William John Bythell (9 September 1862 – 30 June 1920) was an English 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 and British Army officer. The son of Colonel Bythell of the

Bombay Staff Corps The Indian Staff Corps was a branch of the Indian Army during the British Raj. Separate Staff Corps were formed in 1861 for the Bengal, Madras and Bombay Armies, which were later combined into the Indian Army. They were meant to provide officers f ...

, he was born in British India at

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

in September 1862. He was educated in England at

Newton Abbot College Newton Abbot College is an 11-19 secondary school situated in Newton Abbot, Devon. The College, recognised by Ofsted as a good School, offers education for GCSE and Sixth Form students. History Newton Abbot College was established as the Gramm ...

, before attending the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

. He graduated from Woolwich as a lieutenant into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

in July 1882. He served in British India with the Royal Engineers and was a part of 400-strong column which took part in the expedition against Lienpunga in Assam, where he carried out survey operations as part of his role as an assistant superintendent for the

Survey of India The Survey of India is India's central engineering agency in charge of Cartography, mapping and surveying.

. Bythell was promoted to

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 January 1891, and was later praised for his survey operations during the

Chitral Relief Expedition The Chitral Expedition (Urdu:چترال فوجی مہم) was a military expedition in 1895 sent by the British authorities to relieve the fort at Chitral, which was under siege after a local coup following the death of the old ruler. An interv ...

of November 1895. By January 1898, he held the rank of

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

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 ...

and took part in the Mohmand campaign of 1897–98, where he was further

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He was promoted to the full rank of major in January 1900. Bythell was a keen amateur cricketer, playing club cricket in India for Shimla. Returning to England in 1903, he made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club against London County at Crystal Palace. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed for scores of 6 and 2 by

Joe Vine Joseph Vine (15 May 1875 – 25 April 1946) was a professional cricketer, who played his first-class cricket for Sussex County Cricket Club and London County. Vine also played two Test matches for England and was named as one of the five Wisde ...

and

Carst Posthuma Carst Posthuma (11 January 1868 – 21 December 1939) was a Dutch cricket player of the late 19th/early 20th century. He was a left-handed batsman and left-arm fast bowler. He played 72 times for the Dutch national team up to 1928, when he wou ...

respectively. In the Royal Engineers, he was promoted 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 ...

in September 1906, later being made a brevet colonel in September 1909. He served in the First World War in the Southern Command and the Chemical Warfare Department under Major-General

Henry Fleetwood Thuillier Major General Sir Henry Fleetwood Thuillier, (30 March 1868 – 11 June 1953) was a British Army officer who played a significant part in the development of gas warfare. Early life Thuillier was born at Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India, on 30 Ma ...

. He retired from active service midway through the in May 1916 and was placed on an Indian pension. Blythell was made a CBE in the

1919 Birthday Honours The 1919 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

, for services rendered in connection with the war. He died at the King's Service Nursing Home at Southsea in June 1920.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bythell, William 1862 births 1920 deaths People from Pune Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Engineers officers British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition British military personnel of the First Mohmand Campaign English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers British Army personnel of World War I Commanders of the Order of the British Empire