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Bomber Wells

cricketer (1930-2008)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ4940630 ↗
Source-derived summary

Bryan Douglas "Bomber" Wells (27 July 1930 – 19 June 2008) was an English cricketer.

Wells was born and raised in Gloucester, and educated at local school Linden Road Secondary. He was a right-handed tail-end batsman and off-break bowler who played in 302 first-class matches between 1951 and 1965, for Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire. Wells took 998 wickets in first-class matches at an average of 24.26.

Playing career

Wells was known as "Bomber" after the former British heavyweight boxer "Bombardier" Billy Wells who struck the gong at the start of films made by the Rank studios.

Wells was unable to retain a place in his native County side through the emergence of David Allen who was a far superior batsman. Wells had taken 122 and 123 wickets in 1955 and 1956 respectively but had a moderate season in 1957 and was not able to displace Allen or John Mortimore thereafter. Joining Nottinghamshire, the weakest county team at that time, Wells claimed 120 wickets in his first season, bowling over 1200 overs. He retired after the 1965 season. A poor bat, Wells scored 25% of his runs in sixes.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Bomber Wells” as cricketer (1930-2008). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1930, 2008, 1951, 1965—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1930-07-27. The account is most persuasive where Bomber, Wells and cricketer can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as cricketer (1930-2008). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4940630. VIAF identifies the subject as 73356037. The Library of Congress control number is nb2001005450. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1930, 2008, 1951 and 1965.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Bomber Wells”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Bomber Wells primary sources, Bomber Wells archive and Bomber research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bomber Wells”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Bomber Wells” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.