Education
Born in Prestwich, Lancashire, Bardsley was educated at Shrewsbury School and Merton College, Oxford.
Born in Prestwich, Lancashire, Bardsley was educated at Shrewsbury School and Merton College, Oxford.
He played a total of 31 first-class matches for Oxford University, Lancashire County Cricket Club and Free Foresters between 1910 and 1922. He was awarded a Blue for cricket and played in the University Match against Cambridge in three seasons between 1911 and 1913. Bardsley went on to be Private Secretary to the Governor-General of Sudan from 1924 to 1925 and then Governor of the Blue Nile Province from 1928 to 1932.