Sportsman, soldier and businessman; Born April 8, 1921; Died November 7, 2007. HARRY Locke, who has died aged 86, was a man of extremely wide-ranging interests and achievements, although it will be as a very successful amateur cricketer that he will be most widely remembered throughout the west of Scotland and beyond.

He was cricket captain at Hillhead High School in Glasgow before being called up in 1939 to the Army, in which he served in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

At the end of the war he began a long and successful cricketing career with Hillhead High School Former Pupils, for whom he amassed more than 10,000 runs, despite the loss of five of his best years while serving his country.

His skills at the crease and his determination to win will be remembered by colleagues and opponents alike, but his respect for the ethos of the game and his sportsmanship were paramount.

Had he played for a more fashionable club, he would almost certainly have represented Scotland. As it was, Locke captained the West of Scotland District representative side, but he typically stayed loyal to his club side, where he put an enormous amount back into the game, particularly in coaching schoolboys. He was thus directly responsible for creating the base for future generations of cricketers at Hughenden and for providing many of them with a lifetime of treasured memories.

He also served his club administratively, becoming its president and also chairman of its governing body, The Hillhead High School War Memorial Trust.

Locke's military service was equally distinguished. He joined the 16th Royal Signals in 1940 and was ultimately a Desert Rat in Montgomery's victorious 8th Army, enduring the horror of the siege of Tobruk. After spells in Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, he served in Italy with the 5th Army.

Shortly after returning home in 1945 he married Sophie Watson, the girl next door in Mosspark he had loved since he was 15, and with whom he was to share 62 happy years of marriage and family life.

He pursued a training programme which led him into the flooring industry and in due course became a director of Robertson, Locke and Heggie. The business expanded and was sold to Rowan and Boden, of whom he became executive director of flooring and contracts in 1965 until his retiral in 1982. During this time he became chairman of the Scottish Flooring Association and his instinct to volunteer for the benefit of others emerged again when, in 1983, he was appointed a small firms counsellor with the Scottish Development Agency.

Locke was a faithful member of the Kirk and was an elder at Belhaven Westbourne Church and latterly a member of Bearsden Cross Church.

He was a very competitive and sociable member of Glasgow Golf Club - where he achieved a hole-in-one on his 81st birthday - and before that at Hilton Park Golf Club.

He was also an enthusiastic player, administrator and spectator of rugby and served as president of Hillhead High School FP Rugby Club.

At various stages in his full and rewarding life he also found time for athletics, badminton, gardening and, of course, his family, who supported him with devotion, particularly when a blood disorder started to drain his formidable energy levels.

Locke is survived by his wife, Sophie, daughter Elizabeth, sons Grahame and David - both Hillhead cricketers -and four grandchildren.