Arthur McBeath: We Will Remember Thee

Martin Chandler | 8:22am BST 13 August 2023

Published: 2023
Pages: 24
Author: Rodgers, Pat
Publisher: Red Rose Books
Rating: 4 stars

There was a time when the subject matter of Red Rose Books’ publications did not extend much beyond Lancashire’s boundaries. But that has been changing, and after regular excursions to Norfolk, and a trip to South America, Red Rose now have a foothold in Australia thanks to Pat Rodgers. Step one was a monograph on the subject of Alex Kermode, a Sydneysider who at least played all bar four of his eighty First Class matches for Lancashire. Rodgers’ subject this time however, Arthur McBeath, never left Australia.

A contemporary of Kermode McBeath’s story is an interesting one. His life was far from easy, touched by tragedy and often a struggle. Despite that he became a decent cricketer, albeit only with the ball, neither his batting nor fielding being up to much and, based on what Rodgers has uncovered, those shortcomings might well have been all that prevented McBeath representing Australia.

Contemporary press reports have allowed Rodgers to give a detailed account of McBeath’s career in both Grade cricket and the First Class game. Most of his cricket was played in New South Wales, but after the end of the 1903/04 campaign he played no more for his home state and, briefly, relocated to Adelaide. He had been courted by Clem Hill early on his career and decided against the move. Sadly by the time he reconsidered his left arm medium pace had lost some of its effectiveness.

In the internet age it is obviously easier than it once was to reconstruct the lives of men like Arthur McBeath, their forebears and descendants. But despite that it is still no easy task to construct an account that sheds light on McBeath’s character and personality, and highlights the factors might have been decisive in how his life and career unfolded. It is the ability to do just that that makes Pat Rodgers’ writing so enjoyable to read, and this monograph on McBeath is just as readable as that on Kermode, and his much longer study of their contemporary, Jack Cuffe.

I know not what Pat Rodgers’ next book will be, but I hope he has plenty more of these visits back to the Golden Age in the pipeline, and that he continues bring to life these men who, hitherto, have largely just been names on scorecards. Arthur McBeath: We Will Remember Thee (the sub-title is a line from his gravestone) is available in a limited edition of just thirty copies, which really doesn’t sound to me like very many. It is available now from Red Rose Books, and copies will shortly arrive in Australia with Roger Page.