Hesketh-Prichard, H. 1876-1922

Hesketh Vernon Prichard, later Hesketh-Prichard, (17 November 1876 – 14 June 1922) was an English cricketer, explorer, adventurer, writer, big-game hunter, and marksman who contributed to sniping practice within the British Army during the First World War. Concerned not only with improving the quality of marksmanship, the measures he introduced to counter the threat of German snipers were credited by a contemporary with saving the lives of over 3,500 Allied soldiers. He also explored territory never seen before by a European, played cricket at first-class level (taking nearly 340 wickets from 86 appearances), including on overseas tours, wrote short stories and novels in the adventure, mystery, and occult detective genres (one of which was turned into a Douglas Fairbanks film), and was a successful newspaper correspondent and travel writer. His many activities brought him into the highest social and professional circles. Like other turn-of-the-century hunters such as Theodore Roosevelt (who was an admirer), he was an active campaigner for animal welfare and succeeded in seeing legal measures introduced for their protection.