Sir William Basil Goulding (4 November 1909 in Dublin, Ireland – 16 January 1982 in County Wicklow[1]) was an Irish cricketer, squash player and art collector.
Contents |
During World War II, Goulding was commissioned as a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force. By the end of 1942 he had reached the rank of wing commander.[2]
A right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper[1], he played twice for the Ireland cricket team against the MCC in 1934,[3] the year in which his father was president of the Irish Cricket Union.[4] He made his debut in July[3] in a two-day match, scoring seven runs in the Ireland second innings and taking one catch in the MCC first innings.[5] The following month, he played his only first-class match,[6] not scoring in either innings.[3]
In addition to playing cricket, he also represented Ireland at squash, and captained Oxford University at football.[4]
Goulding was educated at Winchester College[4], and Christ Church, Oxford. His main career was as an art collector.[2] He was married to Valerie Goulding, an Irish campaigner for disabled people and senator.[2] Her father, Sir Walter Monckton was a lawyer, and was the UK Attorney General during the Edward VIII abdication crisis[7], later serving as a British Member of Parliament for Bristol West, serving as defence minister and Paymaster-General. He also played cricket,[1] and played one first-class match for a combined Oxford/Cambridge University team.[8] He was later president of the MCC in 1956.[7] Basil's uncle was chairman of Rolls Royce.[2]