Geoffrey Tomkinson

Who was Geoffrey Tomkinson?

Sir Geoffrey Stewart Tomkinson was an English sportsman and industrialist. He played two first-class cricket matches for Worcestershire, these coming 23 years apart.

Born at Franche Hall, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, Tomkinson attended Winchester College and was selected for the cricket XI. He then went to King's College at Cambridge University and competed at rowing, rugby union and football; he also played cricket for the college, but did not win a university blue.

After leaving university, he played one match for Worcestershire, against Cambridge University, in 1903; he scored just 1. He then he devoted himself largely to the family business, Tomkinsons Carpets, but in the 1920s returned to playing cricket, mostly for the Kidderminster club side - he once scored 200 in two hours in the Birmingham League. In 1926 he played his second and final first-class game, against Derbyshire, though again he made little impact, being dismissed for 10 and 1.

Tomkinson was made President of Worcestershire in 1956.

Outside cricket, Tomkinson was particularly keen on rugby union, and was one of the founders of Kidderminster RFC. He captained the side from 1921 to 1924, and in the 1940s he made an impromptu comeback to make up the numbers in one game, when he was 63 years old.