John Pelly (cricketer)

John Noel Pelly CBE (15 June 1888 – 6 June 1945) was an English first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer.

The son of Edmund Nevill Richard Pelly and Emma Mary Fowler, he was born in June 1888 at Ware, Hertfordshire.[1] He graduated from the Britannia Royal Naval College and in May 1908 he was a sub-lieutenant.[2] He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in December 1910.[3] He served in the First World War and shortly after the conclusion of the war he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander in December 1918.[4] His next promotion, to commander, came in June 1925.[5] The following year he made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the Royal Navy against the British Army cricket team at Lord's.[6] Batting twice in the match, Pelly was dismissed in the navy first-innings without scoring by Kenneth Mackessack, while in their second-innings he was dismissed for 5 runs by Robert Melsome.[7]

Pelly was placed on the retired list at his own request in June 1934, at which point he was granted the rank of captain.[8] He came out of retirement during the Second World War and was placed in command of the HMS King Alfred shore establishment at Hove in 1939.[9] He was made a CBE in the 1942 Birthday Honours.[10] He continued to command HMS King Alfred throughout the war, before collapsing suddenly and dying at the establishment on 6 June 1945.[9]