Colonel Leslie Hugh Bean OBE (2 February 1906 – 13 January 1988) was a British Army officer who played first-class cricket for Somerset in three matches in the 1929 season. He also played Minor Counties cricket more frequently for Dorset between 1928 and 1939 and in non-first-class matches for the British Army Cricket Team.[1] He was born at Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England and died at Accra, Ghana.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Leslie Hugh Bean | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1906-02-02)2 February 1906 Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 13 January 1988(1988-01-13) (aged 81) Accra, Ghana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Leg break googly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1929 | Somerset | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First-class debut | 22 June 1929 Somerset v Essex | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last First-class | 29 June 1929 Somerset v Sussex | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 17 November 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bean went to school at Sherborne.[2] A career soldier, he was commissioned in 1926 into the Somerset Light Infantry; he was promoted from second lieutenant to full lieutenant in 1929.[3] In 1933, he was seconded to the Colonial Service and joined the Royal West African Frontier Force and in 1935 was promoted to be an acting captain.[4][5] Three years later, in 1938, he was gazetted as a captain and had been promoted to acting major, still within the RWAFF, but at this time his notional "home regiment" was the Glosters.[6] He was promoted to full major within the Glosters in 1943.[7] He retired from the army "on account of disability" and with the honorary rank of colonel in 1948.[8] By the time of his discharge from the British Army he had been awarded the MBE; this was upgraded to an OBE in 1961 when he was cited in the London Gazette as "General Manager of the Ghana Chamber of Mines".[9]
Bean's cricket was limited to a few matches in each about half a dozen seasons for Dorset, and one period of three matches for Somerset in 1929. A right-handed batsman who opened the innings or batted high in the order for Dorset, he was played in the lower middle-order for Somerset. He also bowled leg breaks and googlies. He was not successful in his three first-class matches for Somerset, with a highest score of just 17 in his six innings and a single wicket.