# Charles Anguish

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**Charles Anguish** (13 February 1769 – 25 May 1797) was an English soldier and [cricketer](/source/Cricket) in the late 18th century.[1] He was a member of the [White Conduit Club](/source/White_Conduit_Club) and an early member of the [Marylebone Cricket Club](/source/Marylebone_Cricket_Club) (MCC).[1] He made his important debut during the [1789 season](/source/1789_English_cricket_season), playing for MCC, and is known to have played in 32 important matches from then until 1795, most frequently appearing for MCC, as well as a number of other matches for the club.[1]

Anguish was born at [Bloomsbury](/source/Bloomsbury) in [Middlesex](/source/Middlesex) in 1767, as a member of the Anguish family which owned land across [East Anglia](/source/East_Anglia). He was the son of Thomas Anguish, who served as the Accountant-General in the [Court of Chancery](/source/Court_of_Chancery), and was educated at [Eton College](/source/Eton_College) and later played for Old Etonians. He was nominated for a place at [King's College, Cambridge](/source/King's_College,_Cambridge) in 1786 but did not attend the university, instead serving in the [British Army](/source/British_Army).[2]

In 1797 Anguish went to South Africa as part of the first British party to control the [Cape of Good Hope](/source/Cape_of_Good_Hope) in 1797 with [George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney](/source/George_Macartney,_1st_Earl_Macartney), the newly appointed Governor of the [recently conquered Cape](/source/Invasion_of_the_Cape_Colony). Anguish arrived at [Table Bay](/source/Table_Bay) on 4 May and was appointed as Comptroller of Customs.[3] He is sometimes held to be the first person to have played in what is now [South Africa](/source/South_Africa), although there is no evidence that he ever did so.[1][4]

Less than a month after arriving at the Cape, Anguish died on 25 May, committing suicide after having been unwell and taking medication.[1][3][5] His obituary in *[The Gentleman's Magazine](/source/The_Gentleman's_Magazine)* described him as "a young man of abilities and of a good temper, but with so odd a cast of manners that he was perpetually on the brink of a quarrel, even with those who knew his intentions were quite harmless, and could make every allowance for his peculiarities".[6] [Lady Anne Barnard](/source/Lady_Anne_Barnard), who knew Anguish at the Cape, wrote that he was a "good-humoured, easy-tempered young man" and that "I thought him rather a happy man"; in her view "mental malady had been produced by bodily malady only".[5] He was buried at the Cape close to the Review Ground at the [Castle of Good Hope](/source/Castle_of_Good_Hope).[5]

## Notes

1. The Cape of Good Hope was controlled by the [Dutch East India Company](/source/Dutch_East_India_Company) from 1652 as the [Dutch Cape Colony](/source/Dutch_Cape_Colony). During the [French Revolutionary Wars](/source/French_Revolutionary_Wars) it was invaded by the British in 1795 who controlled it until 1803 when it was ceded to the [Batavian Republic](/source/Batavian_Republic) before being invaded again by the British in 1806, after which the British controlled [Cape Colony](/source/Cape_Colony) was established.

## References

1. Pradip Dhole (23 August 2017). ["Charles Anguish and birth of cricket in South Africa"](https://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/charles-anguish-and-birth-of-cricket-in-south-africa-635741). *cricketcountry.com*. Retrieved 16 April 2022.

1. *Notes and Queries*, third series, vol. I, January–June 1862, p. 474. ([Available online](https://books.google.com/books?id=cp23iHdvyFcC&dq=%22charles+anguish%22+cape+of+good+hope&pg=RA1-PA474) at [Google Books](/source/Google_Books). Retrieved 17 April 2022.)

1. Murray, Bruce & Vahed, Goolam (2009). [*Empire & cricket: The South African Experience 1884–1914*](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270051330). University of South Africa. p. 4.

1. Jonty Winch (2013) *Sir William Milton: a leading figure in Public School Games, Colonial Politics and Imperial Expansion, 1877–1914*, p. 7. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 17 April 2022.

1. Wilkins WH ed (1901) *South Africa a century ago; letters written from the Cape of Good Hope (1791–1801) by Lady Anne Barnard, 1750–1825*. London: Smith, Elder & Co. ([Available online](https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/barnard/letters/letters.html) at the [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania) library. Retrieved 17 April 2022.)

1. [Deaths](https://books.google.com/books?id=eMZKAQAAMAAJ), *[The Gentleman's Magazine](/source/The_Gentleman's_Magazine)* 1797, part 2, p. 389. Retrieved via [Google Books](/source/Google_Books), 17 April 2022.

## Bibliography

- Haygarth, Arthur (1996 [1862]). *Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826)*. Kennington: [Frederick Lillywhite](/source/Frederick_Lillywhite). ISBN 978-19-00592-23-9.

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