William Slaney Kenyon-Slaney PC (24 August 1847 – 24 April 1908) was an English sportsman, soldier and politician.

Biography

Kenyon-Slaney was born in Rajkot in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

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 ...

, the son of Captain William Kenyon of the 2nd Bombay Cavalry and Frances Catherine Slaney, daughter of Robert A. Slaney of Shropshire. Upon the death of Robert Slaney in 1862 the Kenyon family inherited the Slaney family estate of Hatton Grange near

Shifnal Shifnal is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about east of Telford, 17 miles (27 km) east of the county town of Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of the city of Wolverhampton. It is near the M5 ...

in Shropshire and the Kenyon family name was changed to Kenyon-Slaney. Kenyon-Slaney was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and briefly at Christ Church, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1865. In November 1867, he left Oxford and received a commission into the 3rd battalion of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

. Kenyon-Slaney was a noted sportsman and played first-class cricket 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), as well as playing at county level for

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

between 1865 and 1879. He was also a keen

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player playing for Wanderers and was selected to play for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

against

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 ...

in the second ever football international on 8 March 1873, where he scored two goals. Kenyon-Slaney became the first player to score in an international football match as the first international between the two nations in November the previous year had been a goalless draw. He also took part for the Wanderers on the winning side in the

1873 FA Cup Final The 1873 FA Cup Final was a football match between Wanderers and Oxford University on 29 March 1873 at Lillie Bridge in London. It was the second final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known ...

and on the losing side for the

Old Etonians Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

in the drawn first match of the 1875 Final and both matches of the 1876 Final. In 1882 under the command of Sir Garnet Wolseley he took part in the Battle of Tel el-Kebir during the Urabi Revolt and was decorated for his efforts. In 1887 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 o ...

and placed on half pay. He fully retired from the military in 1892. On 22 February 1887, he married Lady Mabel Selina Bridgeman, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Bradford; they had two children; a daughter Sybil Agnes Kenyon-Slaney (b. 1888) and a son Robert Orlando Rodolph Kenyon-Slaney (b. 1892) who was High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1935. In 1886 Kenyon-Slaney was elected to Parliament to represent the Newport division of Shropshire for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

which he represented until his death (after an attack of

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intens ...

) in 1908. He was buried at St Andrew's Parish Churchyard,

Ryton, Shropshire Ryton is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England, in the district of Bridgnorth. It lies about one mile north north west of Beckbury. The civil parish originates during Norman times, and appears as "Ruitone" in the Domesday book of 108 ...

References

External links

*
Cricinfo - Players and Officials - William Kenyon-Slaney
at content-uk.cricinfo.com

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenyon-Slaney, William 1847 births 1908 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Association football forwards British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War British sportsperson-politicians Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies England international footballers English cricketers English footballers FA Cup Final players Grenadier Guards officers I Zingari cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Newport, Shropshire Old Etonians F.C. players Oxford University A.F.C. players People educated at Eton College People from Newport, Shropshire UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 Wanderers F.C. players British people in colonial India

Biography

See also

References

External links