George Beldam
George William Beldam (born New Cross, Kent 1 May 1868 – died Lower Bourne, Farnham, Surrey 23 November 1937) was an English cricketer and a pioneer of action photography in sport.[1]
George Beldam came from a cricketing family of Huguenot refugees. He was a steady right-handed batsman and a right-arm bowler who represented Middlesex, MCC and London County in 102 first-class matches between 1900 and 1907. He scored 4,796 runs (average 30.16) with a personal best of 155* versus Surrey at Lord's in 1902 and took 66 catches and 76 wickets (average 27.14) with a personal best of 5/28 versus Lancashire at Liverpool in 1902.
He became a noted artist and photographer. He was the first action photographer of sport in Britain, specialising in cricket and golf.[2] He collaborated with C.B. Fry on two instructional books, with Beldam providing the illustrations and some of the text:
- Great Batsmen: Their Methods at a Glance (1905)
- Great Bowlers and Fielders: Their Methods at a Glance (1907)
His brother, Cyril Beldam, and a cousin, Ernest Beldam, also played first-class cricket.
A biography of him was written by a descendant:
- George Alastair Beldam, Third Man in: Lost World of a Camera Artist - G.W.Beldam and the Art of Edwardian Cricket, The George Beldam Collection, 1995, ISBN 978-0-9516676-0-6
References
- ↑ Search the Collection: George William Beldam (1868-1937), National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
- ↑ E.W. Swanton, Barclay's World of Cricket - 2nd Edition, 1980, Collins Publishers, ISBN 0-00-216349-7, p140.
External links
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