Wisden Obituary
van Straubenzee, Lt-Colonel Henry Hamilton, DSO, OBE, who died on April 12, 2002, aged 88, was a career soldier who played three first-class games for the Army just before World War II, as well as a Championship match for Essex against Sussex at Colchester in 1938. He was four not out when Essex declared at 535 for six, and was given six overs to bowl his left-arm spinners as they progressed to an innings victory. He did not take a wicket. However, it would be nice to think that there were moments during the Dunkirk withdrawal when he was able to reflect on balmy days at Fenner's and dismissing Paul Gibb, Norman Yardley and the Mann brothers. His ten first-class wickets cost 18.50 apiece; his best was four for 96 against Cambridge in 1939. He also hit his highest score, 38, in that game to complete a career aggregate of 56 at an average of 28.00. On retiring from the Army, van Straubenzee joined the board of WH Smith, became managing director in 1968, and was a noted authority on fly fishing. Through Jane Turner, who eloped with a Dutch officer named van Straubenzee in the early 1700s, he was a direct descendant of the family that founded Sir William Turner's Almshouses at Kirkleatham in Cleveland.
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack