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 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. Graduating from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, 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 (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 ...

. 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 one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

for the British Army cricket team, as well as serving as the deputy lieutenant for Bedfordshire. He was made an OBE 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 Solan district in 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 Tr ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, before being educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...

in England. From Cheltenhem he attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, 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. He later served at Armentières,

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. After fierce fighting in late 1914 and early 1915, Ploegsteert Wood be ...

, 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 (; vls, Wimeruwe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the b ...

. 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 an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War. Ypres district Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee ...

, before seeing action during the German spring offensive and at the Battle of Amiens. He contracted

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...

in 1918, which saw him hospitalised to

Le Tréport Le Tréport () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in Normandy, France. Geography A small fishing port and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux, some northeast of Dieppe at the junction of the D 940, the D 78 and t ...

. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

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

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

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

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

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 British Army cricket team against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

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 orchard ...

. 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 with the local rank of captain 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, 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 opposi ...

, 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 OBE in the 1954 Birthday Honours, having also served as a deputy lieutenant for

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

. 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 Threlfall Werge Talbot Baines (20 June 1908 – 8 May 1994) was a South African first-class cricketer active from 1925 to 1937 who played for Cambridge University, Eastern Province and Transvaal. He was born in Johannesburg and died in Wester ...

, 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 Solan district 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