British statesman Sir Edward Grey most famous for predicting the disaster that was to be the First World War, had all his brothers die in strange ways. One was killed by a lion, the other by a buffalo and the third one by an injury from playing cricket.

6 comments

1. Got to love historical causes of death.

   Years ago my grandad traced his family tree back to the 1800s.
   Some corkers in there,
   Cause of Death: Surprise

2. Lion hunting in Edwardian Kenya was an insanely dangerous past time. What was considered the ‘sporting’ method was to find a lion and then ride it down on horseback until it turned and charged you, at which point you would gun it down whilst still in the saddle. Many a European pioneer of Kenya met their fate like Charles Grey.

3. What happened to the lion and buffalo?

   Hope they survived.

4. My Mancunian arse read Strangeway’s and was left wondering how a buffalo and a lion made it into prison.

5. My great uncle Pierre (weirdly, a lad from Liverpool) died in quicksand.

6. There’s a film in this. Might have been done before. I’m not exactly sure how a crack detachment of the army could face down the threat of Buffalos, Lions and Cricket, all in the same film but if anyone can make it, Spielberg can.