Robert Roles

Having been on the Surrey County Cricket groundstaff, Robert Roles made his Devon début in 1897. He was also a member of the Devon and Somerset Wanderers at the time of the 1900 Paris Olympics. He never played, however, in the match against the Union des Sociétés Français de Sports Athletiques. Roles was in the Devon side when they played their first ever game in the Minor Counties Championship against Glamorgan at Swansea in 1901. In total he played ten times in their Minor Counties team. Roles also occasionally umpired and was in the middle for the match between an England XI and the touring Australians at Truro in 1899.

Before embarking on a career as a professional cricketer, Roles was a carpenter and, at the age of 14, enlisted into the Highland Infantry. During his playing days he was also a public house landlord and at one time ran the Jolly Gardener’s Pub at Old Windsor.