Brigadier-General Cecil Vernon Wingfield-Stratford CB, CMG (7 October 1853 – 5 February 1939) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer in the Royal Engineers and an English international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a forward.

Early life

Born in

West Malling West Malling ( , historically Town Malling) is a market town in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, England. It has a population of 2,590. Landmarks West Malling contains several historic buildings, including St Leonard's Tower, a Nor ...

, Wingfield-Stratford was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, a descendant of the ancient Stratford Family. He married Rosalind Isabel Bligh, daughter of Reverend Hon. Edward Vesey Bligh and Lady Isabel Mary Frances Nevill, on 12 October 1881. They had one son,

Esmé Cecil Wingfield-Stratford Esmé Cecil Wingfield-Stratford (1882–1971) was an English historian, writer, mind-trainer, outdoorsman, patriot and ruralist. Life Esmé was born on 20 September 1882 elder son of Brigadier-General Cecil Wingfield-Stratford (a descendant of ...

Sporting career

Wingfield-Stratford played as

outside-left Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

for the Woolwich Academy and for Royal Engineers, and earned one cap for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

versus Scotland in 1877. He was described by

C.W. Alcock Charles William Alcock (2 December 1842 – 26 February 1907) was an English sportsman, administrator, author and editor. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of ...

as "very fast and useful as a wing; wants a little more 'last' resumably meaning staying-power" He took part in the replayed

1875 FA Cup Final The 1875 FA Cup Final was a football match between Royal Engineers and Old Etonians on 13 March 1875 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the fourth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known ...

, both matches taking place at

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...

when his team won the Final for their only time, against

Old Etonians Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

. The first match, on 13 March, ended in a 1–1 draw after extra time but the replay, three days later, ended in a conclusive 2–0 score. The Engineers' scorer in both matches, coincidentally, was Henry Waugh Renny-Tailyour who in September the same year married a sister of Wingfield-Stratford. He also played for M.C.C.

Military career

Wingfield-Stratford was commissioned into the Royal Engineers as Lieutenant in 1873. He ultimately retired as Brigadier-General in 1909 after being Chief Engineer in Ireland since 1906, without seeing any campaign service. However, he was recalled from retirement to serve in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914 and held command on the Western Front, taking part in the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

in 1915, the

Attack on the Gommecourt Salient The Attack on the Gommecourt Salient was a British operation against the northern flank of the German 2nd Army. The attack took place on 1 July 1916, on the Western Front in France, during the First World War. The attack was conducted by the Br ...

on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and was Commander R.E. of the 46th Division. He was mentioned in despatches four times and awarded the C.M.G. in 1916 and C.B. in 1918.

Later life

Wingfield-Stratford died in retirement aged eighty-five at Fartherwell, West Malling, on 5 February 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wingfield-Stratford, Cecil 1853 births 1939 deaths Association football forwards Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath England international footballers English footballers FA Cup Final players Royal Engineers A.F.C. players Royal Engineers officers Cecil British Army generals of World War I