Arthur Charles Barnby (10 September 1881 – 30 October 1937) was an English 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, who served as an officer in both the

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 ...

and the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

Life and military career

Born at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

in September 1881, Barnby was commissioned into the

as a second lieutenant. He was promoted 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 July 1901, with promotion 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 ...

coming a decade later in September 1911. Barnby made a single appearance in

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 Cricket Club The Royal Navy Cricket Club is a cricket team representing the British Royal Navy and based at the United Services Recreation Ground, Portsmouth, Hampshire. The club was formed in 1863, although cricket is recorded as having been played by seame ...

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 1913. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed without scoring in the Royal Navy first-innings by Harold Fawcus, while in their second-innings he scored a single unbeaten run. He served in 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 ...

, and as an early aviator who had held an aviation licence since 1913, he was seconded to the newly formed

(RNAS), where he held the rank of

flight commander A flight commander is the leader of a constituent portion of an aerial squadron in aerial operations, often into combat. That constituent portion is known as a flight, and usually contains six or fewer aircraft, with three or four being a common ...

. He was promoted to squadron commander in May 1915, which resulted in him concurrently being made a temporary

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 the marines. He was made a full major in June 1917, having completed sixteen years services. He was promoted to

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

in the RNAS in December 1917, resulting in him being granted the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel in the marines. Following the end of the war, Barnby relinquished his commission in the RNAS and returned to the marines as a major. He was made an

OBE 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 1926 Birthday Honours. Barnby was appointed a barrackmaster and promoted to lieutenant colonel in August 1929, however he reverted to major at his own request in October 1930. He was again promoted to lieutenant colonel in April 1931, before being placed on the retired list on account of old age in September 1933, at which point he was granted the rank of

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 ...

. Barnby died suddenly at Rochester Airport in October 1937.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnby, Arthur 1881 births 1937 deaths Cricketers from the City of Westminster People from Westminster Royal Marines colonels English cricketers Royal Navy cricketers Royal Marines personnel of World War I Royal Naval Air Service aviators Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Officers of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from Westminster 19th-century Royal Marines personnel