Colonel Wilfrid Wykeham Jelf, (22 July 1880 – 17 October 1933) was a Canadian-born

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 and cricketer who played 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 ...

in 1911. He fought in the South African War and First World War.

Early life and education

Jelf was born in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, the son of Colonel Richard Henry Jelf, formerly commandant of the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

, and Margaret Jelf. His grandfather was

Richard William Jelf Richard William Jelf (25 January 179819 September 1871) was the fourth Principal of King's College, London. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford, and was subsequently made a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. He served as can ...

, Principal of

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. His elder brother was

Henry Jelf Henry Francis Donhoff Jelf (27 August 1877 – 18 April 1944) was a Royal Navy officer and a cricketer who played for Derbyshire in 1910 and 1911. Jelf was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, the son of Richard Henry Jelf, an army officer, and his ...

, a fellow cricketer who served in the Royal Navy. Wilfrid was educated at

Cheam School Cheam School is a mixed preparatory school located in Headley, in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in Hampshire. Originally a boys school, Cheam was founded in 1645 by George Aldrich. History The school started in Cheam, Surrey. ...

and

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 attending the Royal Military Academy.

Cricket

Jelf appeared in three first-class matches for Leicestershire as a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

. He scored six runs with a highest score of 6.

Career

After graduating from the Royal Military Academy, Jelf was commissioned 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 the Royal Horse and

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

on 22 November 1899. Jelf served in 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 ...

from 1899 to 1902, during which he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 16 February 1901. Following the end of hostilities in June 1902, he left

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

for England and returned to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in early August. He was

mentioned in despatches 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 ...

and received the Queen's Medal with five clasps and King's Medal with two clasps. He was promoted to captain in 1908 and served as adjutant of the Nottinghamshire

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

from 1908 to 1912. Promoted to major in 1914, he served throughout 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 ...

. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in 1915. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1918 and from April to July of that year served as temporary chief instructor at the Royal Military Academy. He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in the

1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Jan ...

. In 1926, he was appointed commander of the 46th Division, and in 1927 appointed Assistant Adjutant-General 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 ...

. From 1930 to 1931, he commanded the

42nd (East Lancashire) Division The 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force (TF), originally as the East Lancashire Division, and was redesignated as the 42nd (East ...

. From 1931 to his retirement in 1932, he was garrison commander and commandant at the Royal Artillery Depot in Woolwich.

Personal life

In 1906, he married Cicely Helen Child, sister of Brigadier-General

Sir Smith Child, 2nd Baronet Sir Smith Hill Child, 2nd Baronet, (19 September 1880 – 11 November 1958) was an officer in the British Army and a Conservative Party politician. Early life and education Hill Child was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. He ...

. They had three children: 2nd Lt. Richard Hill Jelf (2 July 1910 – killed in action, July 1940); Lilah Margaret Jelf (born 13 October 1911), and Roderick Wilfrid Roylance Jelf (born 22 July 1914). He became ill with disease in 1927, following his appointment to the War Office. While he recovered, the disease forced his retirement in 1932. Jelf died in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

in 1933. Following his death, he was eulogized in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' by a friend:

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jelf, Wilfrid 1880 births 1933 deaths Leicestershire cricketers Canadian cricketers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Eton College People educated at Cheam School Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Canadian military personnel from Nova Scotia Canadian emigrants to the United Kingdom