Richard Utley

Richard Peter Hugh Utley OBE (11 February 1906 — 11 February 1968) was an English first-class cricketer, Royal Air Force officer, Benedictine monk, and educator.

The son of Henry James Utley,^[1] he was born in Havant and was educated firstly in Portsmouth at St John's College,^[2] before attending Ampleforth College. There he played for the college cricket team and led the batting averages in his final year.^[3] From there, he attended the Royal Air Force College Cranwell and graduated into the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a pilot officer,^[1] with promotion to flying officer following in January 1928.^[4] Utley made his debut in first-class cricket for Hampshire against Kent at Southampton in the 1927 County Championship. He made 27 first-class appearances for Hampshire in 1927 and 1928,^[5] and had begun to build a reputation as a fast bowler.^[6] He took 79 wickets for Hampshire at an average of 26.32; he took four five wicket hauls and once took ten wickets in a match.^[7] His best innings bowling figures were 6 for 43 against Warwickshire.^[8] In addition to playing first-class cricket for Hampshire in 1927 and 1928, he also made three first-class appearances for the Royal Air Force cricket team (playing twice against the Royal Navy and once against the British Army) and once for the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture of 1927 at The Oval.^[5] For the RAF, he took 11 wickets at an average of 21.18, with best figures of 3 for 18.^[7]

In September 1928, Utley resigned his commission in the RAF and ended his first-class career in order to become a Benedictine monk.^[9] Having undertook holy orders, he became a master at Ampleforth School, where he was in charge of cricket from 1936 to 1955 and commanded the college's Combined Cadet Force for thirty years.^[3] Utley was made an OBE in the 1951 Birthday Honours.^[10] He died suddenly from a coronary thrombosis at Ampleforth on 11 February 1968.^[3][11]