Major-General Arnold Hughes Eagleton Reading (3 April 1896 – 4 January 1975) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

first-class

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

officer. He served in the Royal Marines from 1914–1946, rising to the rank of major-general, in addition to playing

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Life and military career

The son of the Reverend Mark Alfred Reading, he was born in the Orange Free State in April 1896 at

Heilbron Heilbron is a town in the Free State (South African province), Free State province of South Africa which services the cattle, dairy, sorghum, sunflower and maize industries. Raw stock beneficiation occurs in leisure foods, dairy products and st ...

. He was educated in England at

Cranleigh School Cranleigh School is a Private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in the village of Cranleigh, Surrey. History It was opened on 29 September 1865 as a boys' school 'to provide a sound and plain education, on the principle ...

, before joining the

at the start of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a probationary second lieutenant. During the war he was promoted twice, first to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in March 1915, while in May 1918 he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Reading later made a single appearance in

for the

against the

British Army cricket team The Army cricket team is a cricket team representing the British Army. The Army team played 51 first-class matches between 1912 and 1939, although a combined Army and Navy team had played two games against a combined Oxford and Cambridge team ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

in 1929. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed in the Royal Navy first-innings for 12 runs by Frederick Arnold, while in their second-innings he was dismissed for 7 runs by

Edward Armitage Edward Armitage (20 May 1817 – 24 May 1896) was an English Victorian-era painter whose work focused on historical, classical and biblical subjects. Family background Armitage was born in London to a family of wealthy Yorkshire industrialist ...

. He was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in June 1932, before being promoted to lieutenant colonel. At the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was posted to HMS ''St. Angelo'' in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. In November 1939, he was made a temporary

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, which he relinquished in January 1940. He was the commanding officer of 5th RM Battalion between March 1940 and February 1942, taking part in the operations in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

between August and October 1940. He was made an acting

colonel commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

in February 1942, while in October 1943 he was made a colonel 2nd commandant. He was appointed as the Royal Marines '' aide-de-camp'' to

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

in October 1945, by which time the war was over, replacing

Arthur Reginald Chater Major General Arthur Reginald Chater (7 February 1896 – 3 January 1979) was an officer in the Royal Marines during the First World War, the interwar years, and Second World War. Military career Chater was commissioned into the Royal Marine ...

in the role. After the conclusion of the war, Reading held the rank of temporary

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

and was promoted to major-general in January 1946. He was made a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1946 Birthday Honours The 1946 King's Birthday Honours, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 13 June 1946 for the United Kingdom and British Empire. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new ...

. He was placed on the retired list in November of the same year, having ended his career as the commander of the RM Plymouth Division. Following his retirement, Reading settled at Buckland St Mary, Somerset. He was appointed as a deputy lieutenant for

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

in June 1955. He later moved to Sellicks Green, where he died in January 1975. He was survived by his wife, Phoebe, whom he had married in 1933.

References

External links

*
Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reading, Arnold 1896 births 1975 deaths People educated at Cranleigh School Royal Marines personnel of World War I English cricketers Royal Navy cricketers Royal Marines personnel of World War II Royal Marines major generals Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy lieutenants of Somerset Military personnel from the Free State (province) Military personnel from Somerset 20th-century English sportsmen