Michael Fitzroy Talbot Baines (3 September 1898 – 9 March 1990) was an English first-class cricketer and

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. Graduating from the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

, Baines served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

during 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 ...

. Alongside a military career that lasted for thirty years, he also 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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for 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 ...

, as well as serving as the deputy lieutenant for Bedfordshire. 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 1954 and was one of the oldest surviving first-class cricketers at the time of his death.

Early life and First World War

The son of Major Edward Baines, he was born at

Kasauli Kasauli is a town and cantonment, located in the Solan district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established by the British Raj in 1842 as a Colonial hill station,Sharma, Ambika"Architecture of Kasauli churches" ''The ...

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 ...

, before being educated at

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

in England. From Cheltenhem he attended the

, graduating in August 1916 and entering into the

as a second lieutenant. He served on the Western Front in the

, where he was initially posted to

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

. He later served at

Armentières Armentières (; , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fi� ...

Ploegsteert Wood Ploegsteert Wood was a sector of the Western Front in Flanders in World War I, part of the Ypres Salient. It is located around the Belgian village of Ploegsteert, Wallonia. Intense fighting took place as part of the Battle of Armentieres betwe ...

, and Passchendaele. During the course of the war, he was wounded by shrapnel, with his wound becoming infected and requiring treatment in the base hospital at

Wimereux Wimereux (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France north of Boulogne-sur-Mer, on the banks of the small river Wimereux. The river Slack forms the northern border of the commune and the Englis ...

. In the later stages of the war he served at the

Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient, around Ypres, in Belgium, was the scene of several battles and a major part of the Western Front during World War I. Location Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. The city is overlooked b ...

, before seeing action during the

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

and at the Battle of Amiens. He contracted

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

in 1918, which saw him hospitalised to Le Tréport. He was promoted to the rank of

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 February 1918. Following the Allied victory in November 1918, he was posted to

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

in 1919 as part of the Army of Occupation, serving in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

with the 65th Battery, 8th (Howitzer) Brigade in 1921–1922. During a peacekeeping patrol along the German–Polish frontier, he was shot at by a Polish sentry while attempting to cross a river, but was unharmed.

Later military career and life

Eight years after the conclusion of the war, Baines made an appearance in

for the

against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

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 orc ...

. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed without scoring in the Army's first-innings by Samuel Jagger, while in their second-innings he remained unbeaten without scoring. He was seconded from the Royal Artillery to the

Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey Formed in 1337, the Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey can claim to be the oldest sub-unit of the British Army, although, because it is not a regiment, and was disbanded for decades in the late 20th century, it is not the most senior. History ...

as an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

with the local rank of

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 May 1927. By 1929, he was serving as a temporary captain in the Territorial Army (TA), with restoration to the active list in March 1932. He attended a two-year course at the Staff College at Camberley in January 1933. He was then seconded for service on the staff in December 1936, serving in British India as a staff captain from 1 December 1936 to 25 April 1939. He served with the Royal Artillery during 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 ...

, retiring in May 1946, by which time the war was over, on account of disability, upon which he was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel. He was appointed as a justice of the peace for Bedfordshire in 1950, and was appointed an

in the

1954 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1954 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

, having also served as a deputy lieutenant for

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

. He died in March 1990 at South Newton, Wiltshire. Prior to his death, he was one of the oldest surviving first-class cricketers. His cousin, Threlfall Baines, was also a first-class cricketer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baines, Michael 1898 births 1990 deaths English justices of the peace Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley People from Kasauli People educated at Cheltenham College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War I English cricketers British Army cricketers British Army personnel of World War II Deputy lieutenants of Bedfordshire Members of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel of British India 20th-century English sportsmen