E H D Sewell
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Edward Humphrey Dalrymple Sewell (30 September 1872 – 20 September 1947) was a first-class cricketer, popular cricket and rugby journalist and author, known universally as E. H. D. Sewell.


Family

His grandfather was Sir William Henry Sewell (c1786–1862), who had been aide-de-camp to
William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, (; 2 October 1768 – 8 January 1854) was a British army officer and politician. A General (British Army), general in the British Army and a Marshal of Portugal, Marshal in the Portuguese Army, ...
, during the
Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
, and joined the
Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...
's army in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
in 1808. Sir William was present with Sir John Moore's army in its retreat from Corunna and later served for 28 years in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. His father Colonel Henry Fane Haylett Sewell (1838–1910) was a Colonel in the East Indies. He married Violetta Anna Burn in Singapore May 1860, they had seven sons. Edward H D was the youngest son, born in Lingsugur, India, where his father served as an Army officer. Sewell was educated at the Rectory in Shropshire and
Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...
in England, returning to
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
as a civil servant. In 1893 he married Amie Sharpe, who was born in Darjeeling. They had a child, Douglas, born in Coonsor, India, in 1895 and later educated at
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
.


Career

While playing cricket in India he became the first batsman in the country to score three consecutive hundreds. In 1893 he played in the first ever All-India side. He went back to England and after a couple of seasons with London County he joined Essex in 1902. He remained with Essex until 1904 but his highest score was made for London County when he made 181 against Surrey at Crystal Palace. A big hitter of the ball, it is said that one of his on-drives measured 140 yards. He was known as a good rugby footballer, playing for
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
, Blackheath and Harlequins, but was most notable as a cricket player. On his return from India he became a professional cricket player for
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. In 1904 he reached his highest score of 181 under the Captain
W.G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...
, at
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
against Surrey. Later he was coach to young players at
The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...
for Surrey County Cricket Club, and played for Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. His final first-class match for the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...
was in 1922. He wrote for various newspapers, as well as many books on both cricket and rugby. His first book was published in 1911, and he continued to write up until his death in 1947. Among his many books were ''The Log of a Sportsman'' (1923), ''From a Window at Lords'' (1937), ''Who's Won the Toss?'' (1940) and ''Rugger: The Man’s Game'' (1944), reminiscing on the past fifty years of the game. Edward died on 20 September 1947 in Paddington, London. His obituary in
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
newspaper wrote of his achievements as a writer and player, both of cricket and Rugby football. A friend wrote that he had a kindly and gentle disposition, an alert mind, and was a good man and a good sportsman.


Books by E H D Sewell

* The past Rugby Football season, extracts from the Fortnightly Review, 1908 * The Revival in Rugby Football, extracts from the Fortnightly Review, 1910 * The Book of Football, J M Dent & Sons Ltd., 1911 * Cricket points: for the county, 'varsity, public school, and club cricketer, Sporting Life, London, 1911 * Triangular Cricket: Being a Record of the Greatest Contest in the History of the Game, J. M. Dent & Co., London, 1912 * Rugby Football Internationals Roll of Honour, T.C. & E.C. Jack, London & Edinburgh, 1919 (A tribute to all the rugby internationals who died during the Great War 1914 – 1919), * Rugby Football Up To Date, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1921 * Log of a Sportsman, T Fisher Unwin Ltd., Adelphi Terrace, London 1923 (Cricket, Rugger and Hunting in India) * Cricket Up To Date, John Murray, 1931 * Rugby Football To-Day, John Murray, 1931 * First Principles of Cricket, Boy's Own Paper, GB, 1935 * From a Window at Lord's, (Essays on cricket) Methuen, 1937, (includes an account of the 1936-37 M.C.C. tour of Australia) * Who's Won the Toss? Stanley Paul, 1940 Foreword by C.B.Fry * Cricket Under Fire, Stanley Paul & Co, London, 1941 (includes chapters 'The Fade-Out of Jardine and Larwood' and 'The Game in India') * Rugger: The Man's Game, First edition 1944, (revised by O. L. Owen; with a preface by Captain C.B.Fry) Hollis and Carter Ltd, London, 1950 * An Outdoor Wallah, Stanley Paul, 1945 (Autobiography) (with chapters on W.G. Grace, Ranjitsinhji, and the 1933-34 M.C.C. tour of India) * Well Hit! Sir, Stanley Paul, London, 1946 (includes an account of the 1946 Indian tour of England) * Overthrows, Stanley Paul, London, 1946 Contribution – extended reminiscences: 'The Memorial Biography of Dr. W. G. Grace', issued under the Auspices of The Committee of the MCC, Constable & Company Ltd., London 1919


Sources

* May 2006 edition of ''Soul Search'', the journal of The Sole Society. A British Family History Society, http://www.sole.org.uk/ * BM&D and census records * Tony Collins, ''A Social History of English Rugby Union'', Routledge, Oxford, 2009, (many references to EHD Sewell * IMAGE: Edward Sewell: cricketer, columnist and part of the first all-India team


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sewell, Edward 1872 births 1947 deaths English cricketers Indian cricketers Essex cricketers London County cricketers English rugby union commentators Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Buckinghamshire cricketers Buckinghamshire cricket captains English cricket coaches English sports journalists People educated at Bedford School Gentlemen of England cricketers Bedford Blues players H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Players of the South cricketers W. G. Grace's XI cricketers English rugby union players