Christopher George Ling (6 November 1880 — 21 May 1953) was an English first-class

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 striki ...

er and British Army officer. The son of Christopher Ling senior, he was born in November 1880 at Wetheral, Cumberland. He was educated at Bradfield College, where he played for both the cricket and football elevens. Ling was commissioned as a

second 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 ...

into the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) in June 1900. Transferring to the

1st Middlesex Engineers The 1st Middlesex Engineers was the senior engineer unit of Britain's Volunteer Force, raised in 1860 and originally recruited from the South Kensington Museum. It provided Royal Engineers (RE) units to the 47th (1/2nd London) Division, the 47th ( ...

, he attended the

Royal Indian Engineering College The Royal Indian Engineering College (or RIEC) was a British college of Civil Engineering run by the India Office to train civil engineers for service in the Indian Public Works Department. It was located on the Cooper's Hill estate, near Egham, ...

and graduated from there in October 1902. He was sent to British India in 1905, where he was posted to the

3rd Sappers and Miners Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * High ...

of the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

. In July 1905, he was promoted to lieutenant. While serving in India, he made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the

Europeans cricket team The Europeans cricket team was an Indian first-class cricket team which took part in the annual Bombay tournament and Lahore tournament. The team was founded by members of the European community in Bombay who played cricket at the Bombay Gymkhan ...

against the

Parsees Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim co ...

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

in the 1905–06 Bombay Presidency Match. Batting twice in the match, he ended the Europeans first innings of 137 all out on 4 not out, while in their second innings he was dismissed for 14 runs by

Jehangir Warden Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

. With the ball, he bowled 11 wicketless overs. He was seconded to the Royal Military Academy (RMA) in January 1913, where he was placed in command of a company of gentlemen cadets, with promotion to

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

following in October of the same year. At the beginning of the First World War, he was placed in command of companies of gentlemen cadets at the RMA. Later serving on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

, Ling was decorated with the Military Cross in

1916 Birthday Honours The 1916 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

. He was promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in October 1917, with appointment to the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

in December of the same year. Ling was further decorated with the Distinguished Service Order in the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

. Following the war, he was temporarily appointed in February 1921 as chief instructor in military engraving and geometrical drawing at the RMA. In December 1923, he was appointed to the rank of

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, before being appointed to the War Office in March 1926, an appointment which he relinquished in January 1927. Ling was promoted to colonel in April 1928, before being appointed a temporary brigadier in February 1931 whilst director of military operations at British Indian Army headquarters. In October 1936, his employment in the army ceased and he was placed on the half-pay list. Ling was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the

1937 Coronation Honours The 1937 Coronation Honours were awarded in honour of the coronation of George VI. Royal Honours Order of the Thistle * The Queen Royal Victorian Chain * The Queen * Queen Mary * Clive, Baron Wigram Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) * The Queen ...

, and was later appointed by George VI as an Officer in the Order of Saint John in the

1947 New Year Honours The 1947 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 published on 31 December 1946.Operational M ...

. During his military career, Ling served as the honorary secretary of the

Army Football Association The Army Football Association (Army FA) is a county football association affiliated to The Football Association of England, for the administration of football within the British Army in the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Germany. The Army FA is based ...

. Ling retired to England, where he died at

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

in May 1953.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ling, Christopher 1880 births 1953 deaths People from Wetheral Cricketers from Cumbria People educated at Bradfield College Royal Berkshire Regiment officers Royal Engineers officers Alumni of the Royal Indian Engineering College English cricketers Europeans cricketers British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)