George Maximilian Bethune (1854 – 1942) was an English cricketer who played for Hampshire during leaves from his occupation of managing

sugar plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

in what was then

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

Cricketing career

In 1886 and 1887 Hampshire played him as a batsman, with very limited success. In 1889 he was first used as a bowler, delivering 11 maidens out of 23 overs in his first match and taking 4 wickets for only 25 runs. Thereafter his place was owed to his highly economical bowling, which resulted over his brief career in 44% of his overs being maidens. His first cousin Henry Beauclerk Bethune also played for Hampshire.

Life

He was the son of the Reverend George Cuddington Bethune (1807-1898), at the time rector of

Worth, Sussex Worth is either a civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, or a distinct but historically related village in Crawley. Civil parish Worth is a civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, a county in southeast England. I ...

, and his wife Julia (1822-1915), daughter of the Reverend George Hole, rector of Chulmleigh and grandson of George Horne, and his wife Jane, daughter of

Robert Hawgood Crew Robert Hawgood Crew (23 August 1762 – 16 September 1839) was an English civil servant who served as Secretary to the Board of Ordnance during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. His department was a major contributor to the na ...

. He made his career in the sugar industry of British Guiana, becoming manager of the major estate of Enmore. In 1890 he married Elizabeth de Burgh (1861-1930), daughter of Michael Rowland O'Maley, manager of the Colonial Bank (since part of

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

) in Georgetown, and his first wife Julia Adriana, daughter of Major Jacob Heitmann Gyllich,

Knight of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...

and grand-daughter of

Frederik Christian von Meley Frederik Christian von Meley (about 1749-1814) was a Danish army officer, administrator, and surveyor who settled on the island of Saint Croix in the Danish West Indies. He is noted for the quality of his maps, which give valuable information on ...

. They had seven children. His third son, Edward Charles O'Maley Bethune (1900-1985), was also a cricketer, playing for Felsted School.1 October 2015
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bethune, George Maximilian 1854 births 1942 deaths English cricketers Hampshire cricketers People from Bersted Cricketers from West Sussex