George Louch

Who was George Louch?

George Louch was an English cricketer and match organiser during the 18th century. He was especially noted for his fielding and was an early stalwart of Marylebone Cricket Club.

He was a native of Chatham and was evidently educated at Westminster. He was playing quite regularly for the Chatham club up to 1773 when, for some unknown reason, his career went into sabbatical, as it were, because he does not reappear in the records until 1783. There is an entry in a 1778 diary re the Chatham club saying the reason it lost a game at Meopham was that: "Ye club is many of them gone to sea. No wonder they was beat".

So perhaps Mr Louch joined the Royal Navy, always likely given his home town? Or he might have been in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. Or he might have gone to India to make his fortune, for he does seem to have been quite well off during his later career, despite having had an apparently modest upbringing.