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Leslie Harry Compton

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Leslie Harry Compton Famous memorial

Birth
Woodford, London Borough of Redbridge, Greater London, England
Death
27 Dec 1984 (aged 72)
Hendon, London Borough of Barnet, Greater London, England
Burial
Golders Green, London Borough of Barnet, Greater London, England Add to Map
Memorial ID
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Legendary British sportsman. The brother of the legendary Denis Compton, Leslie Harry Compton was a first-class cricketer and footballer, playing for Middlesex between 1938 and 1956 and for Arsenal from just before the war until the early 1950s. A large man, he kept wicket, dominating by bulk and considerable reach rather than finesse, holding 468 catches and completing 131 stumpings, the majority off the slow bowling of Jim Sims, Jack Young, Walter Robins, Ian Bedford and brother Denis. He also had a few overs of medium-pace over the years, and took 12 wickets at 47.41. Les Compton’s lower-order batting often came in useful, never more than in August 1947 at Derby when Eddie Gothard took a hat-trick which placed Middlesex, the would-be champions, in some jeopardy. Compton thundered to his only first-class century in 87 minutes, adding 181 for the fifth wicket with Syd Brown. Middlesex went on to win this and the next two matches to take the Championship eventually by 20 points from Gloucestershire. In all, Les Compton scored 5814 runs at 16.75. In his benefit match at Lord’s in 1954 he was grotesquely run out by his brother.His play, first at centre-forward (once scoring 10 goals against Clapton Orient) and then full-back, then at centre-half – where, in modern parlance, he ‘ruled the box’, and was known fondly to contemporaries as ‘Bighead’– at last won him two full England caps in 1950: against Wales and Yugoslavia. At 38 he became England’s oldest soccer debutant, a record he still held at the time of his death. He already held FA Cup and League Championship honours, having played, with Denis, in Arsenal’s triumphant team at Wembley in 1950 (Arsenal 2, Liverpool 0) and in the League-winning side of 1947–48, when Les and Denis created a fraternal record: playing in a County Championship-winning side in the summer and in the national champion football team in the following winter.
Legendary British sportsman. The brother of the legendary Denis Compton, Leslie Harry Compton was a first-class cricketer and footballer, playing for Middlesex between 1938 and 1956 and for Arsenal from just before the war until the early 1950s. A large man, he kept wicket, dominating by bulk and considerable reach rather than finesse, holding 468 catches and completing 131 stumpings, the majority off the slow bowling of Jim Sims, Jack Young, Walter Robins, Ian Bedford and brother Denis. He also had a few overs of medium-pace over the years, and took 12 wickets at 47.41. Les Compton’s lower-order batting often came in useful, never more than in August 1947 at Derby when Eddie Gothard took a hat-trick which placed Middlesex, the would-be champions, in some jeopardy. Compton thundered to his only first-class century in 87 minutes, adding 181 for the fifth wicket with Syd Brown. Middlesex went on to win this and the next two matches to take the Championship eventually by 20 points from Gloucestershire. In all, Les Compton scored 5814 runs at 16.75. In his benefit match at Lord’s in 1954 he was grotesquely run out by his brother.His play, first at centre-forward (once scoring 10 goals against Clapton Orient) and then full-back, then at centre-half – where, in modern parlance, he ‘ruled the box’, and was known fondly to contemporaries as ‘Bighead’– at last won him two full England caps in 1950: against Wales and Yugoslavia. At 38 he became England’s oldest soccer debutant, a record he still held at the time of his death. He already held FA Cup and League Championship honours, having played, with Denis, in Arsenal’s triumphant team at Wembley in 1950 (Arsenal 2, Liverpool 0) and in the League-winning side of 1947–48, when Les and Denis created a fraternal record: playing in a County Championship-winning side in the summer and in the national champion football team in the following winter.

Bio by: Kieran Smith



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  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Originally Created by: Kieran Smith
  • Added: Dec 10, 2004
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10065629/leslie_harry-compton: accessed ), memorial page for Leslie Harry Compton (12 Sep 1912–27 Dec 1984), Find a Grave Memorial ID 10065629, citing Golders Green Crematorium, Golders Green, London Borough of Barnet, Greater London, England; Maintained by Find a Grave.