Field of Shadows: The English Cricket Tour of Nazi Germany 1937

by Dan Waddell

Adolf Hitler despised cricket, considering it un-German and decadent. And Berlin in 1937 was not a time to be going against the Fuhrer's wishes. But hot on the heels of the 1936 Olympics, an enterprising cricket fanatic of enormous bravery, Felix Menzel, somehow persuaded his Nazi leaders to invite an English team to play his motley band of part-timers.

That team was the Gentlemen of Worcestershire, an ill-matched group of mavericks, minor nobility, ex-county cricketers, rich businessmen and callow schoolboys - led by former Worcestershire CC skipper Major Maurice Jewell. Ordered 'not to lose' by the MCC, Jewell and his men entered the 'Garden of Beasts' to play two unofficial Test matches against Germany.

Against a backdrop of repression, brutality and sporadic gunfire, the Gents battled searing August heat, matting pitches, the skill and cunning of Menzel, and opponents who didn't always adhere to the laws and spirit of the game. The tour culminated in a match at the very stadium which a year before had witnessed one of sport's greatest spectacles and a sinister public display of Nazi might.

Despite the shadow cast by the cataclysmic conflict that was shortly to engulf them, Dan Waddell's vivid and detailed account of the Gentlemen of Worcestershire's 1937 Berlin tour is a story of triumph- of civility over barbarity, of passion over indifference and hope over despair.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

274 pages, Hardcover

First published May 8, 2014

About the author

Dan Waddell is a journalist and author who lives in west London. He has published ten non-fiction books, including the bestselling Who Do You Think You Are?, which tied in with the successful BBC TV series. The Blood Detective is his first novel.

Series:
* Nigel Barnes

Reviews

[JD · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is a great mix of sports and politics which follows the cricket tour of the Gentleman of Worcestershire CC to Nazi Germany in 1937. It not only tells the stories of the lives before and after of all the English players and some of the German players, but of the effects the Nazis had on sports during their reign. Unfortunately some of the documents about the tour, including the scorecards, were lost, but the author pieces it together through newspaper reports and personal letters home to give us a look into how the tour went. The Gentlemen were a rich mix of old timers and youths with each one being a very interesting individual, that just ads richness to the whole story. The sad part of the book is the fates of some of the men, especially the German youths that went to war for Hitler, with many of them failing to return.

This book is well researched and written, with some really laugh-out-loud moments and even though the author made some historical mistakes, it did not take away from the great story. Highly recommended to any cricket lover.

[Mary Arkless · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came into being because the author was re-reading some essays by Orwell, and came across this: "The Nazis, for instance, were at pains to discourage cricket, which had gained a certain footing in Germany before and after the last war."

Being an avid cricket fan (and also a player), this caught the attention of the author of this book. He was intrigued. He'd never heard of this. He tracked down one of the very few copies of James D. Coldman's "German Cricket: A Brief History". He eventually learnt of the unlikely tour by the Worcester Gentlemen to Berlin in 1937 for a series of three cricket matches. He then set out to research the tour, the players, find out how it came to be, and what happened to the players afterwards.

Very serious for the most part, but there are some real laugh-out-loud lines.

Christmas gift from my mother. It was on my wish list.

[Angshuman Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Field of Shadows" by Dan Waddell is an account of a cricket tour to Nazi Germany in 1937, undertaken by "the Gentlemen of Worcestershire", a team comprising a motley collection of gentlemen cricketers, who were ordered by the MCC "not to lose". The team played three matches against a backdrop of the well-documented repressions and terrors of Nazi Germany. The irrepressible humor of Waddell's writing forms a stark, yet beautiful, contrast with the grimness of the backdrop.

My favorite passage from this book is an apt reminder of the unfathomable charm that this quaint game that we love holds in our lives:
"Berlin in 1945 was a city of ruins. On a warm summer morning, a group of British soldiers were standing at a checkpoint in West Berlin. From the rubble, five middle-aged men trudged towards them. As the men approached, the soldiers could see they were gaunt and underfed. Leading them was a balding, serious-looking man in his mid fifties. The officer in charge watched them carefully as they drew near.
'I wonder what this lot want?' he said.
The man with the serious face nodded a greeting and smiled. His clothes were worn and flecked with dust but his receding grey hair was slicked with pomade. The officer guessed that in another time he had probably been a man of some standing.
'Good morning', the man said, in almost perfect English.
The British soldiers murmured a greeting in return.
'Can we help?' the officer asked, cutting to the chase.
The troops had become used to these missions, the locals shuffling from the ruins to beg for fresh water, cigarettes, medicines, some women even offering their favours in return for food - all the things a conquering army might expect from a defeated people who had endured misery and suffering.
But this request would leave him open-mouthed.
'Yes', the man replied. 'Could we play a game of cricket against you?' "

[James Fountain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very rarely finish a book within 5 days which is testament to how good this one is. What an extraordinary story, and without giving away details of the plot, everyone who loves cricket should read it, and everyone who loathes cricket should read it. In the end, it is a shining testament to a wonderful game, and the way the narrative is controlled, the historical research into the real life characters who travelled from England to play cricket in Nazi Germany, in 1937, against Germans, some of whom were Nazis, but all of whom loved cricket, and the delicate and thorough descriptions of what happened to these extraordinary individuals next, each experiencing wildly different wars…it’s an astounding achievement. One of the great historical sporting biographies of all time, without a shadow of a doubt (no pun intended). Read it and see. It’s moving and magical. And powerful, too.

[Lord Bathcanoe of Snark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. The Gentleman of Worcestershire travel to Germany in 1937 to play cricket. Unlikely but true! The author gives us anecdotes, fascinating characters, and a portrait of Berlin under the Nazi regime both good and bad. Dan Waddell writes with wit and insight, and covers the humourous and sinister with equal skill.

[David Lowther · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-researched and written book. It's amusing at times and sad at others.

Enjoyable.

David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of '39, all published by Sacristy Press.

[George Foord · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched book but as most of the records are lost there isn't much of a story. But the narrative by the author is good.

[Rae]

Sports history. Cricket. Nazi Germany. Felix Menzel. Gentlemen of Worcestershire.