Hedley Verity

EDM number 510 in 2013-14, proposed by Greg Mulholland on 11/09/2013.
Categorised under the topic of Sports.

That this House commemorates, on the seventieth anniversary of his death, the life of Headingley man Hedley Verity, a war hero and celebrated sportsman; notes that Mr Verity left school at age fourteen to work for his father's coal business while maintaining his commitment to improving his cricket game, emblematic of a career defined just as much by humbleness as by hard work and grit; acknowledges Mr Verity's vast accomplishments as one of the most effective slow left-arm bowlers in the history of English cricket, which included playing in four Ashes series, highlighted by his performance in the 1934 series when he took 15 for 104, including 14 wickets in a day; further acknowledges that Mr Verity was as equally renowned for his sportsmanship as his cricketing skills, with a former rival saying that he never once heard him complain or offer a criticism; recognises that Mr Verity eventually made the ultimate sacrifice to his country when he died of battle wounds following the assault on Catania in July 1943 in the Second World War, after quickly rising in the ranks to captain; commends the fact that his memory is honoured and celebrated by the Wetherspoon's Hedley Verity pub in Leeds; and further recognises that Mr Verity set an example in his life, through his conduct both on and off the cricket pitch and his dedication to both the sport and his country, to which all of today's cricketers can aspire.

This motion has been signed by a total of 4 MPs.