John Wemyss "Jake" Seamer (23 June 1913 – 16 April 2006) was an amateur cricketer who played for Oxford University and Somerset either side of the Second World War.

A bespectacled cricketer, Seamer was a right-handed batsman who played with a defensive streak to his game which was rarely seen among amateur batsmen of his time.

On completion of his studies at Oxford, Seamer joined the Sudan Political Service, which limited his first-class cricket appearances to periods of leave.

[1] The son of a vicar, Seamer had two secret career wishes in his youth; he wanted to be either an actor or, failing that, a county cricketer.

[6] Following that match he also appeared for a representative Public Schools side against the Army at Lord's, but his batting was less successful, failing to reach double figures in either innings.

[8] In both his other matches for the county that season, Seamer batted as part of the top order, and though he reached double figures in each of his innings, he did not achieve another half-century.

He scored three centuries for the university, passing one hundred runs against the Free Foresters, the Minor Counties and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

[13] Seamer found batting more difficult in the County Championship: in thirteen innings for Somerset in 1934, he passed 50 once, against Kent, and averaged 16.81, significantly lower than his total for Oxford.

In his first year at the university, he was a late call-up to the team for the big match when the regular right wing-half, M. Martin Harvey, was ill.[25] For the 1933–34 season, when he was secretary of the hockey club, he moved to right-back and won a second Blue.

[27] The university match in February 1935, in which Seamer again played at right-back, was a goal-less draw in which defences proved too strong for the forwards on either side.

[31] When Mitchell-Innes graduated from Oxford the year after Seamer, he joined his friend in the Sudan, where the pair often organised cricket matches, despite the extreme heat.

Jack Meyer had reluctantly captained the side in 1947, but stepped down at the end of the season: he was having problems with his sight, and required daily painkillers for lumbago.

[38] There was no obvious replacement for Meyer; like many counties Somerset would not consider having a professional captain, and finding an amateur with the time and money to lead the side was proving troublesome.

[35] In his history of Somerset County Cricket Club, Peter Roebuck describes the situation as a "remarkable state of affairs",[35] while David Foot suggests that the true number of captains was closer to seven.

[39] During his time as captain, Seamer carried an old train board saying "To Tonbridge" in his cricket bag, claiming that it brought good luck to the team.

[35] He failed to reach double figures in any of his first seven innings that season, but recorded a half-century against Kent in his final match for Somerset,[42] his first since 1936 in first-class cricket.

[40] During his childhood he would often cycle from his home in Shapwick to Taunton, a distance of over 15 miles, to watch Somerset play cricket.

[40][47] Unlike most amateurs of the time, Seamer prioritised defensive play when batting; he watched the ball and minimised the risks, valuing his own wicket.

[31] This careful style was exemplified by his innings in the university match of 1934, when he helped Oxford salvage a draw by batting for two hours with the tail, during which time he scored 24 runs.

[13] Despite his circumspect batting technique, Seamer enjoyed his cricket, and in a more relaxed setting he once scored a century before lunch: playing in the Sudan, the match started at seven in the morning to avoid the worst of the heat.