Douglas Fyfe was a well-travelled Army captain who played for a wide variety of gentlemen’s teams, including the South Wales Cricket Club, as well as guesting once for Cadoxton CC, largely through a friendship with fellow Old Etonian JTD Llewelyn.
He was born in India before attending Eton, prior to starting a military career which culminated in his appointment as Adjutant with the 19th Regiment of Berkshire Volunteers. His various attachments saw the right-handed batter play for the Gentlemen of Devon in 1851, Scotland in 1855, Surrey Club and Ground in 1857, and the Gentlemen of Wiltshire in 1858, prior to guesting for Monmouthshire in their matches against the All England Eleven in 1858 and 1859.
Having lived previously in Maidenhead, he moved to live in Devizes and played for the Gentlemen of Wiltshire, as well as joining Lansdown CC in Bath. Douglas duly went on the South Wales Cricket Club’s tour of the Cotswolds over the Whitsun Holiday of 1864 scoring an unbeaten 24 against Cheltenham CC and 24 against Cirencester. Later in the year, he also joined his Welsh pals on their tour to the London area and scored 4 and 1 against Surrey Club and Ground at The Oval.
In 1866 Douglas also appeared at the Canterbury Festival playing for the Gentlemen of the South against I Zingari as well as for the MCC against the Gentlemen of Kent. Both were first-class matches and he made three more appearances, the first in 1868 for the MCC against Oxford University and two more in 1869 both for the MCC against Hampshire. 1868 had also seen Douglas guest for Cadoxton CC, alongside his good friend JTD Llewelyn, in their contest against the United South of England at The Gnoll, but he only made 3 and 1.
In 1863 Douglas had also patented a device for “raising, removing, transporting and refixing military targets.”
FYFE, Douglas Munro
Born – Tangore, India, 4 November 1824.
Died – Westminster, 25 February 1877.