John Lamble AO
The club acknowledges the passing of John Lamble, at the age of 92, on 19 February 2023.
Mr Lamble attended Trinity Grammar School, where he played in the 1947 1st XI alongside another future University cricketer, Don Scott-Orr. He joined SUCC in the 1950-51 season, and played for the club until 1957-58. An energetic medium-pacer, he took 183 wickets at an average of 17.37. Some early promise with the bat failed to reach fruition, and he finished his Grade career with 480 runs at 5.85, with a highest score of 31. He played his entire career in Fourth Grade (where he was captain from 1953-54 to 1957-58), except for his last seven matches, in 1957-58, when he was promoted to captain Third Grade. His best effort with the ball was 7-42 against Waverley in 1954-55, and he also grabbed 6-11 in a memorable outright victory over Glebe in 1956-57. The club consistently struggled in the lower grades during his playing career, and he provided a very welcome degree of leadership, stability and competitiveness to the teams in which he appeared.
Mr Lamble subsequently enjoyed a highly successful business career, especially in the insurance industry. He was the General Manager of NRMA Insurance from 1968 to 1987 and CEO of the NRMA Group from 1987 to 1992. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1993 for service to the insurance industry. In 1996 he became the first chairman of Suncorp Metway, formed through a merger of three organisations to create Australia’s then fifth-largest listed financial services group. He retired from the role in 2003. The Australia and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Mr Lamble in 2017.
He also supported a number of charities, and served as Chairman of the Sydney Eisteddfod. At the time of his death he was the club’s longest-serving Vice-President, having first been appointed in 1957, and he was a Trustee of the SUCC Foundation. Since 1999, the club’s trophy for the season’s most outstanding captain has been known as the “John Lamble Award” in his honour.
The club extends its sympathies to Mr Lamble’s family, especially his partner, Suzanne, his children Mark and Tania, and his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Max Bonnell