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

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

in 1910 and 1911. Jelf was born in

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

, Hampshire, the son of

Richard Henry Jelf Colonel Richard Henry Jelf (2 February 1844 – 26 April 1913) was a British army officer and commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Early life Jelf was born in Oxford, the third and youngest son of the Reverend Doctor Richard Wil ...

, 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, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

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

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

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 resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. 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 beca ...

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

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

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