Edward Obert Hindley Wilkinson (16 October 1853 – 8 February 1881) was an English soldier and a

cricketer 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 ...

who played in five

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 ...

matches 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 ...

and the Gentlemen of the Marylebone Cricket Club between 1873 and 1875. He was born at

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, and died by drowning in the Ingogo river in the retreat from the

Battle of Schuinshoogte Battle of Schuinshoogte, also known as Battle of Ingogo, was fought north of Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, on 8 February 1881 during the First Boer War. General Sir George Pomeroy Colley's communications with Newcastle were under constant harassment ...

in the

First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...

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 ...

. Wilkinson 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 ...

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, though he appears to have left

without taking a degree. As a right-handed lower-order batsman and wicketkeeper, he played in the

Eton v Harrow The Eton v Harrow cricket match is an annual match between public school rivals Eton College and Harrow School. It is one of the longest-running annual sporting fixtures in the world and is the last annual school cricket match still to be pla ...

match in both 1871 and 1872, captaining the side in the second year. At Cambridge, he was given three matches for the University side, and was wicketkeeper in at least one of them, perhaps all three, but made little impression as a batsman. His only innings of any length was an unbeaten 22 for the Gentlemen of the MCC against Kent in 1873: he also played in the same 12-a-side fixture in 1875. Wilkinson left Cambridge University in the summer of 1873 after only a year and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 60th

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

, being promoted to lieutenant two years later. He was adjutant of the 3rd battalion from 1875 and fought at the

Battle of Gingindlovu The Battle of Gingindlovu (uMgungundlovu) was fought on 2 April 1879 between a British relief column sent to break the Siege of Eshowe and a Zulu impi of King Cetshwayo. Prelude Charles Pearson had led the No. 1 Column of the British invasi ...

in the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...

in South Africa in 1879. Less than two years later, he was back fighting in South Africa and died in the aftermath of the Battle of Schuinshoogte; the newspaper report of the battle indicated that he was attempting to cross the flooded river to bring aid to wounded men from his battalion when he drowned. Wilkinson's uncle,

Charles Wilkinson Charles Wilkinson may refer to: * Charles Wilkinson (MP) (1725–1782), English Member of Parliament *Charles Edmund Wilkinson (1807–1870), acting Governor of British Ceylon * Charles Wilkinson (cricketer) (1813–1889), English cricketer and cle ...

, was also a first-class cricketer for Cambridge University.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Edward 1853 births 1881 deaths English cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Gentlemen of Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Deaths by drowning British Army personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War King's Royal Rifle Corps officers British military personnel killed in the First Boer War Sportspeople from Stevenage Cricketers from Hertfordshire Military personnel from Hertfordshire