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{{short description|English cricketer (1910–1943)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024|cs1-dates=ly formats}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = Gerry Chalk
| image =
| fullname = Frederick Gerald Hudson Chalk
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1910|9|7|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Sydenham, London]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1943|2|17|1910|9|7|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Louches]], [[Pas-de-Calais]], France
| batting = Right-handed
| bowling =
| club1 = [[Oxford University Cricket Club|Oxford University]]
| year1 = {{nowrap|1931–1934}}
| club2 = [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]]
| year2 = 1933–1939
| columns = 1
| column1 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
| matches1 = 156
| runs1 = 6,732
| bat avg1 = 28.16
| 100s/50s1 = 11/31
| top score1 = 198
| deliveries1 = 605
| wickets1 = 7
| bowl avg1 = 58.42
| fivefor1 = 0
| tenfor1 = 0
| best bowling1 = 2/22
| catches/stumpings1 = 62/–
| date = 22 March
| year = 2009
| source = http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/11073.html CricInfo
}}
'''Frederick Gerald Hudson Chalk''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DFC}}, born '''Gerald Frederick Hudson Chalk''' and known as '''Gerry Chalk''', (7 September 1910 – 17 February 1943) was an English amateur [[cricket]]er. He was a right-handed batsman who played [[first-class cricket]] for [[Oxford University Cricket Club|Oxford University]], [[Kent County Cricket Club]] and [[Marylebone Cricket Club|MCC]] between 1931 and 1939, captaining both Oxford and Kent. Chalk died in 1943, shot down over northern France whilst serving as a Spitfire pilot in the [[Royal Air Force]].

==Early life==
Chalk was born in [[Sydenham, London|Sydenham]] in [[Kent]] in 1910. He was the son of Arthur and Edith Chalk of [[Cooden Beach]] in [[Sussex]].<ref name=cwgc>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2280868/CHALK,%20FREDERICK%20GERALD%20HUDSON Chalk, Frederick Gerald Hudson], [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]]. Retrieved 2017-04-16.</ref> He was coached at Uppingham by [[Punter Humphreys]] who had been a professional in the [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]] sides which won four [[County Championship]] titles in the years before [[World War I]].<ref name=wis50>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/228421.html Humphreys, Edward], Obituaries in 1949, ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]'', 1950. Retrieved 2017-04-16.</ref> He attended [[Uppingham School]] where he played cricket, leading the school in [[batting average (cricket)|batting average]] in 1928.<ref name=wis45>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/155695.html Frederick Chalk], Obituary, ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]'', 1945. Retrieved 2017-04-16.</ref> He went up to [[Brasenose College, Oxford]] in 1930.<ref name=wis45 />

==Cricket career==
Chalk won his [[Blue (university sport)|cricket Blue]] in 1931 as a freshman at Oxford, making his [[first-class cricket]] debut for [[Oxford University Cricket Club|the university]] against [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]] in May.<ref name=ca>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/28/28482/28482.html Gerry Chalk], CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-04-16.</ref> He played in 46 first-class matches for the university, captaining the side in 1934.<ref name=oucc>[http://www.cricketintheparks.org.uk/oucc-captains OUCC captains] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416221539/http://www.cricketintheparks.org.uk/oucc-captains |date=16 April 2017 }}, University Cricket at Oxford. Retrieved 2017-04-16.</ref> He scored a century in the 1934 [[University Match]], an innings which [[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack|Wisden]] described as "brilliant", and made six centuries for the university side.<ref name=wis45 /><ref name=ca />

Having first played for Kent's Second XI in the [[Minor Counties Championship]] in 1928, Chalk made his first-class debut of the county in July 1933 against [[Middlesex County Cricket Club|Middlesex]] at the [[Bat and Ball Ground]] in [[Gravesend]].<ref name=ca /> Working as a teacher at [[Malvern College]] from 1934 to 1938,<ref name=rafcommandsappleton>[http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/11139.php G/C Charles Appleton CBE DSO DFC], RAF Commands Archive. Retrieved 2017-04-16.</ref> he played for the county on a fairly regular basis during the summer holidays each season until 1938 when he was appointed [[Captain (cricket)|captain]] of the side. He played throughout the next two seasons, making a total of 101 appearances for the county.<ref name=ca />

Chalk made 1,000 runs both seasons he was captain of Kent and was described as "skilful" in defence, with the ability to score effectively and field well.<ref name=wis45 /> He scored five centuries for Kent, with his highest score of 198 being made at [[Angel Ground|Tonbridge]] against [[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]] in 1939.<ref name=wis45 /><ref name=ca /> He was considered an "excellent captain in the field" who was effective at managing his bowling attack and who was aggressive in pursuing victories.<ref name=wis45 /> In 1939 he promoted fast scoring bowler [[Alan Watt (cricketer)|Alan Watt]] to bat alongside [[Arthur Fagg]] in Kent's second innings at Colchester. Fagg scored a double century in both innings of the match, the only time this has been achieved in first-class cricket.<ref name=cc15jul16>Mukherjee A (2016) [http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/arthur-fagg-scores-double-hundred-in-each-innings-28961 Arthur Fagg scores double-hundred in each innings], Cricket Country, 2016-07-15. Retrieved 2017-04-16.</ref> He scored a century in the penultimate match of Kent's [[1939 English cricket season|1939 season]] in August against [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]] at Dover, carrying his bat through Kent's first innings against [[Hedley Verity]]'s bowling, and played his final first-class match against [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]] later the same month.<ref name=wis45 /><ref name=ca /><ref name=gill62>Gill M (2005) ''Growing into War'', pp.62–63. The History Press. ([https://books.google.com/books?id=nr47AwAAQBAJ&dq=gerry%20chalk%20cricket&pg=PT62 Available online]. Retrieved 2017-04-16.)</ref>

As well as playing for Oxford and Kent, Chalk played in two [[Gentlemen v Players]] matches and played four times for [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] (MCC). He appeared for an England XI against the [[Indian cricket team in England in 1936|touring Indians]] in 1936 and for the Gentlemen of England in against [[Don Bradman]]'s [[Australian cricket team in England in 1938|Australian side in 1938]].<ref name=ca /> Chalk's extended family of cricket-playing relatives included his uncle [[Harold Prest]] who played for Kent either side of [[World War I]]. He married Rosemary Foster,<ref name=cwgc /> the daughter of [[Geoffrey Foster]] who had played for both Kent and [[Worcestershire]].<ref name=wis72>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/234722.html Foster, Geoffrey N], Obituaries in 1971, ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]'', 1972. Retrieved 2017-04-16.</ref> His brother-in-law [[Peter Foster (cricketer)|Peter Foster]] played under Chalk's captaincy at Kent in 1939.<ref name=wis95>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/236517.html Foster, Peter Geoffrey], Obituaries in 1994, ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]'', 1995. Retrieved 2017-04-16.</ref>

As well as playing cricket, Chalk was a [[field hockey|hockey]] player. He played for Oxford University and the Surrey county side, winning a hockey Blue.<ref name=ca />

==Military service and death==
At the outbreak of [[World War II]], Chalk joined the [[Honourable Artillery Company]] as a gunner before transferring to the [[RAF]]. He won the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] in June 1941 serving as a rear gunner in [[No. 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF|218 Squadron]] during a bombing raid on [[Hannover]]. The citation for the award described his "cool and accurate fire" which " undoubtedly saved his aircraft and probably destroyed the attacker".<ref name=wis45 />

He took a pilot's course and was promoted to [[Flight Lieutenant]] in 1942, commanding a flight of [[Spitfire]] fighters in [[No. 124 Squadron RAF|124 Squadron]].<ref name=cwgc /><ref name=wis45 /> His aircraft was shot down over [[Louches]] in northern France, probably by a [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190|Fw 190]] of [[JG 26]], on 17 February 1943. He was one of 4 British pilots shot down that day, with 2 dying, one being fatally wounded, and another evading capture.<ref name=rafcommands>[http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/10835.php 81389 F/L Frederick Chalk DFC], RAF Commands Archive. Retrieved 2017-04-16.</ref> He was officially listed as [[Missing in Action]] and his obituary appeared in [[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack|Wisden]] in 1945, having been listed as presumed dead in January 1944.<ref name=wis45 /><ref name=ogley>Ogley R (1997) [https://books.google.com/books?id=gvh5AAAAIAAJ&q=%22Gerry+Chalk%22 ''Kent: A Chronicle of the Century. Volume Two: 1925-1949''], p.137. Froglets. {{ISBN|978-1-872337-84-5}}</ref> His body was identified in the 1980s and his remains transferred to the Terlincthun British Cemetery near [[Wimille]] in 1989, having originally been listed on the [[Runnymede Memorial]].<ref name=cwgc /><ref name=gill62 />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cricinfo|id=11073}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box |
before=[[Ronnie Bryan]] and [[Bryan Valentine]]
|title=[[Kent County Cricket Club]] [[List of Kent County Cricket Club captains|captain]]|
years=1938–1939|
after=[[Bryan Valentine]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalk, Gerry}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1943 deaths]]
[[Category:English cricketers]]
[[Category:People educated at Uppingham School]]
[[Category:Free Foresters cricketers]]
[[Category:Oxford University cricketers]]
[[Category:Kent cricketers]]
[[Category:Kent cricket captains]]
[[Category:Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Gentlemen cricketers]]
[[Category:Gentlemen of England cricketers]]
[[Category:Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Missing in action of World War II]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Honourable Artillery Company soldiers]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force officers]]
[[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943]]
[[Category:Aviators killed by being shot down]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force pilots of World War II]]
[[Category:British World War II fighter pilots]]
[[Category:People from Sydenham, London]]
[[Category:Cricketers from the London Borough of Lewisham]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Lewisham]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]

Gerry Chalk - Revision history

imported>SparklingBlueMoon at 22:31, 21 April 2025