No . 131
The Trusty Servant
The Peter Stormonth Darling Cricket Nets
Angus Stormonth Darling tells the story of the new nets in memory of his cousin Peter Stormonth Darling ( C , 45-50 ) and explains the link to Hunter Tent :
To the casual passerby , the close proximity of the new Peter Stormonth Darling cricket nets to Hunter Tent would seem to be an eminently sensible concentration of cricketing facilities . That would be to deny the existence of a long and very strong multi-generational family bond which began on this hallowed ground over 120 years ago . The fact that memorials to an SD and to three members of the Hunter family will stand side by side is no coincidence . This is why !
Towards the end of his long and successful life , Peter Stormonth Darling ( C , 45-50 ) confirmed to Winchester that he wished to make a substantial donation in addition to his previous great generosity to the school . Would the College think of a suitable project for him to consider ? Yes , of course they would ! Events , however , as they have a habit of doing , took over before he could see his idea converted into reality . Peter died in September 2019 .
The Trustees of his Charitable Trust remained determined that his wish should be fulfilled and worked closely with Winchester to identify a worthy memorial . It was suggested that the cricket nets available at the school were well past their prime . Amongst his many interests , Peter held a lifelong love of cricket , which was strongly developed at Winchester . This , coupled with his conviction that the teaching of sport should be a vital part of all education , meant that the endowment of new cricket nets would be the perfect project .
The new all-weather nets will open during this Cloister Time . Best of all , they will stand alongside Hunter Tent and thus the ‘ PSD Nets ’ will also become part of Winchester parlance . This is more than a happy coincidence . Hunter Tent was given to Winchester by Kenneth Hunter ( C , 1894-1900 ) and his father Robert ( C , 1865-70 ) in 1930 to commemorate three further sons of Robert Hunter ( all Wykehamists ) who died during , or as a result of , WW1 . Long before then , however , the two families had become inextricably entwined .
When Peter achieved his ambition to open the bowling for Lords in 1949 and 1950 , he would have been excited to see his name carved on the Lords board in Hunter Tent . His pride would have been all the greater for he was following two of his favourite uncles , who both appear on
24