Marcus Henry Milner, (16 April 1864 – 16 January 1939) was an English racehorse trainer, soldier and civil servant and a

cricketer 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 ...

who played two

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 ...

matches for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1884. He was born at

West Retford West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

and died at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Career

Milner was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. Having captained Wellington as a left-handed opening batsman and a left-arm medium-pace bowler, he appeared as a lower-order batsman and bowler in his two Cambridge matches; he took five wickets and scored 20 and 4 in the first game against an invitational

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

side, but was not successful in the second, and did not appear again. Milner had a varied career after leaving Cambridge. In 1888, he married the Dowager Duchess of Montrose, a distant relation 46 years his senior (they were both descended from

Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone (16 July 1694 – 4 April 1763), known as Sir Marcus Beresford, 4th Baronet, until 1720 and subsequently as The Viscount Tyrone until 1746, was an Irish peer, freemason and politician. Background He was the on ...

). In 1874 after the death of her first husband the

James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose, KT, PC (16 July 1799 – 30 December 1874), styled Marquess of Graham until 1836, of Buchanan Castle in Stirlingshire (re-built by him in 1852–8) and 45 Belgrave Square in London, was a British Conserva ...

, she had married a wealthy racehorse owner,

William Stuart Stirling-Crawfurd William Stuart Stirling-Crawfurd (1819 – 23 February 1883) of Milton in Lanarkshire, Scotland, was a prominent racehorse owner. Origins He was the eldest son of Capt. William Stirling (1789–1826) of Milton and Castlemilk House, Rutherglen, ...

(1819-1883); she became an established breeder and trainer of racehorses, though forced by the conventions of the time to use a male pseudonym, "Mr Manton", for the business. For some time after her marriage to Milner the horses ran under his name, though the whole business had been sold in the months before the Duchess's death in 1894. According to his own short obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', Milner acted as "controller" to successive generations of the Stanley family, the

Earls of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end ...

. Milner was also a decorated soldier, serving with the 16th Battalion of the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

in which he and many other officers were appointed Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(DSO) "in recognition of their services during the operations in South Africa". After his return from South Africa he was appointed a

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 the

2nd County of London Yeomanry The Westminster Dragoons (WDs) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army Army Reserve, located in central London. Its lineage is continued by one of the Royal Yeomanry's six squadrons. Formed in the aftermath of Second Boer War as part of the ...

on 18 October 1902, though as a regular yeomanry regiment this did not include active service. He volunteered for service as a

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 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 ...

, when he was aide-de-camp to the commanding officer of the

55th (West Lancashire) Division The 55th (West Lancashire) Division was an infantry division of the British Army's Territorial Force (TF) that saw extensive combat during the First World War. It was raised initially in 1908 as the West Lancashire Division. Following the out ...

and was awarded the Belgian ''

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

''. He also served briefly as a civil servant: he was appointed assistant private secretary (unpaid) to the Under-Secretary for War in September 1902, and private secretary from 1905 to 1906. He was appointed a Member of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(MVO) in 1909.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milner, Marcus Henry 1864 births 1939 deaths English cricketers Cambridge University cricketers People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Imperial Yeomanry officers Members of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British racehorse trainers