Henry Grist played once for Glamorganshire – on 24 and 25 June 1868 against Breconshire at Brecon. Batting at number six, he scored 2 and 27, in addition to claiming eight wickets in the drawn contest.
At the time, Henry was attached to the Cadoxton club and, the previous month, he had played for them against the United South of England, scoring 16 and 1 besides taking a couple of wickets. He also appeared for the Players of Glamorgan in 1867 – whilst attached to the Swansea club – and during 1868 he also acted as one of the umpires in the game at Bryn-y-Mor Field between the Gentlemen of Swansea and the Australian Aboriginals. There was though much, much more to life of this journeyman professional who, besides working at various times as a publican and soldier, was also something of a rogue as well as being a bigamist.
He had been born in Cambridge during March 1829 and following the death of his father, young Henry became a resident of the town’s Workhouse. Life had improved for him by the late 1840s as he started playing as a professional cricketer and appeared for Wisbech, March, St. Ives, Godmanchester besides making his county debut for Huntingdonshire in 1851. On 23 October 1850 Henry also got married to Mary Ann Dobney at Bow Parish Church and started training to be a publican. But given the peripatetic nature of life as a professional cricketer, he was soon on the move, playing for the Ross club in Herefordshire in 1852 and Beverley CC in Yorkshire the following year.
At the end of the 1853 season, he accepted an appointment in Cork – possibly because he and Mary Ann had agreed to go their separate ways. It was whilst he was in Ireland that Henry’s underhand and illegal behaviour began as he was involved in a scam involving the purchase of items and services with fake sovereigns at a well-known drinking den and brothel. After an appearance in court, he returned to England and based himself in Wiltshire where the seam bowler turned out for Highworth, Purton and Shrivenham.
But his financial circumstances led Henry to become in other scams, with the most important being accepting money to play as a guest in various exhibition matches, but never turning up and pocketing the match fee. This led to Henry being blacklisted as well as being publically named and shamed by various promotors of these high-profile matches including Frederick Lillywhite.
With his personal life and career as a professional cricketer in tatters, Henry decided for a change of career and during 1855 he joined the 31st Regiment of Foot in Huntingdonshire. For the next few years he served in the Crimean War as well as in China before returning to the UK during June 1863. However, it was not long before he was back in trouble as in December he was given a two-moth jail sentence for stealing a double-barrel shotgun and sliver spoons from a lady called Miss Youngs with whom he was lodging in Ipswich. [Suffolk Chronicle 28 November 1863; Chelmsford Chronicle 1 January 1864.]
After leaving prison he resumed his career as a professional cricketer and during the mid1860s played for, amongst others, Swansea, Cadoxton and Banbury. It was whilst in the latter that he committed bigamy by marrying Annie Wayte at the Oxfordshire town’s Register Office on 14 November 1868 and declaring himself to be a widower, despite the fact that Mary Ann was alive and well and living in Newark. Annie and Henry were soon on the move as Henry secured a position with the St. Stanislaus club in Ireland, followed by similar posts with Gilmorehill CC in Glasgow and Pylewell Park in Hampshire, prior to moving to County Durham and playing for Seaham Harbour.
It was around this time that Henry started using also started using aliases, and played as William Henry Grist from 1872 until 1874 for Wakefield, before doing the same in 1875 for St. Helen’s in the Lancashire League, followed by the Anfield club in Liverpool during 1876 and then the Great Western Railway Club in Swindon in 1877. By the time he was back in Wiltshire, he and Annie appear to have parted as on 30 September 1878, Henry was married for a third time to Harriet Barlow at the Register Office in Norwich, once again, declaring himself to be widower despite the fact that Mary Ann and Annie were still alive. There also appear to be no records of a divorce being requested by either of the three parties.
1879 saw Henry play for Norfolk Nondescripts before moving to Wroughton in Wiltshire and also appearing for South Hampshire in 1880. He was up to no good again though as over the winter months he appeared in court, using the assumed name of MH Gorton, and was charged with attempting to obtain goods by false pretenses. The case though was dropped as the prosecution were not prepared to pay the costs if the case failed. In 1881 Henry had returned to Norwich and mixed his time as cricket professional at the local Grammar School with working as a gardener.
But his criminal activities continued as he was in trouble with the police in Derby over the use of the aliases of Wilson, Anderson, Hall or Cooper when trying to obtain money through false pretense’s before in 1883 he appeared in court in Gloucester having defrauded the daughter of Sir WV Guise of Elmore Court over the purchase of a non-existent Newfoundland puppy. This time Henry was not so fortunate in court and was sentenced to six weeks of hard labour, with the conviction also being a contributory factor in the break-up of his marriage to Harriet.
From 1887 until 1890 Henry was the professional at Tiverton CC in Devon and on 11 September 1897 he got married – quite remarkably – for a fourth time to Catherine Chambers as he again declared himself to be a widower. He then had a brief spell with Bolham CC before returning with Catherine to Norfolk and playing for Holkham before finally handing up his bowling boots at the end of the 1895 season.
Despite everything that had happened in terms of his playing career and personal life, Henry and Catherine remained in Norfolk, living at Wells-next-the Sea with the 1921 Census recording Henry as a licensed peddler. Catherine passed away the following year before Henry died in July 1923 at the ripe old age of 94 at the Walsingham Hostel in Great Snoring after a very eventful life.
N.B. In addition to using aliases for underhand activities, Henry may have played cricket under an assumed name. One of these aliases may have been “B Edwin” who played for Glamorganshire in one match during 1870 and, like Henry, did well with bat and ball.
GRIST, Henry.
Born – Cambridge, 14 March 1829.
Died – Wells-next-to-the -Sea, Norfolk, 21 July 1923.