Hugh Tryon Bartlett DFC (7 October 1914 – 26 June 1988) was 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 as an attacking left-handed batsman for

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

either side of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early years

Bartlett was born in

Balaghat Balaghat is a city and a municipality in Balaghat district, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Balaghat District. Wainganga River flows beside the town. Geography Balaghat is located at . It has an a ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and moved to England at the age of nine. He captained

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

for three seasons. In 1933 – his last season for the school – he hit two double hundreds in successive weeks and set a Dulwich record of 228 against

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18, ...

(the record stood until 2006, when Arthur Mitchell hit 230 not out at a lower age group). He won blues at

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 ...

for three years and in 1936 captained them in the Varsity match. After a few matches with

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. ...

, he settled down as an amateur at Sussex.

1938

Bartlett's finest year was 1938. While travelling by train to Leeds to play

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

in May, his captain Jack Holmes told him : "If you score 50 I will give you your cap ... a 50 against Yorkshire is worth 150 against any other county." Sussex lost their first five wickets for 106 when Bartlett joined Harry Parks. They added 126 in 75 minutes of which Bartlett scored 94. The bowlers were

Bill Bowes William Eric Bowes (25 July 1908 – 4 September 1987) was an English professional cricketer active from 1929 to 1947 who played in 372 first-class matches as a right arm fast bowler and a right-handed tail end batsman. He took 1,639 wickets ...

Hedley Verity Hedley Verity (18 May 1905 – 31 July 1943) was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 ...

, Frank Smailes,

Emmott Robinson Emmott Robinson (16 November 1883 – 17 November 1969) was an English first-class cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1919 to 1931. He was awarded his county cap in 1920. Robinson was a right-handed batsman who b ...

and

Cyril Turner Cyril Turner (11 January 1902 – 19 November 1968) was an English first-class cricketer, who played 200 first-class matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1925 to 1946, and one match for the Minor Counties in 1935. Born in Wombwe ...

. He hit seven sixes (all off Verity) and nine fours. In two overs by Verity, Bartlett scored 062660 and 006606. The last six was his final scoring shot as he tried to hit Smailes over long off and was caught by

Maurice Leyland Maurice Leyland (20 July 1900 – 1 January 1967) was an English international cricketer who played 41 Test matches between 1928 and 1938. In first-class cricket, he represented Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1946, scoring over ...

"with his heels on the boundary and left hand outstretched". Bartlett was duly awarded his county cap. Later 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 ...

, Bartlett made 175 not out in his first appearance for

Gentlemen against the Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...

. One six off Morris Nichols deposited the ball in a grandstand turret. He hit Nichols for five fours in an over, Peter Smith for two fours and two sixes off another. In all, he hit 24 fours and four sixes in 165 minutes. His last 75 runs came in 46 minutes; with last man

Ken Farnes Kenneth Farnes (8 July 1911 – 20 October 1941) was an English cricketer. He played in fifteen Test cricket, Tests from 1934 to 1939. Early life Farnes was born in Leytonstone, Essex, and was educated at the Royal Liberty School in Gidea Pa ...

(10), he added 82 in 45 minutes. "I do not recall", wrote

the Cricketer ''The Cricketer'' is a monthly English cricket magazine providing writing and photography from international, county and club cricket. The magazine was founded in 1921 by Sir Pelham Warner, an ex-England captain turned cricket writer. Warner e ...

correspondent, "even Jessop treating professional bowling quite so roughly as he did in this innings". On 27 August, the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

came to Hove and Bartlett hit 157 in two hours. He scored his 50 in 33 minutes, 100 in 57 minutes and 150 in 110 minutes. A

pull Pull may refer to: Sports *In baseball, a pull hitter is a batter who usually hits the ball to the side of the field from which he bats * Pull shot, a batting stroke in cricket * A phase of a swim stroke * A throw-off in the sport of ultimate ( ...

off Frank Ward early on landed on the pavilion roof. Later he hit two fours and two sixes off successive balls from Ward in an over that went for 22 runs. The century won Bartlett the Lawrence trophy for the fastest hundred of the season and included six sixes and eleven fours. He scored 104 runs before lunch in just over an hour before slowing down. The fourth wicket partnership with James Langridge contributed 195 in 120 minutes – Bartlett 152, Langridge 39. The innings included six sixes and eighteen fours. Once again he fell to an extraordinary catch, this time by

Sid Barnes Sidney George Barnes (5 June 1916 – 16 December 1973) was an Australian cricketer and cricket writer, who played 13 Test cricket, Test matches between 1938 and 1948. Able to Batting order (cricket)#Opening batsmen, open the innings or Ba ...

low down at long on. With 1548 runs at 57.33, Bartlett finished fifth in the averages (behind

Wally Hammond Walter Reginald Hammond (19 June 1903 – 1 July 1965) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed cap ...

Joe Hardstaff, Jr. Joseph Hardstaff Jr (3 July 1911 – 1 January 1990) was an English cricketer, who played in twenty three Test cricket, Test matches for England cricket team, England from 1935 to 1948. Hardstaff's father, Joe Hardstaff Sr, Joe senior played fo ...

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketer ...

and

Eddie Paynter Edward Paynter (5 November 1901 – 5 February 1979) was an English cricketer: an attacking batsman and excellent fielder. His Test batting average of 59.23 is the seventh highest of all time, and second only to Herbert Sutcliffe amongst Englis ...

). ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' elected him as a Cricketer of the Year in the 1939 edition. He hit 40 sixes in 1938, second only to

Arthur Wellard Arthur William Wellard (8 April 1902 in Southfleet, Kent – 31 December 1980 in Eastbourne, Sussex) was a cricketer who played for Somerset and England. A late starter in county cricket, having been told by his native county, Kent, that he wo ...

. Immediately after his innings against Australia, when

Arthur Fagg Arthur Edward Fagg (18 June 1915 – 13 September 1977) was an English cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club and the English cricket team. A right-handed opening batsman who first played for Kent at the age of 17, Fagg was a Test ma ...

dropped out, Bartlett was added to the English team to tour South Africa that winter. He toured and scored 358 runs at an average of 51.14 in the first-class matches but did not play in any of the Tests. A year later, he was selected for the planned Indian tour under the captaincy of Jack Holmes, but the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

led to its cancellation.

Batting style

In the nostalgic piece about Bartlett that he wrote for ''Cricket Heroes'', Alan Ross remembered his batting style : ::''As a cricketer, domesticity was just not in his line. He began his innings usually as one who, suffering from violent astigmatism, has not only mislaid his glasses, but had in addition a fearful headache. He made a pass or two after the ball had gone past him: he lunged fitfully and missed: he stabbed down just in time at the straight ones: he sliced the rising offside ball over the second slip: he snicked hazily past his leg stump. So, for about a quarter of an hour, it went on: or, to such an agonized onlooker as I, it seemed to go on. Then suddenly, he would catch a half volley or a long hop such a crack that the bowler, fearful of his own safety, lost all his aggressive intention, and, with it, any idea of length.'' ::''Phase two then began. One no longer felt that the bowler was remotely interested in the stumps, but having scattered his fielders around the boundary, relied now, in the form of bait, on a species of poisoned chocolate. Bartlett paid scant heed to these exiled boundary creatures: at alarming rates he drove between, over, and if needs be, through them. He was a firm footed hitter, possessed of a long reach, and the trajectory of his drives was low and of a fearful power.'' In the 57-minute hundred against the Australians, Bartlett scored just four in his first 14 minutes.

1939 and the war

In 1939, at

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

he scored 89 in 44 minutes. He was caught by

Charles Palmer Charles Palmer may refer to: * Charles Palmer (1777–1851), Member of Parliament for Bath * Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet (1822–1907), English shipbuilder, businessman and Liberal Member of Parliament, 1874–1907 * Sir Charles Palmer, 2nd Ba ...

at deep extra cover off a hit that, like the one against

in 1938, would have gone for six had he missed it. At the end of the season, he played in what was to be

's last match before he died in the Second World War. On a drying wicket Verity took 7 for 9, Bartlett being one of the victims. In the Second World War, Bartlett was commissioned into the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

. He transferred to the

Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Quee ...

in 1942, served in the

Glider Pilot Regiment The Glider Pilot Regiment was a British airborne forces unit of the Second World War, which was responsible for crewing the British Army's military gliders and saw action in the European theatre in support of Allied airborne operations. Establish ...

and later served as the second-in-command to

Billy Griffith Stewart Cathie Griffith, (16 June 1914 – 7 April 1993), known as Billy Griffith, was an English cricketer and cricket administrator. He played in three Test matches for England in 1948 and 1949. He played first-class cricket for Cambridge ...

. Bartlett commanded the 'A' squadron and took part in three major operations - the airborne assault at Normandy on the D-Day, the

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity fro ...

, and the Rhine crossings. In August 1945, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for serving as a glider pilot in Arnhem.Obituary in Daily Telegraph
1 July 1988 (via newspapers.com) Legend has it that Bartlett's hair turned grey in a single night when he flew his commanding officer to Arnhem.John Arlott, obituary in Guardian
29 June 1988 (via newspapers.com) During the Rhine campaign (

Operation Varsity Operation Varsity (24 March 1945) was a successful airborne forces operation launched by Allied troops that took place toward the end of World War II. Involving more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft, it was the largest air ...

), his pilots included

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

centre

Bleddyn Williams Bleddyn Llewellyn Williams MBE (22 February 1923 – 6 July 2009), was a Welsh rugby union centre. He played in 22 internationals for Wales, captaining them five times, winning each time, and captained the British Lions in 1950 for some of thei ...

, who had piloted in a cargo of medical and radio supplies. Having spent a week sleeping rough, he bumped into Bartlett on a Friday morning: "Williams, aren't you meant to be at Welford Road tomorrow playing for Great Britain against the Dominions? They need you. Go now!" Williams caught the last supply plane to

RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney. The station ...

that night, and although the team didn't win he did score a try. He turned out for both the RAF and the Great Britain United rugby teams. He reached the rank of

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 ...

. He remained in the Territorial Army after the war, returning to the RASC.

Post-war

After the war, except the odd occasion, he wasn't the stroke player that he had been. He served as Billy Griffith's vice captain at Sussex in 1946 and took over the captaincy for the next three seasons. In 1947, he lifted

from bottom to ninth place, but they slipped back to 16th and 14th in the next two years. He scored more than a thousand runs in 1938, 1939 and 1947. Before the 1950 season, he resigned the captaincy following some disputes and returned to stockbroking. Later, he reconciled with the club and served as the President between 1977 and 1979. He collapsed and died while watching Sussex play Yorkshire in a Sunday League match at Hove in 1988.

References

;Notes ;Sources * Alan Ross, ''Cricket Heroes'' (1959

*

David Frith David Edward John Frith (born 16 March 1937) is a cricket writer and historian. Cricinfo describes him as "an author, historian, and founding editor of ''Wisden Cricket Monthly''". Life and career David Frith was born in Gloucester Place in Lo ...

; M.C. Spurrier, Obituaries of HT Bartlett, ''Wisden Cricket Monthly'', August 1988

External links

1st British Airborne Division officers
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, Hugh 1914 births 1988 deaths People from Balaghat Cambridge University cricketers English cricketers People educated at Dulwich College Surrey cricketers Sussex cricketers Sussex cricket captains Wisden Cricketers of the Year Royal Army Service Corps officers Glider Pilot Regiment officers Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Free Foresters cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 British Army personnel of World War II H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Military personnel of British India