Major-General Fendall Currie (24 November 1841 – 4 December 1920) 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, barrister and

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

officer. He served in the Bengal Cavalry from 1858–1898, rising to the rank of major-general, in addition being a barrister and a judge while in British India. Currie was also a

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 ...

er, playing once in England for the

Gentlemen of Kent Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent. ...

Life, military and legal career

The son of Sir Frederick Currie, he was born in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

in November 1841. Following the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

, men were hastily recruited in Britain to replace the eight regiments of Bengal Light Cavalry which had mutinied, with Currie enlisting as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

in the 1st European Light Cavalry and arriving in India in December 1858. He returned to England on leave in 1861, during which he made a single appearance in

for the

against the

Gentlemen of Marylebone Cricket Club ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire a ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed without scoring in the Gentlemen of Kent first innings by Henry Arkwright, while in their second innings he batted at number eleven, scoring a single unbeaten run. Currie bowled 23 overs across the match, taking 6 wickets. Returning to India, Currie was appointed a deputy commissioner at

Hazaribagh Hazaribagh is a city and a municipal corporation in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is also the administrative headquarters of Hazaribagh district and divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is known ...

in February 1863, before serving in the

Oudh The Kingdom of Awadh (, , also Oudh State, Kingdom of Oudh, Awadh Subah, or Awadh State) was a Mughal subah, then an independent kingdom, and lastly a British protectorate in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the Br ...

commission in September of the same year. He became a

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 1864, antedated to March 1859. He was appointed as a judge at the small cause court at

Sitapur Sitapur is a city and a municipal board in Sitapur district in the States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 90 kilometres north of state capital, Lucknow. The traditional origin for the name is said to be by ...

in June 1868, and in November of the same year he was appointed junior secretary to the chief commissioner there. 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 ...

in September 1870, at which point he was still serving with the 1st European Light Cavalry, in addition to being a city magistrate at

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

. Currie had studied law and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

as a member of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in January 1874. He was appointed a deputy commissioner at Lucknow in November 1878, while in November of the following year he was promoted to brevet

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 ...

. He gained the full rank of major in January 1883, while in March 1888 he was appointed a commissioner at Lucknow. By 1898 Currie held 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 ...

. In June 1898, he was promoted to major-general. He later returned to England, where he settled at

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England about south-west of London. It is in Mole Valley, Mole Valley District and the non-metropolitan district, council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs ro ...

. Currie wrote a number of legal commentaries and manuals, including the ''Indian Code of Criminal Procedure'' and the ''Indian Law Examination Manual''. He was married twice, firstly to Susan Elizabeth Pears until her death in 1868, with the couple having two children, and secondly to Julia Buller, whom he had married in 1869 and had seven children with. Currie died at Dorking in December 1920. Amongst his immediate family, his half-brother's

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

and

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

also played first-class cricket. Several nephews were prominent first-class cricketers in

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Two county championship competitions have existed since the late 19th century at ...

.Cheltenham and County. ''

Gloucestershire Echo ''Gloucestershire Echo'' is a local weekly newspaper based in Gloucester, England. Published every Thursday, it covers the areas of Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, Moreton-in-Marsh, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold and Tewkesbury. The newspaper is head ...

''. 7 December 1920. p. 5

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Currie, Fendall 1841 births 1920 deaths People from Prayagraj British Indian Army generals English cricketers Gentlemen of Kent cricketers Members of Lincoln's Inn English barristers 19th-century English judges 19th-century British military personnel English male non-fiction writers English legal writers Younger sons of baronets