Wartime Services and Charity Matches at Lord's — 1916 and After

With first-class cricket suspended, the only outlet for first-rank players in England were these charity and services games.

The MCC formally opened Lord's to charity matches from spring 1915. The Australian Imperial Force and other Dominion forces gradually built up touring sides.

With the County Championship suspended, the cricketing energy of England flowed into charity matches. The MCC made Lord's available for these from 1915. Australian and New Zealand troops in transit through England formed touring sides; the Royal Naval Division had its own cricket team; the Royal Flying Corps played frequently at the depot at Hampstead where Hobbs worked. By 1916 a regular pattern of summer fixtures had emerged: Australia services v England services at Lord's was the showpiece, drawing decent crowds and raising significant sums for war charities. Hobbs, Hendren, Woolley and other county pros played in the matches when they could be released. The cricket was uneven — many leading players were in France — but it kept skills sharp and gave audiences a wartime anchor. The 1919 'AIF' tour of England, which followed the Armistice, was the natural extension of this wartime services tradition.

“The Lord's crowd came back for the services matches as gladly as they had for any pre-war fixture.”

The 1919 AIF tour of England — featuring some who would become Test players in the 1920s — was the direct legacy of these wartime fixtures.