Claude Ashton Claude Thesiger Ashton ( 19 February 1901 – 31 October 1942 ) was an English amateur footballer and cricketer . As an amateur , he played football for the Corinthian s in several different positions including goalkeeper and centre forward , although his preferred position was wing - half . He made one appearance for the England national team in 1925 when he was appointed team captain . As a cricketer he played for Cambridge University and Essex . A pre - war officer of the Auxiliary Air Force , he died as a result of a mid - air collision in a training accident in the Second World War . Early life . Ashton was born in Calcutta , India and was the youngest of four sons of Hubert Shorrock Ashton and of Victoria Alexandrina Ashton ( née Inglis ) . Ashton ' s mother , Victoria , was the daughter of Sir John Eardley Wilmot Inglis , who commanded the British forces at the Siege of Lucknow , and Julia Selina Thesiger . His brothers included Hubert , Gilbert and Percy all of whom played first - class cricket . Claude was educated at Winchester College where he was captain of cricket , football , racquets and fives . He then went up to Trinity College , Cambridge and earned his blue at hockey , cricket and football . When Claude Ashton and his two brothers , Hubert and Gilbert , were together in the Cambridge football team of 1920 , the University side earned itself the nickname of " Ashton Villa " . Although he became football captain in his third year at University , he was unable to take part in the 1923 match against Oxford University . Cricket career . Ashton first played for the University Cricket eleven in May 1921 , and in 1921 he made 557 runs for the university at an average of 46 . 41 . His best scores were 101 not out off the Surrey bowlers at the Oval and with 98 against M . C . C . at Lord ' s . In the match against Oxford University in July , he played alongside his brothers Gilbert ( captain ) and Hubert making 48 runs ( with Hubert scoring 118 ) as Cambridge won by an innings and 24 runs . After the varsity match , Claude joined Hubert at Essex with only modest success , scoring 240 at an average of 18 . 46 . With one appearance for the England XI against Australia , his aggregate for the season was 798 at an average of 29 . 55 . In July 1922 , he again joined Hubert ( now captain ) in the varsity match which was won by an innings and 100 runs , after Hubert ( on 90 ) ( with Percy Chapman on 102 ) declared at 403 for four wickets . As a result Claude was unable to bat and only bowled three overs without claiming a wicket . Rain interfered with many matches in 1922 but Claude ’ s aggregate for the University and Essex for the year was 797 runs , average 28 . 46 . His best performance came in early August against Middlesex , when he scored 110 not out in a drawn match . For 1923 , he succeeded his two elder brothers as captain of Cambridge University , but was unable to emulate his brothers in the varsity match . Oxford batted all the first day , and during the night a severe thunderstorm with a deluge of rain completely altered the conditions at Lord ' s , with the result that Cambridge were dismissed twice and beaten on the Tuesday by an innings and 227 runs , the most overwhelming defeat in the whole series of University matches and the three most decisive results to occur consecutively . Claude thus ended his time with the university in rather dismal circumstances . In the 1923 season as a whole , however , he amassed 916 runs at an average of 24 . 75 , and claimed 50 wickets with his medium - pace bowling , together with 21 catches . Over the next few years , his business commitments restricted his cricket and between 1930 and 1933 he played no first class cricket . After a five year absence from first class cricket , he returned for Essex at the end of May 1934 in a match against Kent at Brentwood . In an astonishing match Kent scored 803 for four wickets , with Bill Ashdown scoring 332 , Frank Woolley 172 and Les Ames 202 n . o . ( 185 runs were scored off Ashton ’ s 31 overs ) . In reply , Essex managed 408 in the first innings , with centuries from Dudley Pope and Jack O ’ Connor , while Ashton could only contribute 11 . Following on , Essex were bowled out for 203 , with Ashton making 71 not out . A few days later , he made his highest first class score of 118 against Surrey ( again at Brentwood ) , helping O ' Connor put on 287 for the fifth wicket , a then Essex record , in a total of 570 , which brought victory by an innings and 192 . The stand occupied only two hours twenty minutes , and the fourth hundred of the innings came in 38 minutes . The combined total of runs scored in these two matches was 2362 . In six games for Essex in 1934 , Ashton scored 416 runs and headed the averages with 59 . 42 . His fourth and final century came against Gloucestershire in July 1936 , when he scored 100 in a drawn match , thereby passing a career total of 4500 runs . His first class cricket career spanned 18 years from 1921 to 1938 during which he scored an aggregate of 4723 runs at an average of 24 . 98 , took 139 wickets as a bowler , and held 113 catches . Football career . Corinthians . At Cambridge University , he became football captain in his third year , but unable to take part in the 1923 match against Oxford University . After graduating , he played for Old Wykehamists , and he , Hubert and Gilbert occupied the inside - forward positions for Old Wykehamists in Arthur Dunn Cup ties . Whilst at university , he joined his two brothers at Corinthian , making his first appearance on 18 December 1920 playing at wing - half in a 4 - 2 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion . In the next match , against the Isthmian League , he played at inside left alongside his two brothers . Over the next two seasons he generally played as a forward , before reverting to left - half in 1923 - 24 , occasionally dropping back into defence . On 29 November 1924 he played in goal against Oxford University deputising for Benjamin Howard Baker . For the 1925 - 26 season , he was restored to the forward line with great success . Over the next five seasons , he scored 103 goals from 89 appearances , including five goals against Northern Nomads on 24 December 1927 , United Hospitals on 20 October 1928 and The Army on 19 January 1929 . In 1932 he dropped back into midfield and ended his career with the Corinthians in November 1934 . His final appearance for Corinthian came in an FA Cup first round tie against Watford on 24 November 1934 , which was lost 2 - 0 . In his fifteen seasons with Corinthian , he appeared in all 20 FA Cup ties played by Corinthian , scoring seven goals including a pair against Walsall on 8 January 1927 and a hat - trick in a 5 - 0 victory at Norwich City in the third round on 12 January 1929 . His first goal against Norwich came at thirty minutes when he scored with a drive , following a pass from Kenneth Hegan . He increased the lead two minutes before the break after a cross from Hegan , when he " proceeded to slot the ball gently past the surprised goalkeeper " . His third goal came near the end of the game when he ran through to complete his hat - trick . He also scored Corinthian ' s consolation goal in a 3 – 1 defeat by Newcastle United at Crystal Palace in front of a crowd of 56 , 338 on 29 January 1927 . In his career with Corinthian , he played a total of 208 matches , only exceeded by Tommy Whewell and Benjamin Howard Baker , and scored 145 goals . England . He was selected for the England national team for the match against Northern Ireland at Windsor Park , Belfast on 24 October 1925 , and was appointed captain for his solitary appearance for the full national side , playing at centre - forward . He did not have a particularly memorable game , failing to " give cohesion to his line and his shooting was weak " . He was generally considered to be a good tackler and dribbler , but weak in the air . The game ended in a 0 - 0 draw . He was the last player to captain England in his only international . He also made 12 appearances for the England Amateur XI . Hockey . Whilst at Cambridge , he twice played hockey against Oxford . After retiring from football , he joined the Beckenham hockey club and was given a trial for England . Life outside sport . On graduating from Cambridge University , he qualified as a Chartered Accountant , and later worked in the London Stock Exchange . He was married to Isabel Norman - Butler and had three children . His wife ' s sister was married to George Abell who played cricket for Worcestershire and Oxford University . He was commissioned as an acting pilot officer in No . 909 ( County of Essex ) ( Balloon ) Squadron , Auxiliary Air Force on 5 July 1938 , he was promoted to flying officer later that year . He was called to active service at the outbreak of the Second World War , and was promoted flight lieutenant on 18 September 1939 . On 25 February 1942 he transferred to the General Duties Branch for flight training , reverting to the rank of flying officer . He was posted to No . 256 Squadron RAF and was killed on 31 October 1942 , when the plane he was piloting on a training mission collided with another in mid - air near Caernarfon , North Wales . The pilot of the other plane was Squadron Leader Roger Winlaw , a fellow Old Wykehamist who had played 52 games for Cambridge and Surrey . He is buried in the " Ingatestone and Fryerning Cemetery " in Essex .