Joe Hardstaff (RAF officer)
Joseph Hardstaff, MBE is a retired Air Commodore and an English first-class cricketer.
Joe Hardstaff was born in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire and is the third member in successive generations to represent his family in first-class cricket. His grandfather Joe Hardstaff Sr. and his father Joe Hardstaff Jr. both represented England and Nottinghamshire. His grandfather also stood as a first-class cricket umpire.
Joe was commissioned into the Royal Air Force and rose to the rank of Air Commodore. He played cricket for the Free Foresters in two first-class matches. He also captained the R.A.F. and played for the Combined Services, as well as representing the Marylebone Cricket Club, as a right-handed batsman and as a right-arm medium fast bowler. He has served as President of the RAF and Combined Services cricket clubs.
He succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Packham as Secretary of Middlesex County Cricket Club in 1989 and he retired in 1997.
