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 ...

William Henry Parnell (7 October 1837 – 4 May 1879) was a

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 with the

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

and an amateur

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 ...

er who played 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 ...

in the 1860s.

Life and military career

William Henry Parnell was born on 7 October 1837 in

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 Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London, the eldest son of Henry William Parnell, 3rd

Baron Congleton Baron Congleton, of Congleton in the County Palatine of Chester, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1841 for the Whig politician and former Secretary at War and Paymaster of the Forces Sir Henry Parnell, 4th Bar ...

and Sophia (née Bligh). After receiving his education at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

, he joined the

at the age of 17, being granted the rank of ensign and

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 sub ...

within the

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

on 22 December 1854. Three years later, he purchased commission to lieutenant and captain, while in 1869, he further purchased commission to captain and lieutenant colonel. He died on 4 May 1879, a few hours after being taken ill at his Bury Street home in St James's, London. He was unmarried, and survived by two younger brothers, who were also in the army, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Parnell (later the 4th Baron Congleton) of the 2nd Battalion, and Major Arthur Parnell of the Royal Engineers.

Cricket

Parnell made his first appearance in

in 1859, playing for the

(MCC) against

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 ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

. Parnell played as a lower-order batsman, scoring three runs. In all, Parnell played seventeen times in first-class cricket between 1859 and 1870, taking thirteen wickets with his fast

roundarm bowling In cricket, roundarm bowling is a bowling style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and largely superseded underarm bowling by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the bowlers extend their arm about 90 degrees from their ...

. Alongside the MCC, he also played once for

I Zingari I Zingari (from dialectalized Italian , meaning "the Gypsies"; corresponding to standard Italian ') are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs, founded in 1845 and 1888 respectively. It is the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the 'wa ...

; all his first-class matches were played in the south-east of England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnell, William 1837 births 1879 deaths English cricketers I Zingari cricketers Grenadier Guards officers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen of Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Cricketers from the City of Westminster People from Marylebone 19th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from the City of Westminster