Two true Corinthians

posted by John Winn

Passing through Darlington on Saturday I visited the local studies room of the town library and was attracted to a display which was linked to the Remembrance weekend. As part of the display there were two photographs of Darlington Grammar School cricket XI from shortly before World War One. On both photographs, and captain on one, was FNS (Norman ) Creek, a name I remember my father talking about. An internet search revealed that only last month Mike Amos had devoted his weekly Northern Echo column to 'FNS' prompted by a biography of him by Peter Minto.*

Creek died at Folkestone in  1980 aged 82 and was a cricketer of sufficient prowess to merit a brief obituary in Wisden where he is described as 'a good bat and a useful change bowler'. A career as a schoolmaster rather restricted his appearances and although he played regularly for Wiltshire between the wars he never played outside the month of August. His top score of 124 not out came against Dorset in 1930. I note that he played against Berkshire in 1932 on the ground of HM Martineau at Holyport. (see a posting 'Doing my corrections' December 2012 for more about HMM) and Creek also was in the Wiltshire XI that took on Kent II at Chippenham in 1946, by which time he was approaching 50. He was still good enough to top score in Wiltshire's first innings His son NCB Creek, another Norman, played in the same match and performed regularly for the county for the next ten years.

Despite the above it has to be said that Creek's greatest achievements were away from the cricket field for going straight from school into the army aged 18, he received the Military Cross and after time in the trenches he took to the skies and flew over 50 missions. On the playing field Creek's greatest talent was as a footballer and he holds the  distinction of playing twice for Darlington FC and once for England, against France in 1923. His two appearances for The Quakers were in 1921-22 when he scored in a three nil defeat of Souhport and two years later in a 1-1 draw with Crewe.

FNS later had a career as a broadcaster including commentaries on football and wrote on sport for The Daily Telegraph. His brother Charlie played for Darlington CC from 1923 to 1957: a tall left handed opening bat he scored just short of 3000 runs in the NYSD. He worked as a manager for The Yorkshire Penny Bank as it was known until the penny dropped in 1959.

Also mentioned in the Mike Amos article is AGD (Graham) Doggart, Bishop Auckland born and  another QEGS (Darlington not Wakefield) product. He too played two games for Darlington, scoring four goals but like Creek he preferred the amateur game and both men played for Corinthians. Doggart rose to be chairman of the FA in the 1960s and were there to be a biography of him then it might justifiably be called ' The man who appointed Alf Ramsey'. A more distinguished cricketer than his friend Creek (and the recipient of a much longer Wisden tribute) he took a blue at Cambridge and then played for Middlesex, Durham, Free Foresters The Gentlemen and several other distinguished clubs. His eldest son Hubert played two tests for England against the 1950 West Indies where, in John Arlott's words, he was 'puzzled' by Ramadin. He was not alone.

The Flying Sportsman A Biography of FNS Creek by Peter Minto.