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{{short description|English cricketer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = Philip Weaver
| image =
| country = England
| full_name = Philip Humphrey Peter Weaver
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1912|3|12|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Kalimpong]], [[Bengal Presidency]],<br>[[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1991|6|28|1912|3|12|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Poole]], [[Dorset]], England
| heightft =
| heightinch =
| batting = Right-handed
| bowling = Right-arm [[Seam bowling|medium]]
| family =
| club1 = [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]]
| year1 = 1938
| columns = 1
| column1 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
| matches1 = 2
| runs1 = 55
| bat avg1 = 18.33
| 100s/50s1 = –/–
| top score1 = 37
| hidedeliveries = true
| catches/stumpings1 = 1/–
| date = 10 January
| year = 2009
| source = http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/22346.html Cricinfo
}}

'''Philip Humphrey Peter Weaver''' (12 March 1912 — 28 June 1991) was an English first-class [[cricket]]er and [[British Army]] officer, who served with the [[Special Air Service]] during the second half of the [[Second World War]].

==Early life and sporting career==
The son of the [[British Indian Army]] officer Humphrey Weaver, he was born in [[British India]] at [[Kalimpong]] in March 1912.<ref name="SAS">{{cite web|url=https://www.staybehinds.com/philip-humphrey-peter-weaver|title=Philip Humphrey Peter Weaver|website=www.staybehinds.com|accessdate=23 April 2023}}</ref> He was educated in England at [[King's School, Bruton]]; his [[dyslexia]] prevented him from attending one of the more fashionable schools of the time. He played cricket with success for the school, making nearly 2,500 runs during his time there. In 1930, his aggregate for the school was 975 runs at an [[batting average (cricket)|average]] of 75.53; however, despite his success, he was not invited to partake in the School's Week at [[Lord's]].<ref name="OBIT">{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/228716.html|title=Wisden - Obituaries in 1991|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|accessdate=23 April 2023}}</ref> After completing his education, he worked for a paper mill in [[Bristol]].<ref name="SAS"/> In 1933, Weaver joined the [[Royal Tank Regiment|Tank Corps]], having been promised a place at [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst|Sandhurst]] after a year's service, however this never materialised as it transpired he was a month too old to be eligible, so he bought himself out of his military service in 1934.<ref name="BOOK">{{cite book|title=SAS Operation Bulbasket: Behind the Lines in Occupied France 1944|first=Paul|last=McCue|author-link=Paul McCue|year=1990|publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]]|location=Barnsley|page=58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=noSjAwAAQBAJ|isbn=9781473817951|language=en}}</ref> After this, he moved to [[Bournemouth]], where he owned a tobacco and sweet shop, before moving into the dry cleaning and [[slot machine|fruit machine]] businesses.<ref name="SAS"/>

Weaver played [[field hockey]] and captained [[England men's national field hockey team|England]] in 1937.<ref name="BOOK"/> He played [[first-class cricket]] the following year for [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]], making one appearance in the [[1938 County Championship|County Championship]] against [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club|Glamorgan]] at [[Cardiff Arms Park#Cricket|Cardiff]], and another against [[Cambridge University Cricket Club|Cambridge University]] at [[County Ground, Southampton|Southampton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/6/6916/First-Class_Matches.html|title=First-Class Matches played by Philip Weaver|publisher=CricketArchive|accessdate=23 April 2023|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He scored 55 runs in his two matches, with a highest score of 37.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/6/6916/f_Batting_by_Team.html|title=First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Philip Weaver|publisher=CricketArchive|accessdate=23 April 2023|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Second World War service and later life==
In 1937, he enlisted in the [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Territorial Royal Engineers]], before receiving a call-up to the [[Dorset Regiment]].<ref name="BOOK"/> During the [[Second World War]], he received a commission in the Dorset Regiment as a [[Second lieutenant#United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries|second lieutenant]] in April 1941.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35153|date=2 May 1941|page=2590|supp=y}}</ref> He was subsequently posted to the West Dorset Scout Section of Auxiliary Units, where he trained members of the [[Home Guard (United Kingdom)|Home Guard]]. In August 1943, he took over as Intelligence Officer in charge of all Auxiliary Units in Dorset, succeeding Major [[Randle Darwall-Smith]].<ref name="SAS"/> With the Scout Sections being disestablished in late 1943, Weaver and many of his compatriots volunteered for the expanding [[Special Air Service]] (SAS), joining its 'B' Squadron. He had a narrow escape during his parachute training for the SAS, when the plane he was aboard collided with another during take-off, but managed to successfully land.<ref name="BOOK"/>

Weaver took part in [[Operation Bulbasket]] in [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|German-occupied France]] in June–July 1944, landing near to [[Parthenay]] on the morning of 11 June, which was nearly {{convert|90|km|miles}} away from the main SAS party led by Captain John Tomkin. They were tasked with destroying a nearby railway, an objective which they achieved at 10am the following day. Weaver and his party then withdrew, marching for ten nights on decreasing rations. Eventually they sought food from local farmers and came across an American unit that had been sent to supply the [[French Resistance]]. They continued on to rendezvous with Tomkin and his men near [[Montmorillon]] on 24 June. However, upon arrival, there was no sign of Tomkin. A local farmer provided assistance to Weaver and his men, alerting the local [[Maquis (World War II)|maquis]] of their presence, who swiftly arrived and took them to a nearby village, which was devoid of any German presence. For three days they trained the maquis, before being driven to meet Tomkin at [[Verrières, Vienne|Verrières]], where he had been directing sabotage efforts against German forces in the nearby town of [[Poitiers]].<ref name="BOOK"/> After initial successes during the operation, the location of the SAS base was betrayed, with it coming under attack, resulting in the capture of 33 SAS soldiers; they were later executed by a German firing squad.<ref>{{cite book|title=Fire from the Forest|last1=Ford|first1=Roger|date=2003|page=71|publisher=Cassell Military Paperbacks|location=London|isbn=0304363367}}</ref> Weaver survived the attack and regrouped with the remainder of 'B' Squadron, which identified the German barracks at [[Bonneuil-Matours]] and successfully attacked it with [[napalm]]. They were subsequently evacuated by the [[Royal Air Force]] aboard two [[Lockheed Hudson|Hudson's]] and by the [[United States Army Air Forces]] aboard a [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|Dakota]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.staybehinds.com/sas-operation-bulbasket|title=Operation Bulbasket|website=www.staybehinds.com|accessdate=23 April 2023}}</ref> Throughout the operation, Weaver was distinguishable from his comrades by his wearing of the [[Tan beret#British Army|beige beret]], instead of the airborne [[maroon beret]].<ref name="BOOK"/>

In March 1945, Weaver was made a [[Military rank#Types of rank|war-substantive]] [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36973|date=6 March 1945|page=1313|supp=y}}</ref> He was part of the SAS unit which helped to liberate [[Bergen-Belsen concentration camp]] in April 1945,<ref name="SAS"/> with the SAS having come across the camp by chance. Following the war, he gained the full rank of lieutenant in November 1946.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37944|date=29 April 1947|page=1946|supp=y}}</ref> He had returned to the Dorset Regiment by 1947, when he was promoted to [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] under a short service commission.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38475|date=7 December 1948|page=6420|supp=y}}</ref> In May 1952, he undertook a short service commission with the [[Royal Berkshire Regiment]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39550|date=23 May 1952|page=2872|supp=y}}</ref> before being promoted to [[Major (United Kingdom)|major]] in April 1954.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40150|date=16 April 1954|page=2358|supp=y}}</ref> He relinquished his commission in March 1957.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=41129|date=19 July 1957|page=4295|supp=y}}</ref> After retiring from military service, Weaver ran a chicken farm in [[Essex]] and played [[club cricket]] into his fifties.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N2mICwAAQBAJ|title=The SAS in World War II|first=Gavin|last=Mortimer|author-link=Gavin Mortimer|date=2015|page=186|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|location=London|isbn= 9781472808776}}</ref> He died at [[Poole]] in June 1991.<ref name="OBIT"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cricinfo|id=22346}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Philip}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1991 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kalimpong district]]
[[Category:People educated at King's School, Bruton]]
[[Category:Royal Tank Regiment soldiers]]
[[Category:English men's field hockey players]]
[[Category:English cricketers]]
[[Category:Hampshire cricketers]]
[[Category:Dorset Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Special Air Service officers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Royal Berkshire Regiment officers]]
[[Category:20th-century English farmers]]
[[Category:Cricketers from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Military personnel of British India]]

Philip Weaver - Revision history

Advsalahuddinahmed: created entry