Christopher Heseltine (26 November 1869 – 13 June 1944) was an English Test

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er, cricket administrator, and

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer. Heseltine made his debut in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) in 1892, a club he would go on to have a long association with in both a playing and administrative capacity. He played his

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches are known to have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Since the late 19th century, there have been two county championship ...

for

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Hampshire. Hampshire teams formed by earlier organisations, principal ...

between 1895 and 1914, developing late as a successful

fast bowler Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

in first-class cricket. A close acquaintance of

Lord Hawke Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke (16 August 1860 – 10 October 1938), generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer active from 1881 to 1911 who played for Yorkshire and England. He was born in Willingham by Stow, near Ga ...

, he accompanied him on three tours abroad, including to South Africa in 1895–96, making two

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

appearances for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, in which he took a

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Taking ...

on debut. During his first-class career he played in 79 matches and took 170 wickets. He was later a member of the MCC committee and had two spells as president of Hampshire. Heseltine was an officer in the British Army, initially serving as a volunteer in the 5th (City of London) Battalion. With the beginning of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

in 1899, Heseltine was commissioned into the regular army and went to South Africa with the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

; this essentially ended his first-class cricket career, with the exception of a few matches following the conflict. After serving as an extra aide de camp to the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

, Heseltine later served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, during the course of which he was awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

and made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. Following his military career, Heseltine served as both a deputy lieutenant and

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Hampshire.

Early life

The son of the painter and art collector

John Postle Heseltine John Postle Heseltine (6 January 1843 – 2 March 1929) was a painter and art collector who became a trustee of the National Gallery, London. Early life Heseltine was born on 6 January 1843 in Dilham, Norfolk. He was a son of Mary and Edwar ...

, he was born at

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

in November 1869. Heseltine was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, before matriculating to

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

. While studying at Cambridge, he played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

against

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1891, gaining a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

. At both Eton and Cambridge, he did not feature in the cricket elevens. In his final year at Cambridge in 1892, Heseltine made his debut in

for the

(MCC) ''against''

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchar ...

Cricket

From November 1892 to February 1893, Heseltine toured Ceylon and India with Lord Hawke's XI, making four first-class appearances during the tour. These saw him play twice against the

Parsees Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim co ...

and once each against

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and All-India. He had success on the tour, taking 13 wickets on one occasion in a minor match against the Madras Natives. Following the end of the tour, Heseltine and

explored Nepal and intended to partake in some shooting. It would not be until May 1894 that his next appearances in first-class cricket came, with Heseltine making two appearances for the MCC against

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, following that up a year later by making five appearances for the MCC, in addition to making his debut for Hampshire in the

1895 County Championship The 1895 County Championship was the sixth officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 6 May to 2 September 1895. Surrey claimed their fifth title, which was decided by the percentage of completed matches by each side. T ...

against Somerset at Taunton, having played for the county since 1891, when they held second-class status. Heseltine was once again selected to tour with Lord Hawke's XI on their tour of South Africa in 1895–96. For matches against

, the team was designated as

. Heseltine played in two of the three matches against South Africa, which were later retrospectively granted

Test status Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

. In the Second Test at Cape Town, which was his Test debut, Heseltine took a

in the South Africa second innings with figures of 5 for 38, having gone wicketless in their first innings. In doing so, he became the eighth bowler to take a five wicket haul on Test debut. He also made a first-class appearance on the tour against Western Province. A hiatus of nearly a year followed before his next appearances in first-class cricket, which came when he toured the West Indies from February to April 1897 with Lord Hawke's XI and made six first-class appearances. Heseltine was successful with the ball during the tour, taking 32 wickets at an average of 15.53. Prior to the West Indies tour, he had seldom bowled in first-class cricket and had been considered up to that point to "not quite good enough for

". Returning to England from the tour, Heseltine became a regular member of the Hampshire team. He featured for them fifteen times in 1897, in which he took 41 wickets at an average of 17.29, which included two five wicket hauls. He followed this up with thirteen appearances in 1898 and 25 wickets. However, his best season in terms of number of wickets taken was to be the last in which he regularly featured for Hampshire, with his fourteen appearances in 1899 bringing him 45 wickets, which included his career best figures of 7 for 106 against Derbyshire. He next played for Hampshire in the

1901 County Championship The 1901 County Championship was the 12th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 6 May to 4 September 1901. Yorkshire County Cricket Club won their fifth championship title, their second title in successive season ...

, taking his seventh and final five wicket haul during that season. Heseltine's appearances for Hampshire became less frequent thereafter, with three appearances in 1902 and one apiece in 1903 and 1904. After the turn of the century he appeared in three further first-class matches for the MCC, playing twice in 1902 and once in 1914 ''against'' Hampshire at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

, which came ten years after his last first-class match. Heseltine also made one appearance for I Zingari in first-class cricket, against the Gentlemen of England in 1904. Playing primarily as a bowler, he made 79 appearances in first-class cricket, taking 170 wickets at an average of 24.50. '' Wisden'' noted how by "fully utilising his height, he brought the ball over at the extreme extent of his arm with deadly effect at times", whilst commenting that at occasion "he was inconsistent and required careful nursing because apt to tire". Lord Hawke was of the opinion that he was considered a bowler who sacrificed length for pace. As a right-handed batsman, he scored 1,390 runs at an average of 12.30; he scored three half centuries, with a highest score of 77. Amongst his most notable feats in first-class cricket was to dismiss Bobby Abel for three successive

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

. In addition to playing, Heseltine was also a prominent administrator. He had two spells as president of Hampshire County Cricket Club; he was first elected in 1925 and again in 1936, with his second spell lasting until his death in 1944. As Hampshire president during his second spell, it was Heseltine who recommended John Manners to Hampshire having watched him play at Lord's in a Royal Navy versus Army match, where he had been impressed by his batting. He was also associated with the MCC in an administrative capacity, serving for many years on the MCC committee. He sat on the MCC committee during the controversial bodyline tour of Australia during the 1932–33 Ashes, debating a response with other committee members to the escalating controversy unfolding in Australia.

Military career and later life

Lord Dudley, Grand Master of the Order of St

Heseltine's career military career began as a volunteer when he was still at Eton, with his appointment into the 5th (City of London) Battalion as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in February 1888. Promotion to lieutenant followed in December 1890, during his first year at Cambridge University. Following his graduation from Cambridge, he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in December 1892, with promotion to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

following in September 1898. With the start of the

in 1899, he joined the

and gained a commission into the regular army as a lieutenant in February 1900, leaving that same month for service in South Africa. His participation in the war was noted as a reason for the weak Hampshire side of 1900, with several of their players serving in South Africa. After completing his service with the yeomanry, he returned to the City of London Regiment as a volunteer and resumed his rank of major. Shortly thereafter, Heseltine served as an extra aide-de-camp to the Earl of Dudley, the

between 1902 and 1906. He was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in July 1903, before resigning his commission in August 1906. In 1911, whilst on the army

Reserve of Officers The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the T ...

list, he was promoted to captain. Heseltine was recalled during the

by the

, where he served as a messenger to George V, and was appointed in 1916 to the staff of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. He was twice

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

during the war. For his service in the war, he was decorated by France with the

in November 1920, and was made an Officer of the

. Following the end of the war, he relinquished his appointment to the staff and was granted permission to retain his honorary rank. Following his military service, Heseltine had no paid employment and lived his life in a manner befitting of a gentleman at Walhampton in the New Forest. He was master of the New Forest Hounds, a post he was appointed to in 1899, but his service in the Second Boer War rendered his mastership a short one. Alongside his brother, Godfrey, he bred and raised Basset Hounds, with the brothers founding the Masters of Basset Hounds Association. He was co-opted onto the committee of The Kennel Club in 1903. Heseltine was appointed a deputy lieutenant for Hampshire in January 1925, in addition to serving as a

for the county. During the Second World War, he was a member of the Home Guard.I Help My Pals. '' Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News''. 4 October 1940. p. 3 Heseltine spent his final years living at Walhampton Cottage in the grounds of the former family home, Walhampton Estate. He died there of natural causes in June 1944. His was survived by his wife, Ethel, whom he married in 1923, and their son, also called Christopher, who played minor cricket matches for Hampshire during the Second World War.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heseltine, Christopher 1869 births 1944 deaths People from South Kensington Cricketers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea People educated at Eton College London Regiment officers Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge English men's footballers Cambridge University A.F.C. players English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Lord Hawke's XI cricketers Hampshire cricketers England Test cricketers Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers Imperial Yeomanry officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers I Zingari cricketers British Army personnel of World War I Knights of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of Hampshire English cricket administrators English justices of the peace Men's association football players not categorized by position