Walter Ronald Ford (19 October 1913 – 7 October 1998) CBE was an English first-class cricketer and Royal Air Force officer. Ford served with the Royal Air Force in a career that spanned from 1937–1965, playing first-class cricket for the Combined Services cricket team in the later 1940s.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Walter Ronald Ford | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 October 1913 Teddington, Middlesex, England | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 7 October 1998(1998-10-07) (aged 84) Midhurst, Sussex, England | ||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicket-keeper | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 19 February 2019 | |||||||||||||||
Ford was born at Teddington. He joined the Royal Air Force prior to 1937, initially serving in the Equipment Branch, before being commissioned as a pilot officer in January 1937.[1] His probation ended in January 1938, upon which he was promoted to flying officer.[2] He served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, with promotion to the temporary rank of flight lieutenant coming in September 1940.[3] He became a temporary squadron leader in September 1941,[4] and was mentioned in dispatches in January 1943.[5] He was later made a temporary wing commander, a rank he relinquished in November 1947.[6]
Following the war, Ford played first-class cricket for the Combined Services cricket team, making four appearances as a wicket-keeper between 1946–1949.[7] He scored 69 runs across his four first-class appearances, with a high score of 36 and an average of 9.85.[8] Ford was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1960 New Year Honours.[9] He retired from active service at his own request in October 1965, retaining the rank of group captain.[10] He later worked for the Marylebone Cricket Club as its assistant secretary of administration from 1973–1977.[11] He died at Midhurst in October 1998.[11]