Ronald Yeldham


Colonel Ronald Ernest Stephen Yeldham was an Indian-born British Army officer and cricketer.

Career

He served in Africa and the Indian Ocean from 1928 to 1945. In June 1945, Yeldham was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire as temporary Colonel commanding the British troops in Mauritius.
In 1949 Yeldham was a Principal in the Colonial Office, West African Department, and wrote a memorandum on Soviet activity in Nigeria. There was MI5 surveillance of Harry Pollitt's contact with Mokwugo Okoye, a Zikist leader. During the Malayan Emergency, in 1952, he was instrumental in the use of sodium trichloroacetate as a defoliant.
Yeldham then held civil appointments in Kenya, from 1954.

Cricketer

Yeldham played six first-class cricket matches in British India between 1925 and 1927, including one for the MCC. He later played twice for Egypt against HM Martineau's XI.