# Robin Whetherly

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**Robin Evelyn Whetherly** [MC](/source/Military_Cross) (23 July 1916 – 27 November 1943) was an English [first-class cricketer](/source/First-class_cricket) and soldier who died in action in [World War II](/source/World_War_II).

The son of Lieutenant Colonel William Stobart Whetherly, a decorated veteran of the [Boer War](/source/Boer_War) and [World War I](/source/World_War_I), Whetherly was educated at [Harrow School](/source/Harrow_School), where he [kept wicket](/source/Wicket-keeper) for the first XI in his final year, 1935, before going up to [Magdalen College, Oxford](/source/Magdalen_College,_Oxford), to read history.[1]

He played several matches as a wicket-keeper for [Oxford University](/source/Oxford_University_Cricket_Club) in 1937 and 1938, but was overlooked for the annual match against [Cambridge University](/source/Cambridge_University_Cricket_Club) in favour of [Michael Matthews](/source/Michael_Matthews_(cricketer)) in 1937 and [Roger Kimpton](/source/Roger_Kimpton) in 1938. He usually batted in the lower order, his only innings of more than 22 coming in the match against [Marylebone Cricket Club](/source/Marylebone_Cricket_Club) (MCC) at [Lord's](/source/Lord's) in 1937 when he batted at number four and made 63, adding 132 for the third wicket with [Mandy Mitchell-Innes](/source/Mandy_Mitchell-Innes).[2]

After working for a travel agency, Whetherly accepted a commission in the [1st King's Dragoon Guards](/source/1st_King's_Dragoon_Guards) on the outbreak of World War II. He served in Libya, where in April 1941 his regiment was attacked by the [Afrika Korps](/source/Afrika_Korps). For his actions during the battle, in which he saved many of his men from capture, he was awarded the [Military Cross](/source/Military_Cross). He continued to serve in [North Africa](/source/North_African_Campaign) until 1943, when he joined the [Special Operations Executive](/source/Special_Operations_Executive), and parachuted into [Yugoslavia](/source/Yugoslavia) to serve as part of [Macmis](/source/Maclean_Mission_(Macmis)) under [Fitzroy Maclean](/source/Sir_Fitzroy_Maclean,_1st_Baronet), in assisting the [Yugoslav Partisans](/source/Yugoslav_Partisans). He died at Glamoc Airfield near [Glamoč](/source/Glamo%C4%8D) in November 1943 while on a [Dornier Do 17](/source/Dornier_Do_17) piloted by [Croatian Air Force](/source/Croatian_Air_Force_(Independent_State_of_Croatia)) defectors. The plane was strafed with bombs and machine-guns by a [Heinkel He 46](/source/Heinkel_He_46), and Whetherly was killed by a bomb strike that hit while he and others were climbing out of the Dornier.[3][4]

## References

1. Dan Waddell, *Field of Shadows*, Bantam, London, 2014, pp. 112-13.

1. [MCC v Oxford University 1937](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/16/16261.html)

1. Waddell, *Field of Shadows*, pp. 206-11.

1. ["Accident Dornier Do 17E"](https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=177027). *aviationsafety.net*. Retrieved 13 February 2020.

## External links

- [Robin Whetherly at CricketArchive](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/33/33773/33773.html)
- [Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Whetherly, Robin Evelyn](http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2224436/WHETHERLY,%20ROBIN%20EVELYN)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Robin Whetherly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Whetherly) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Whetherly?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.