Julien Lezard
Julian Joseph "Lizzie" Lezard (14 February 1902 – 31 August 1958) was a South African tennis player.
| Full name | Julian Joseph Lezard |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} South Africa |
| Born | 14 February 1902 Kimberley, South Africa |
| Died | 31 August 1958 (aged 56) Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire |
| Singles | |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Wimbledon | 1R (1922, 1924) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1925) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 2R (1924, 1925, 1926) |
Lezard, the eldest son of a solicitor, came from Kimberley, South Africa and was educated at Cambridge University.[1]
Active in tennis during the 1920s, Lezard featured in seven editions of the Wimbledon Championships. In 1926 he represented the South Africa Davis Cup team in ties against Portugal and Sweden.[2]
Lezard, married in 1929, was the fourth husband of Hilda Cooper. They divorced in 1945.[3] Her son from a previous marriage was Dan Ranfurly (6th Earl of Ranfurly), who was Governor of the Bahamas in the 1950s.[4]
In World War II, Lezard worked for British Intelligence under the codename Église. He took part in a two-man Special Operations Executive mission (with Xan Fielding) near Seyne, France in 1944. After being parachuted down over the Basses Alpes, he had a bad landing and suffered two fractured vertebrae.[5]
Lezard was the great uncle of journalist Nicholas Lezard.[6]
References
- "South African Here To Visit Son At Cornell". The Ithaca Journal. 28 December 1922.
- "Senhors' Three Sets". Evening Standard. 30 April 1926.
- "Melton Husband's Admission". Leicester Evening Mail. 15 October 1945.
- "Earl of Ranfurly Dead". Gloucester Citizen. 2 October 1933.
- Bourhill, James (19 February 2020). The Killing Fields of Provence. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781526761330.
- Lezard, Nicholas (14 July 2021). "My sporting summer had all too short a lease, which is why I want my heroes to go on and on". New Statesman.