Eddie Crush

Edmund ("Eddie") Crush (25 April 1917 – 9 June 2007) was an English cricketer playing for Kent (Kent County Cricket Club) between 1946 and 1949.

Crush was born in Dover on 25 April 1917, the youngest of seven brothers. He was educated at the Dover County School for Boys (Dover Grammar School for Boys) in the 1930s. He served during World War II with the Royal Engineers. On D-Day, he was a Subaltern and decorated with the Military Cross for his actions during the fight for Caen by Field Marshal Montgomery. His citation read: "As a result of his courage and determined leadership, anti-tank guns, troops and an anti-tank regiment of the Royal Artillery were able to get up to the objective for consolidation at a very early stage in the battle."

Crush played First Class cricket for Kent as a right-arm fast/medium swing bowler, occasional seamer as well as a lower order batsman. The highlight of his career was dismissing Don Bradman in 1948 when Kent played the touring Australian Cricket Team. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack stated “Later that month, in front of 19,000 people on the same ground, he dismissed Bradman (morally) twice in the same innings. Bradman admitted years later that he had bottom-edged a catch off Crush to Godfrey Evans, but no one appealed. Crush eventually had him caught by Brian Valentine for 65”. An interview that Godfrey Evans gave to the Sydney Morning Herald in 1991 confirms this event. Asked why he hadn’t appealed Crush said “He was my hero, thousands of people including me wanted to see him bat” adding “the last time I had seen him was in 1930 when as a 13 year old I cycled from Dover to Canterbury to watch him ... the words just wouldn’t come out” Crush retired after the 1949 season.

Following his immediate post war playing career, Crush founded “Eddie Crush Sports Outfitters” which became a well known and successful business in his home down of Dover. He remained an enthusiastic club cricketer during the 1950s playing for Dover Cricket Club and St Lawrence & Highland Court Cricket Club.

He married Dorothea Jennie Tolputt on Christmas Day 1955 at Lydden Church in Dover, where many of Crush’s cricketing friends made a surprise visit to wish the couple well, including the then Kent Captain Doug Wright.

When he finally finished playing his beloved cricket, Crush retained very close links with the cricketing scene and devoted much of his personal time to helping young players appreciate the finer points of the game. Holding a MCC Advanced Coaching Certificate he spent many a happy Wednesday afternoon in the 1960s coaching aspiring players at the Dover College.

Crush was known for his keen sense of humour and the playing of many practical jokes. During the late 1960s "I'm Backing Britain" campaign, Eddie patriotically decorated his sports shop with a centre piece window display proclaiming "I'm Backing Cowdrey", a reference to the Test Match being contested between England and Australia at the time where the England Captain was Colin Cowdrey, another lifelong friend.

Crush fought hard to retain the First Class status of the Crabbel cricket pitch and ground in Dover, but sadly his efforts were in vain when the County side finally withdrew in 1980 from playing at the then annual Dover Cricket Week fixture.

In his later life he served for many years as a Committee Member for the Kent County Cricket Club. Given is natural sense of justice, fair play and knowledge of the game, Crush was invited to serve on the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) Disciplinary Committee, which he did for many years in the mid 1980s. As well as being a lifelong member of the Kent County Cricket Club he was also a member (President 1996–2007) of the Kent Hoppers Tie Club which was founded by his very dear cricketing friends Hopper Levett and Les Ames. Crush was also a member of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club).

Crush also remained loyal to his military background and served in the 1950s as the Commanding Officer (Major) of a detachment of Royal Engineers Territorial Army Volunteer Reservists then based at Arch Cliff Fort in Dover. Following his retirement from business life in the early 1980s he continued to serve as the Chairman of the Royal Engineers Association (Dover Branch) where he worked tirelessly to help ex-service personnel less fortunate than himself.

Edmund and Dorothea had two Son's Michael (Born 1957) and Peter (Born 1960). He died in 2007.