Former Hampshire batsman  Lt Cdr  (RN) John Manners has been awarded a major honour by Norway for his role as part of the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

     Manners, who became the oldest living first-class cricketer last year and is now 105 years old, was honoured for his role in the liberation of Norway in a special presentation made by the Norwegian military last week after serving as a Lieutenant Commander during the conflict. A skilled batsman and competent seam bowler, Manners is the only man alive to have played first-class cricket before the war.

     The right-hander was an amateur after following a family tradition of education at Dartmouth and a career in the Royal Navy, but joined the Hampshire side in August 1936, approaching his 22^nd birthday.

     He remained in the Royal Navy after the war ended and played regularly for their side and the Combined Services, including in May 1947, a two-day match at Portsmouth alongside his brother, against a Hampshire side, much changed from that of 11 years previously.

     In November 2019 John Manners (aged 105) was thanked by the government of Norway on behalf of the people of Norway, for his actions during World War Two, which helped eventually to free Norway, from the grasp of Nazi Germany, with his actions at sea in the British Royal Navy.

     Lt Cdr John Manners, the Captain of HMS ESKIMO in the Mediterranean and of HMS VICEROY when she liberated Trondheim, Norway, in May 1945. HMS ESKIMO was a sister ship to HMS Ashanti. She had a bit of a lively record, early in the war she lost her bow in the Norwegian campaign but made it home to be repaired. Then in 1944 one dark and moonless night while in action off the French coast she ran into HMS Javelin and lost a big part of it again!

     You can see him receiving his award and being interviewed by ITV for their national news on 22 November 2019.

     And flick through a PDF of the album of photographs taken at Trondheim, Norway: