Major Edward Wynyard's Memorial Restored & Refurbished

Words: Stephen Saunders – Director, Hampshire Cricket Heritage

Towards the end of last year I was in Buckinghamshire and, as an ardent Hampshire cricket supporter and historian, I decided to locate the grave of Major Edward Wynyard DSO, OBE.

He won his DSO in 1887 in the Burma Expedition, went on to fight in the Boer War and was awarded the OBE (Military Division) on retirement in April 1919.

Having located his grave and memorial in the churchyard of Holy Trinity, Penn I was saddened to see the state that it was in, so I set myself a project of having the memorial restored and refurbished.

Firstly I contacted the Vicar, the Revd Mike Bissett who advised me that he had no authority to give me such permission and that only the family could do so.

I then made contact with Richard Evans, who wrote the biography of “Teddy” and he put me in touch with one of his granddaughters, Edwina.

She was only too pleased to give me the go ahead. Both Edwina and Richard contributed to the costs of the project. The balance being made up personally by the directors and historian of Hampshire Cricket Heritage Ltd. 

The cross was totally unstable on the base and had anyone wished it could have been pushed over.

Unfortunately Covid-19 delayed the project for some time. Eventually the cross was separated from the plinth. The plinth was repaired and the cross replaced. In addition all the lettering was re-enamelled.

The results do justice to a gentleman, who fought in Burma and the Boer War and was a great sportsman. He won an FA Cup winners medal playing for the Old Carthusians in 1881; he was captain of Hampshire County Cricket Club from 1896 to 1899, and also played for England. He was a keen winter sportsman and Champion Tobogganer in 1895, while the following summer he was playing cricket for England.

EG ‘Teddy’ Wynyard, Hampshire CCC 1878-1908: 4,322 runs at 34.57 HS 268 v Yorkshire in 1898; 49 wickets at 31.61.