George Balfour Traill (20 June 1833 — 20 November 1913) was a

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 ...

and

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 ...

officer and 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

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.

Life

The son of James Traill senior (1794–1873), a Metropolitan police magistrate, and his wife Caroline Whateley, he was the younger brother of James Christie Traill, born in June 1833 at

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

. He was commissioned into the

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, though there is also a sopr ...

in December 1852. He served during the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

and was present at the

Siege of Delhi The siege of Delhi was one of the decisive conflicts of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The rebellion against the authority of the East India Company was widespread through much of Northern India, but essentially it was sparked by the mass up ...

, the

Battle of Agra The Battle of Agra was a comparatively minor but nevertheless decisive action during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Indian rebels attacked a column of British troops which had relieved a garrison at Agra, but although they surprised the column, ...

and the

Siege of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British East India Company's Army) during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief att ...

.Obituary. ''Dublin Daily Express''. 22 November 1913. p. 10 He was promoted to

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 ...

during the rebellion in July 1857, with promotion to second captain following in October 1861, with Traill having transferred from the

Bengal Artillery The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Govern ...

to 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 ...

. As his military career progressed, Traill gained the rank of captain in December 1869, before being 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 July 1874. A further promotion to

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 ...

followed, with Traill being appointed to the Staff as an Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General in Ireland in April 1882. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge of ...

in December of that year, before retiring in December 1887 and being granted the honorary rank of

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. On occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Indian Rebellion, Traill was made a Member of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in the

1907 Birthday Honours The 1907 Birthday Honours for the British Empire were announced on 28 June, to celebrate the birthday of Edward VII. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (K ...

. He died at

Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies marshland reclai ...

in November 1913.

Cricketer

Traill 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 officiall ...

for the

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 influence ...

(MCC) against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

in 1864. Batting twice in the match, he was ended the MCC's first innings

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

on 1, while in their second innings he opened the batting and was dismissed for 4 runs by

V. E. Walker Vyell Edward Walker (20 April 1837 – 3 January 1906) was an English cricketer and administrator. Teddy Walker was born in Southgate, Middlesex and educated at Harrow School. He was the fifth of seven cricket playing brothers who resided a ...

. His brothers James and

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

both played first-class cricket.

Family

Traill married in 1876 Juliana Evans, 4th daughter of

Edward Bourchier Hartopp Edward Bourchier Hartopp (1808–1884), was a British politician. He was High Sheriff of Leicestershire. He was the Conservative MP for North Leicestershire 1859–68. Hartopp was born 14 December 1808, the son of Edward Hartopp and Anna Elea ...

, as her second husband. She had previously been married to Charles Shuttleworth Holden of Aston Hall, Derbyshire, who died in 1872. Edward Charles Shuttleworth Holden (1865–1916) was her son by the first marriage.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Traill, George 1833 births 1913 deaths People from Lewisham British Indian Army officers British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Royal Artillery officers English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers British Army major generals Companions of the Order of the Bath Cricketers from Kent