General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Arthur Percy Upton CB (13 June 1777 – 22 January 1855) was an
Anglo-Irish soldier, politician and amateur
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 st ...
er.
Background
Upton was the third son of
Clotworthy Upton, 1st Baron Templetown
Clotworthy Upton, 1st Baron Templetown (14 March 1721 – 16 April 1785) was an Anglo-Irish courtier and peer.
He was the youngest son of Lieutenant Colonel John Upton, of Castle Upton, County Antrim, by his wife Mary Upton, only daughter of Dr ...
, by Elizabeth Boughton, daughter of Shuckburgh Boughton.
John Upton, 1st Viscount Templetown, and the Honourable
Fulke Howard were his brothers. He was educated at
Westminster School
Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It derives from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the 1066 Norman Conquest, as d ...
and attended the Royal Military Academy in Berlin.
Military career
He entered the British army in 1793 as an ensign in the
Coldstream Guards
The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremoni ...
and thereafter rose through the ranks as a lieutenant and captain in 1795, aide-de-camp to
Sir Ralph Abercromby
Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Governor of Trinidad, served as Commander-in-Chief, I ...
in 1799, major in the
13th Foot in 1807, lieutenant-colonel in the 7th West Indian regiment and the
Grenadier Guards
"Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it."
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = Slow: " Scipio"
, mascot =
, equipment =
, equipment ...
in 1807, brevet colonel in 1814, major-general in 1821, lieutenant-general in 1837 and full general on 11 November 1851. He was awarded
CB on 4 June 1815.
He was Equerry to the Queen in 1810, aide-de-camp to the Duke of York in 1815 and equerry to the Duchess of Kent by 1835.
Cricket career
Upton was an early member of
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 influenc ...
(MCC) who played several matches for its team. He played for the Gentlemen in the inaugural and second
Gentlemen v Players
Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...
matches in 1806. He took six catches in the first match, which the Gentlemen with
given men won by an innings.
CricketArchive – scorecard of second Gentlemen v Players match
/ref>
Upton's career spanned the 1795 to 1808 seasons. He is known to have made 47 appearances in high-level matches. He was a useful batsman and a good fielder but seems to have bowled only rarely.
Political career
Upton was a Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
(MP) for Bury St Edmunds from 1818 to 1826.[
He died unmarried in 1855.
]
References
Further reading
* Arthur Haygarth
Arthur Haygarth (4 August 1825 – 1 May 1903) was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians. He played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex between 1844 and 1861, as well as nu ...
, ''Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826)'', Lillywhite, 1862
External links
CricketArchive record of Arthur Upton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upton, Arthur
1777 births
1855 deaths
People educated at Westminster School, London
British Army generals
English cricketers
English cricketers of 1787 to 1825
Gentlemen cricketers
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
UK MPs 1818–1820
UK MPs 1820–1826
Younger sons of barons
Companions of the Order of the Bath
Recipients of the Military Order of Max Joseph
T. Mellish's XI cricketers
Marylebone Cricket Club and Homerton cricketers
Irish cricketers