PEACOCK, IRENE (nee Irene Evelyn Bowder)
India/South Africa
Born 27 July 1892 in Ferozepore, India
Died 13 June 1978
Married Gerald Eustace Peacock, 14 November 1917
[Active 1915-1932]
French singles finalist in 1927; winning the doubles with Bobbie Heine.
Born in India, where she learned her tennis and wed, Mrs Peacock came to South Africa via England in the early 1920s. Her Indian pedigree was impressive, having won the Indian Championships every year from 1915 to 1920. 1921 was her first experience in major European events. The the World Hard Court Championships Suzanne Lenglen easily beat her 6-1 6-0. Irene and partner Geraldine Beamish got to the finals in doubles at Wimbledon, predictably losing 6-1 6-2 to the invincible pairing of Suzanne Lenglen and Elizabeth Ryan. In singles she reached the semis, barely losing to Ryan 8-6 6-4.
She repeated this good form the next year by pushing Suzanne Lenglen in the 1922 Wimbledon semifinal. Though losing 6-4 6-1, it showed that Mrs Peacock was easily in the world's top ten. Mrs G. Peacock, as she was often called at the time, had won the pre-Wimbledon won the Middlesex Championships, beating Elizabeth Ryan and Kitty McKane in the process.
Her absence the next few years from Wimbledon (she would not enter again until 1927) is explained by her emigration to South Africa in the second half of 1922.
Settling in the Transvaal, Irene captured the Southern Transvaal titles in 1922 and 1924. More importantly, she won the South African Championships from 1924 to 1926-including a 'triple' (singles, doubles, and mixed) in 1925.
Irene led the 3 woman South African team in 1927 that journeyed to Europe to complete. The book on South African tennis describes her as a mentor to Bobbie Heine. They were certainly successful as a pair, winning the French Open and reaching the final at Wimbledon.
She was an immense help in furthering the tennis of the gifted South African girl [Bobbie Heine]--From Tennis, The South African Story, page 81
The 1927 French was her best slam performance in singles. Seeded #4 she won tight three sets matches over Cilly Aussem (6-4 in the third) and Eileen Bennett (9-7 in the third), both after dropping the first set. In the final Kea Bouman won 6-2 6-4. She remained the only South African female to reach a slam final in singles until Sandra Reynolds in the late 1950s.
A few weeks later at Wimbledon she was seeded #8, as good a measure as any of how high her status was. In the quarterfinals she lost to #1 seed Helen Wills 6-3 6-1.
After 1927 she disappears from view, making one last return to Wimbledon in 1932 at the age of almost 40.
In the 1920s it took weeks by boat to reach Europe from India or South Africa. With so much of her prime tennis years spent in far flung areas marginal to big time tennis one can only speculate on how much of her potential was fulfilled. After all she only entered Wimbledon on four occasions (1921-1922, 1927, and 1932); the last when past her prime.
Photos suggest she was taller than average, and slim with long arms. She remained active, not giving up gold until the age of 81.
Her husband was a British Medical Army Officer stationed in Peshawar as of 1919. Her journeys were more likely than not due to his postings and subsequent career. He was still an officer (Lieutenant-Colonel) as late as 1931.
World Top Ten Rankings (from p 918 of Bud Collins,
Total Tennis, published 2003)
1921: #7 (India)
1922: #6 (India)
June 1921 in Paris for the World Hard Court Championships
Sources:
Russell, Eldridge (ed).
Tennis: The South African Story. 1977. pages 17, 30, 81.
Churchman Lawn Tennis Cigarette Card (1928)
Indian Army List January 1919 - Volume 3, page 1800.
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33728/page/4072/data.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Bowder_Peacock
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Peacock
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Bowder
Archive - Draws Archive : Irene Peacock - 2015 Wimbledon Championships Website - Official Site by IBM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Z_CFJkpcg [A series of photos]
[Thanks to Rollo for this information]