Conrad Powell Johnstone (19 August 1895 – 23 June 1974), known as CP Johnstone or Con Johnstone, was an English businessman and amateur sportsman who played

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 one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

between 1919 and 1948. After serving in the

First World War 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 fig ...

he spent much his working life in India and is regarded as one of the key players in the development of cricket in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

. He served in the

, played first-class cricket in both England and India and was also a noted golfer as well as the President of

Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ke ...

in later life.

Early life

Johnstone was born at Sydenham in south-east London, the son of William and Katherine Johnstone.Lewis P (2013) ''For Kent and Country'', pp.225–227. Brighton: Reveille Press. His father was a "Gentlemen of independent means"Lewis ''Op. cit.'', p.225. and Johnstone was educated at Hartford House school before going to

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

where he played cricket in the school team in 1912 and 1913.Johnstone, Conrad Powell
Obituaries in 1974, ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'', 1975. Retrieved 2018-02-24. He captained Rugby in his final year and also represented the school in the racquet pairs. He played three times for the

Second XI in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

in July 1914 and was admitted to Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1914 but his education was interrupted by the outbreak of war in Europe.

War service

Johnstone volunteered for military service in August 1914 soon after the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. He was commissioned into the 3rd Battalion,

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fu ...

(HLI) as a

2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

. His uncle was serving in the same battalion. Johnstone completed his training at the battalion's depot at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

before being appointed as a temporary

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in February 1915 and being posted to France the following month, attached to 1st Battalion, HLI, part of the Sirhind Brigade in the

3rd (Lahore) Division The 3rd (Lahore) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troop ...

. His battalion saw action at Second Ypres later in 1915, and Johnstone was wounded in the neck on 1 May, breaking two ribs and puncturing a lung. He spent the next 15 months recovering from the wounds before being posted back to the HLI in August 1916. A commission in the Regular Army followed and Johnstone was posted to the 17th Battalion,

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 2 ...

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the ...

in November, seeing action in the Somme in 1917. He was wounded again in October that year, this time by shell fire. After more recuperation he was passed fit for home service and took up a position as an instructor with the 6th Officer Cadet Battalion at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

for the remainder of the war.

Professional life, cricket and India

After resigning his Army commission in May 1919, Johnstone returned to Pembroke College, Cambridge, studying for a law degree.The Sanmar Group (2013
CP Johnstone
Legends from the South, ''Matrix'', April 2013, pp.30–31. Retrieved 2018-02-24. He graduated in 1920 having been credited with four terms study due to his war service. He played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

for the University side, making his

debut for the team in May 1919 against the Australian Imperial Forces at

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orch ...

. He won a

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

in both cricket and golf, captaining the Cambridge side to an unexpected victory in the university golf match, and made his Kent First XI debut in 1919 against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

.Con Johnstone
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-02-23.University Golf, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'', 1920-03-20, p.7.Woodcock J (1974) Mr C. P. Johnstone, ''

'', 1974-07-01, p.16. After graduating Johnstone was employed by a liquor manufacturer in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

and then for a number of years by

Burmah Shell The Burmah Oil Company was a leading British oil company which was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 1966, Castrol was acquired by Burmah, which was renamed "Burmah-Castrol". BP Amoco (now BP) purchased the company in 2000. Histo ...

as a manager. He spent the 1925 summer in England, played 12 times during the season for Kent and was awarded his

county cap In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

. Further appearances for the county followed in 1929, but the majority of his cricket was played in India playing particularly for the

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (20 ...

and for

Madras Cricket Club The Tamil Nadu cricket team is a domestic cricket team run by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association representing the state of Tamil Nadu, India.It has been one of the most dominating teams in white ball cricket in domestic circuit The team plays in Ranj ...

. He captained Madras in the inaugural

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

in 1934 was captain in 1940/41 when the team were runners-up in the competition, losing to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

in the final, and played regularly in

Madras Presidency Matches The Madras Presidency Matches were annual first-class cricket matches played in Madras (now Chennai) from the 1915–16 season to 1951–52 between the cricket teams of Indians and the Europeans (i.e., Europeans who were living in India). The ma ...

from 1925/26 to 1947/48, captaining the Europeans side for much of the period.Lakshmi CS (2004) ''The Unhurried City: Writings on Chennai'', p.111–112. Mumbai: Penguin Books India. When Madras entered the Madras League for the first time in 1939 Johnstone was the captain and a key player on the team and captained the Madras side throughout the period.Ramnarayan V (2012
An MCC of our own
ESPN, 2012-05-27. Retrieved 2018-02-24.Srinivasan TM (2009
Pitch for the city
'' The Hindu'', 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2018-02-24. Johnstone played both against

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influenc ...

when it toured Madras in 1926/27Muthiah S (2000
In C.P. Johnstone's country
'' The Hindu'', 2000-09-17. Retrieved 2018-02-24. and for the club in five matches as well as for other teams on occasion. He remained in the Reserve of Officers until 1937. Johnstone is credited as a significant factor in the development of cricket in Madras. He has been described as having played a "pioneering role" in the growth of the sportThe Sanmar Group, ''Op. cit.'', p.30. who was able to provide talented young players with employment in Burmah Shell, providing them with the opportunity to play cricket with a stable income behind them. Players such as

M. J. Gopalan Morappakam Josyam Gopalan (6 June 1909 – 21 December 2003) was an Indian sportsman who represented India in cricket and hockey. Gopalan hailed from the village of Morappakam in Chingleput district, some 50 kilometres from Chennai. His fami ...

, who became a double Indian international in both cricket and

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

, benefited in this way.Lakshimi ''Op. cit.'', p.103.Thyagarajan S (2003
Support for sport — the tradition continues
'' The Hindu'', 2003-04-03. Retrieved 2018-02-24.Ramnarayan V (2015
From de Saram to Dias – Memories of the MJ Gopalan Trophy
, '' Wisden India'', 2015-08-06. Retrieved 2018-02-24.Kesavan M (2010) ''Men in White'', pp.74–75. Penguin Books India. Johnstone was President of Madras Cricket Club in 1947 towards the end of his playing career. As a player he was described as "an excellent all-round cricketer", who batted left-handed, often opening the batting, bowled right-arm medium pace and was an "excellent" and "brilliant"Muthiah S (2000
Madras Miscellany
'' The Hindu'', 2000-04-10. slip fielder. Australian international

Keith Miller Keith Ross Miller (28 November 1919 – 11 October 2004) was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. His ability, irreverent m ...

described how a particular catch taken by Johnstone, then aged 50, in a match at Madras in 1945 was "the best catch that ever dismissed me".Quoted in Muthiah (2000) and The Sanmar Group, p.30. As a captain he was described as an "astute leader of men" and as an administrator he was involved in setting up the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...

as well as playing an important role in "cementing European-Indian relations",The Sanmar Group, ''Op. cit.'', p.31. particularly when the exclusive Madras Cricket Club, which had been largely controlled by Europeans, became the democratic Madras Cricket Association. The

cricket pavilion A cricket pavilion is a pavilion at a cricket ground. It is the main building within which the players usually change in dressing rooms and which is the main location for watching the cricket match for members and others. Pavilions can vary from ...

at the

M. A. Chidambaram Stadium M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, commonly known as the Chepauk Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1916, it is the second oldest cricket stadium in the country after Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Formerly known as Ma ...

was named after him in 1997. As well as his involvement with cricket, Johnstone was Chairman of the Madras Chamber of Commerce and was involved in organisations such as the Madras Club and the Indian Roads and Transport Development Association. He was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1948 New Year Honours The 1948 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1948 for the Briti ...

for services to cricket in Madras.

Later life

Johnstone returned to England in 1948. He was a member of the General Committee at Kent, particularly involved with the development of young players, and was President of the club in 1967, the year the county won the Gillette Cup for the first time. He died at his home at

Eastry Eastry is a civil parish in Kent, England, around southwest of Sandwich. It was voted "Kent Village of the Year 2005". The name is derived from the Old English ''Ēast- rige'', meaning "eastern province" (c.f. '' Sūþ-rige'' "southern provin ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in June 1974, aged 78, after watching

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

play

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 ...

in a Test match at Lord's.Conrad Johnstone
ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2018-02-23.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, C. P. 1895 births 1974 deaths English cricketers Kent cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Tamil Nadu cricketers Europeans cricketers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Free Foresters cricketers Gentlemen cricketers South Zone cricketers British Army personnel of World War I Highland Light Infantry officers Lancashire Fusiliers officers Military personnel from the London Borough of Lewisham Cricketers from the London Borough of Lewisham People from Sydenham, London