Garnet Edwin Driver (26 May 1883 – 7 September 1916) was a South African first-class cricketer, solicitor, and South African Army officer.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Garnet Edwin Driver | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 May 1883 Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 7 September 1916(1916-09-07) (aged 33) Kisaki, German East Africa | ||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
| 1903/04 | Griqualand West | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Source: CricInfo, 31 March 2021 | |||||||||||||||
The son of Edwin James Driver, he was born at Pietermaritzburg in May 1883. He was educated at both Hilton College and Maritzburg College.[1] After completing his education, he became a solicitor and a conveyancer. Driver was an all-round sportsman, playing rugby union for Wasps and club cricket for Standard Cricket Club.[1] He played a single first-class cricket match for Griqualand West against Western Province at Kimberley in 1903 in the Currie Cup.[2] He performed well in the match, being dismissed for scores of 37 and 62 by Charles Bain and Bonnor Middleton respectively,[3] but did not feature again in first-class cricket.
Driver served in the First World War with the South African Army, being commissioned into the 8th South African Horse in November 1914.[1] He was later promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant in May 1916, with seniority antedated to November 1914.[4] On 22 May 1916, he embarked for German East Africa. He was seriously wounded in action and captured during the Battle of Kisaki on 7 September 1916, dying from his wounds on the same day. He was posthumously mentioned in dispatches for 'meritorious service in the field in East Africa'.[5] He was buried at the Morogoro Cemetery. Driver was survived by his wife Ruby Adelaide Driver, with whom he had a daughter.[1]