Philip Meldon


Philip Albert Meldon was an Irish cricketer and a Major in the second world war.

Biography

He was born in Dublin, Ireland He played twice for Ireland; against I Zingari in August 1899 and against H. D. G. Leveson-Gower's XI in 1905.
He later played two first-class matches for the MCC in 1911, playing against Leicestershire and Cambridge University.
Meldon also represented Ireland at football, playing in two international matches in 1899.
He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery on 28 March 1900, and was promoted to lieutenant on 3 April 1901. From 1900 to 1902 he served with the 53rd Battery in South Africa during the Second Boer War, and took part in the operations in the Transvaal, east of Pretoria, including engagements at Belfast and Lydenburg. He was wounded and return to the United Kingdom on board the SS Simla in May 1902. He was awarded a DSO in the First World War and later fought in the Second World War and was held as a prisoner by the Germans from 1 April 1940 until his death on 8 April 1942.