Sir Archibald Moir Park Lyle, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1884 – 4 December 1946) was a Scottish 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 str ...

er,

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 ship owner.

Early life and cricket

The son of Alexander Park Lyle, he was born at Greenock in February 1884. He was educated at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

, before going up to

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. While studying at Oxford, he 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

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

in 1904 and 1906, making two appearances at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

and 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 ...

. He scored 67 runs in these two matches, with a high score of 27. Lyle was also a successful athlete while at Oxford, representing the university in

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hu ...

and shot put against

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

from 1904–06. He competed against Harvard and

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

in 1904. Lyle played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

for Oxford University RFC from 1902–05. After graduating from Oxford, Lyle was commissioned in the

in October 1906 as a second lieutenant in the Scottish Horse Imperial Yeomanry, which was renamed the Scottish Horse in 1908. He married Dorothy de Hoghton, daughter of Sir James de Hoghton, in November 1908. 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 ...

in April 1911. Lyle appeared in his third and final first-class cricket appearance in 1912, when he played for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

against the touring

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

Raeburn Place Raeburn Place is the main street of the suburb of Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland, and the name of the playing fields there. Rugby The first ever international rugby football game was played on the playing fields at Raeburn Place on 27 Ma ...

. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed in the Scotland first innings by

Bill Whitty William James Whitty (15 August 1886 – 30 January 1974) was an Australian cricketer who played 14 Test matches between 1909 and 1912. Early career Born in Sydney, Whitty had only played junior cricket before he was noticed by Test batsman V ...

for 5 runs, while in their second innings he was dismissed for the same bowler for 10 runs, the second highest score in the Scottish innings of 52 all out. Weeks prior to the commencement of 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 ...

, he was promoted to captain.

World War I and later life

Lyle served during the First World War with the Scottish Horse, becoming a temporary major in October 1915, which he relinquished in August 1917. In January 1918, he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty while leading a company during an attack with the Scottish Horse as part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. He was again made a temporary major in August 1918, while in 2nd in command, which he relinquished following the war in May 1919. Lyle spent the early part of 1920 away from the military, travelling around

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 ...

with his family. He returned from

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

aboard the steamship in April, having been promoted to major in the Scottish Horse in February. He was conferred the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

in October 1921 and was later promoted to lieutenant colonel in July 1924. In June 1928, he was made a brevet

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 o ...

, before retiring from active service in October of the same year, retaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. Upon the death of his father in December 1933, he succeeded as the 2nd Baronet of the

Lyle baronets There have been three baronetcies created for members of the Lyle family, all in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. One creation is extant as of 2010. The Lyle Baronetcy, of Greenock in the County of Renfrew, was created in the Baronetage of ...

, in addition to inheriting the Lyle Shipping Company. He served as a deputy lieutenant of Perthshire in 1937, and was appointed vice-lieutenant in June 1940. During his life he was a member of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a per ...

, the King's Bodyguard For Scotland, in addition to serving as a justice of the peace. Lyle died at

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...

in December 1946. With his son, Ian Archibald de Hoghton Lyle, being killed in action 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 ...

, he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson, Gavin Lyle.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyle, Archibald 1884 births 1946 deaths Rugby union players from Greenock People educated at Fettes College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Scottish cricketers Oxford University cricketers Scottish rugby union players Oxford University RFC players Scottish Horse officers British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Members of the Royal Company of Archers Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Ship owners Scottish businesspeople in shipping Scottish justices of the peace Deputy Lieutenants of Perthshire 20th-century Scottish businesspeople