Sussex County Cricket Club to unveil plaque in memory of 11 men who died in wars

Sussex County Cricket Club has announced it will mark the centenary of the start of the First World War with a permanent war memorial plaque, which will be formally unveiled on Sunday (July 6).

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The special unveiling ceremony will take place during the lunch interval of the first day of the LV=County Championship match between Sussex and Northamptonshire at The BrightonandHoveJobs.com County Ground, Hove.

The memorial plaque has been erected on the wall of the Spen Cama Pavilion, next to the Sussex Cricket World Museum at Hove. The plaque carries the names of the 10 Sussex cricketers and the one club secretary who lost their lives during the First and Second World Wars.

The ceremony will be introduced by Jim May, chairman of Sussex County Cricket Club. The plaque will be officially unveiled by Peter Field, Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex and there will be a blessing by Father Philip Ritchie, of All Saints' Church in Hove.

Helping with the unveiling ceremony and reading traditional excerpts and epitaphs will be two international cricketers: Jim Parks, the former Sussex captain and current president, and Michael Yardy, the current all-rounder and former captain. The Royal Sussex Regiment Standard Bearers will raise flags as part of the ceremony.

Mr May said: 'As the world marks the centenary of the Great War, we think it is entirely appropriate that the club commemorate the lives of 11 young men who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country in the two world wars.'