Sir Walter Coote Hedley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 12 December 1865 Heathfield, Somerset, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 27 December 1937 (aged 72) Sunningdale, Berkshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | British Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1884–1920 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Colonel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit | Royal Engineers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commands | MO4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Battles / wars | Second Boer War First World War | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Awards | Order of the British Empire, Order of the Bath, Order of St Michael and St George | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | James Fellowes (father-in-law) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other work | Amateur first-class cricketer, rackets player and golfer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cricket information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm fast-medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1886–1904 | Somerset | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1888 | Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1890–1893 | Marylebone Cricket Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1902 | Devon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1905 | Hampshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 23 February 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sir Walter Coote Hedley KBE CB CMG (12 December 1865 – 27 December 1937) was a British Army officer who began his career in the Royal Engineers and later moved into military intelligence. He was also a gifted amateur sportsman who played first-class cricket for several County Championship sides and competed to a high level in rackets and golf.
Hedley was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1884. He became a surveyor in the 1890s and was attached to the Ordnance Survey. This work was interrupted by service in South Africa throughout the Second Boer War, and from 1906 to 1908 by his appointment as an advisor to the Survey of India. In 1911 he was appointed to command MO4, also known as the Geographical Section of the General Staff. During the First World War this organisation was responsible for producing all the maps required by British Empire forces around the world, and in particular mapping the ever-changing trench system on the Western Front. Following the end of the war, he retired from the army in 1920. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and served on the society's council.
Hedley's first-class cricket career began in 1888 with the Gentlemen of England and Kent. The majority of his county matches were for Somerset whom he first represented in 1886 in non-first-class games. His first County Championship games for them were in 1892, and he had a regular place in the side from June of that year. Hedley was also a useful rackets player—reaching the final of the amateur championships, held at the Queen's Club, in 1890. In later life he turned to golf, playing off a scratch handicap.