Charles Owen Hezlet, DSO (16 May 1891 – 22 November 1965) was an Irish amateur golfer and part-time soldier. He was runner-up in the 1914

Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

and was in the British

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...

team in 1924, 1926 and 1928.

Military career

Hezlet was commissioned into the part-time Antrim Royal Garrison Artillery (

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the military reforms implemented by Ri ...

) in 1911, served during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and won a DSO while commanding a siege battery in 1918. He ended the war with the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. The citation for his DSO, which appeared in ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'', known generally as ''The Gazette'', is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, i ...

'' in July 1918, reads as follows: He was re-commissioned on the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and on 1 December 1940 he took command of the newly-formed 66th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, at

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. Shortly afterwards he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and commanded the regiment during the

Belfast Blitz The Belfast Blitz consisted of four German air raids on strategic targets in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, in April and May 1941 during World War II, causing high casualties. The first was on the night of 78 April 1941, a small atta ...

, He remained in command until May 1942, after the regiment had crossed to

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

to train for active service overseas.

Golf career

In 1914 he was runner-up in the

, losing 3&2 to James Jenkins. He was also runner-up in the 1923 and 1925 Irish Amateur Open Championship and the 1923 Welsh Open Amateur Championship. He won the Irish Amateur Open Championship in 1926 and 1929 and was in the

team in 1924, 1926 and 1928. He was also a member of a team of four amateurs that played in South Africa in 1927/28.

Amateur wins

*1920 Irish Amateur Close Championship *1926 Irish Amateur Open Championship *1929 Irish Amateur Open Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Hezlet only played in the Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Great Britain): 1924, 1926,

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

Family

Hezlet had three sisters who were also well-known amateur golfers:

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...

, Violet and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. Hezlet married Annie Maitland Stuart in 1920. She died of pneumonia in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, France, in 1931 aged 30.Annie Hezlet at

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hezlet, Charles Irish male golfers Amateur golfers People from Sheerness British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery officers Royal Garrison Artillery officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deaths from pneumonia in England British Militia officers Military personnel from Kent 1891 births 1965 deaths