Henry Francis Donhoff Jelf (27 August 1877 – 18 April 1944) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer and a

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 who played for

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 ...

in 1910 and 1911. Jelf was born in

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

, Hampshire, the son of Richard Henry Jelf, an army officer, and his wife Mary. He joined the Royal Navy and became a Sub Lieutenant on 15 June 1897. He was made lieutenant on 31 December 1899. Serving on from 1908 to 1910, he was awarded a medal for action in

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

. Jelf retired from naval service on 27 May 1910 and two weeks later, debuted for Derbyshire against

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

on 9 June. He finished with just one run from his first two innings, though his batting form improved over the next few matches. He played in 4 further matches in 1910, making good scores in the first innings of matches on various occasions. He played five matches in 1911 scoring fewer runs than in his debut season. Jelf batted in 20 innings in 10 first-class matches with a top score of 37 and an average of 11.Henry Jelf at Cricket Archive
/ref> Jelf returned to active service in World War I and retired again with the rank of Commander on 27 August 1917. Jelf died in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. His brother,

Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and ...

, three years Henry's junior, was born in Canada and appeared for

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

during the 1911 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jelf, Henry 1877 births 1944 deaths Royal Navy officers Derbyshire cricketers English cricketers Cricketers from Aldershot Royal Navy officers of World War I