then began. One no longer felt that the bowler was remotely interested in the stumps, but having scattered his fielders around the boundary, relied now, in the form of bait, on a species of poisoned chocolate. Bartlett paid scant heed to these exiled boundary creatures: at alarming rates he drove between, over, and if needs be, through them. He was a firm footed hitter, possessed of a long reach, and the trajectory of his drives was low and of a fearful power. In the 57-minute hundred against the Australians, Bartlett scored just four in his first 14 minutes. 1939 and the war In 1939, at Eastbourne against Worcestershire he scored 89 in 44 minutes. He was caught by Charles Palmer at deep extra cover off a hit that, like the one against Yorkshire in 1938, would have gone for six had he missed it. At the end of the season, he played in what was to be Hedley Verity's last match before he died in the Second World War. On a drying wicket Verity took 7 for 9, Bartlett being one of the victims. In the Second World War, Bartlett was commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps. He transferred to the Royal West Kent Regiment in 1942, served in the Glider Pilot Regiment and later served as the second-in-command to Billy Griffith. Bartlett commanded the 'A' squadron and took part in three major operations - the airborne assault at Normandy on the D-Day, the Battle of Arnhem, and the Rhine crossings. In August 1945, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for serving as a glider pilot in Arnhem. Legend has it that Bartlett's hair turned grey in a single night when he flew his commanding officer to Arnhem. During the Rhine campaign (Operation Varsity), his pilots included Welsh rugby union centre Bleddyn Williams, who had piloted in a cargo of medical and radio supplies. Having spent a week sleeping rough, he bumped into Bartlett on a Friday morning: "Williams, aren't you meant to be at Welford Road tomorrow playing for Great Britain against the Dominions? They need you. Go now!" Williams caught the last supply plane to RAF Brize Norton that night, and although the team didn't win he did score a try. He turned out for both the RAF and the Great Britain United rugby teams. He reached the rank of Major. He remained in the Territorial