Edward Thornton, 3rd Count of Cacilhas (27 October 1893 – 18 October 1970) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

first-class cricketer,

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

officer.

Early life

Thornton was born at Woodhurst, Pease Pottage, Sussex, son of Edward Thornton (1856-1904), a diplomat who worked in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and Emma Jessie, daughter of Philip Rawson, DL, of Woodhurst, Sussex. His grandfather was the diplomat

Edward Thornton, 2nd Count of Cacilhas Sir Edward Thornton (13 July 1817 – 26 January 1906) was a British diplomat who held posts in Latin America, Turkey, Russia, and served for fourteen years as Minister to the United States. Early career Thornton was born in London, the son o ...

; on his grandfather's death in 1906, Thornton succeeded to the title as 3rd Count of Cacilhas (also "Cassilhas") due to his father's death two years earlier.

Career

Thornton served during 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 fightin ...

with the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

, holding the rank of 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 sub ...

in August 1916. He was transferred to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in November 1916, as an observer with the rank of flying officer. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

in September 1918, by which point the Royal Flying Corps had been amalgamated into th newly formed

, along with 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's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

. He remained in the Royal Air Force into the 1940s, serving during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, during which he retired in March 1945, retaining the rank of

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

Cricket career

Following the war, he made one 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 one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for the

Combined Services cricket team The Combined Services cricket team represents the British Armed Forces. The team played at first-class level in England for more than forty years in the mid-twentieth century. Their first first-class match was against Gentlemen of England at Lo ...

against

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

in 1921. Batting twice in the match, Thornton scored 21 runs in the Combined Services first-innings, before being dismissed by Joseph Dixon, while in their second-innings he was dismissed by the same bowler for 38 runs.

Personal life

In 1922, Thornton married Marjorie Gabriel Pike, daughter of W. R. Pike; they had three sons - Edward Peter, Christopher, and David - and a daughter, (Marjorie) Jean, who married

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

lieutenant Ralph Carnac Baker Stallard-Penoyre (1913-1943), of a landed gentry family of

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

. He was killed in the explosion of

HMS Dasher (D37) HMS ''Dasher'' (D37) was a British Royal Navy aircraft carrier, of the , converted merchant vessels, and one of the shortest-lived escort carriers. She served in the Second World War and sank on 27 March 1943. Design and description The ''Ave ...

, and is memorialised at

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

. Thornton died at

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

in October 1970.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Edward 1893 births 1970 deaths People from Slaugham Royal Fusiliers officers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I English cricketers Combined Services cricketers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Cricketers from West Sussex Military personnel from West Sussex