Betty Archdale: Difference between revisions

Betty Archdale

Personal information
Full name	Helen Elizabeth Archdale
Born	(1907-08-21)21 August 1907 Paddington, London, England
Died	1 January 2000(2000-01-01) (aged 92) Killara, New South Wales, Australia
Nickname	Betty
Batting	Right-handed
Role	Batter
Relations	Helen Archdale (mother) Alexander Archdale (brother)
International information
National side	England (1934–1937)
Test debut (cap 1)	28 December 1934 v Australia
Last Test	13 July 1937 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1937	Kent
Career statistics
Competition WTest WFC Matches 5 13 Runs scored 133 266 Batting average 26.60 15.64 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 Top score 32* 32* Catches/stumpings 1/– 2/–
Source: CricketArchive, 12 March 2021

Helen Elizabeth Archdale (21 August 1907 – 1 January 2000) was an English educationalist and cricketer. She played as a right-handed batter, and appeared in 5 Test matches for England between 1934 and 1937. Archdale was the first captain of England. She lead them on their first tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1934/35. She played domestic cricket for many regional teams, as well as Kent.^[1][2]

Biography

Archdale was born in London, the daughter of Helen Archdale (née Russel), a well-known suffragette^[3] and an Irish professional soldier in the British Army, who died in World War I when she was eleven. Her godmother was Emmeline Pankhurst. Archdale went to Bedales School in Hampshire, where she learned to play cricket, and to St Leonards School in St Andrews, Fife.^[4]

After school, Archdale went to McGill University in Montreal. She graduated in 1929 with a BA in Economics and Political Science. She studied Law in London. She did some studying in the Soviet Union. In 1938, she was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn.^[5]

During World War II, she served in the Women's Royal Naval Service as a wireless operator in Singapore. She arrived in July 1941 at the head of a group of forty Wrens trained in wireless telegraphy.^[6] She was awarded an Order of the British Empire for helping nurses escape from the conflict. <--^[5]

Archdale moved to Australia in 1946. She was appointed principal of Sydney University's "Women's College", a post she held for 10 years. Archdale was a member of the University Senate for 25 years, and a television and radio personality throughout the 1960s.^[5]

Archdale was headmistress of the private girls school Abbotsleigh in Wahroonga, Sydney for 12 years from 1958. Archdale was credited with breaking down the rigid system of discipline at the school, with introducing sex education and abandoning the gloves and hat as part of the school uniform. She also reformed the curriculum, introducing physics and cutting back on British, in favour of Australian, history. The Assembly Hall (1963) and Chapel (1965) both date from this time. She lived on an estate in Galston, Sydney with her brother Alexander Archdale, an actor.^[5]

Honours and legacy

In 1997, Archdale was listed as a National Living Treasure.^[7] In March 1999, Archdale was one of the first ten women to be given Honorary Life Membership of Marylebone Cricket Club in England.^[8] She died on 1 January 2000 at the age of 92, in Sydney.^[5]

The Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools, 'Archdale Debating' competition (for Sydney's Private and Catholic Girls' schools) is named in her honour.^[9]

References

Other websites

• Betty Archdale at ESPNcricinfo
• Betty Archdale at CricketArchive (subscription required)

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Betty Archdale.

• Deirdre Macpherson, The Suffragette's Daughter: Betty Archdale, Her Life of Feminism, Cricket, War and Education, Rosenberg Publishing, Dural
• FitzSimons, Peter (2006). Great Australian Sports Champions. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0-7322-8517-8.