, he was among those who lost their lives.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:12 (CET).