September 19, 191 4 
LAND AND WATER 
Polo and the Roll of Honourl 
QUITE a long list is already formed of well-known polo 
players who have been killed or wounded durmg the 
war, some of the best polo regmients havmg been in tlie very 
tlnck of It. It IS very sad, but losses are nievitable, and we 
can only console ourselves with the knowledge tliat in each 
and every instance the dash and brilliancy 01 these officers' 
play on the polo ground have been truly reflected by their 
grand courage and spirit in action, f'he death of Lieutenant- 
Colonel G. K. Ansell is a great loss to the British Army ; it 
is also a loss to iiritish poJo. For many years he had been a 
prominent player, and__^lus_mterest in the game this season, 
when he took part in the Inter-Kegimental with his team of 
the 5th Dragoon Guards, was just as keen as it was in the 
hey-day of the prosperity of his former regiment, the Innis- 
killing Dragoons, when he and his colleagues, Colonel (then 
Mr.) F. A. B. Fryer, Major (then Mr.) Neil VV. Haig, and 
General (then Major) M. F. Kimmgton were one of the 
strongest military teams of the day. They won the Inter- 
Kegimentcd Cup in 1897 and (with Mr. C. H Higgin No. i 
instead of Mr. F^ryer) again in 1898, beating that rare com- 
bination, the 13th Hussars, by one goal to none after a 
memorable final. Their other Army championship victory 
at Hurlingham was in 1905, when, with Captains Gibson and 
Ewing Paterson in the side, they triumphed over the 20th 
Hussars by four goals to three ; and altliough they were a 
team of veterans, they were still to be reckoned with as a 
hard-hitting combination, up to every move on the board, 
until five or six years ago. Colonel Ansell was a very good 
forward, with a remarkably quick eye and exceptional wrist 
stroke. ^He had not the extraordinary physique of Major 
Neil Haig, whose tremendous strokes frequently called forth 
the wonder and admiration of onlookers, but with his wrist- 
fKjwer his hitting was always crisp and clean, and he got a 
great length on the ball, tie was a member of the Army 
Polo Committee, and always worked hard in the interests of 
the game, the value of which he fully recognised as a training 
m horsemanship for the cavalry o£&cer. 
Memorable Finals Kecalled 
A NOTHER well-known player who has figured in a 
•**■ victorious Inter-Regimental side on more than one 
occasion, and whose brilliant career as a soldier has ended in 
the pres( nt war, was Captain J. S. Cawley, of the 20th Hussars. 
It seems only the other day, though in reality it is ten years 
ago, sinc'j the 20th Hussars sprang a surprise on us all as the 
" dark horse " of the tournament, having only returned from 
foreign service a few months ago, yet running the best 
regimental sides very closely ; indeed, as shown in the 
preceding paragraph, they were only beaten by the Innis- 
killings by the odd goal in seven in the final of 1905. The 
20th Hussars as it then stood was Mr. J. S. Cawley, Mr. C. 
McG. Dunbar, Captain H. C. Hessey, and Captain H. R. Lee. 
Quick on the bail, tricky in^^tactics, dogged triers all, and 
finely balanced as a team, they were doughty opponents 
indeed, and they triumphed in 190b and 1907, beating the 
nth Hussars in the final on each occasion. 1 well recollect 
the sensation Captain Cawley then made with his dashing 
play at No. i. One of his ponies was an Arab stallion named 
The Turk, and this pony was so handy that he could pull up, 
turn, and jump into lus quickest stride almost as quick as 
thought. On The Turk Mr. Cawley, as he then was, proved 
a source of constant trouble to the opposing back, and his 
dashes down the field when he had slipped tlie field (as he 
often did even in those days of " offside ' ) drew the spectators 
on to their feet breathless in e-xcitement. " Officers wounded " 
have also included a number of polo players, prominent 
among whom is Captain J. G. Porter- the No. j of the crack 
9th Lancers' side. The gallantry of his fellow officer and 
colleague in the regimental polo team, Captain Francis 
Grenfell, was referred to last week. The 9th Lancers have 
lost Major V. Brooke, a four-goal man ; and among the 
wounded officers whose names were recorded in last 
week's lists were such well-known players as Captain George 
Beliville, of the ibth Lancers (the famous No. i ot the (>ld 
Cantabs) ; Major E. A. W. Harman and Major G. H. A. fng, 
of the 2nd Dragoon Guards;^ Captain W. G. F. Kenton, ol 
the 1st Dragoon (iuards ; Lieutenant-Colonel I G. Hogg, 
D.S.O., of the 4th Hussars;, Captain E. G. Christie-Miller 
and Mr. E. D. H. ToUemache, of the Coldstream Guards ; 
and Lord R. E. Innes-Ker, of the Iri'^h Guards, who was also 
reported as missing. 
The National (>ame of India 
TNDIA'S magnificent devotion to the cause of tlie Empire 
-*■ in this war has had due recognition in the columns ol the 
daily Press. In this country, however, people do lu t 
sufficiently realise the great part which polo has played in 
training the cavalry officers in the Indian Army and the 
military forces of the states. Take those chiefs who 
were selected to accompany the Expeditionary Force to 
F'rance for example — they are all polo plaj'ers and promoters 
of the game. I'he Maharaja Sir Pertab Singh has played on 
several occasions at the London grounds ; the present 
Maharaja of Patiala, like his predectssor, is an enthusiastic 
sportsman and lover of polo and pigsticking. For many 
years the Patiala team proved invincible against the best 
linglish regimental teams. Tlien the Maharaja of Bikanir 
keeps the game going in his state, and the Maharaja ol 
Jodhpur is a famous enthusiast and exponent, as are two 
others who are with tlie Expeditionary Force — the Maharajas 
of Kishengarh and Rutlain. Ihe last named is a fine, sale, 
clever back — a nine-goal player — the former a quick and 
resolute No. 2 ; and with Captain F. W. Barrett (England's 
international captain) between at " 3, " and K. Ratan Singh 
at " 1," they won the Calcutta Coronation Cup Tournanieiit 
in great style a season or two ago. And so the list of famous 
Indian players who have gone gladly and gallantly to the 
front with their splendidly-trained troops on behalf of the 
Empire might be greatly extended. Suffice it to say that 
finer and fitter horsemen and soldiers more dashing and daring 
are not to be found in the world. To a larger extent than 
many of the uninitiated here can realise they owe their 
brilliance and fitness to their true soldier's game of polo ; 
and no matter to what task these Indian duels and their 
soldiers may be put in the war we may rest fully assured that 
they will do honour to themselves and their Empire. 
Should Kacing Continue r 
'T'HE question as to whether it is the public wish that 
-■■ racing should continue was answered in no uncertain 
fashion at the Doncaster meeting last week. The Corporation 
had prepared itself to encounter an appreciable loss as the 
result ol their policy of holding the meeting in the face of 
the war difiiculties, but the attendances were so good tlu.t 
by the end of the third day there was actually the prospect 
ol a small ! ilance on the right side. Apart from this, there 
is no doubt but that the townspeople of Doncaster would 
have suffered heavily if the meeting had been abandoned. 
They look to the race-week as an important source of revenue 
and, trade being already bad in consequence of the war, it 
would have been a double hardship upon them to have a 
blank St. Leger week. The fact that the King allowed his 
colours to be carried in the St. Leger was a sign that His 
Majesty does not view with any disfavour the continuance 
of racing. This branch of sport has grown into a real industry, 
and the question is whetlier more mischief would not be 
caused by its total suspension than by the present policy of 
bringing off fixtures wherever practicable. 
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