Francis Marindin

Colonel Sir Francis Arthur Marindin K.C.M.G., R.E. (retired), (1838-1900) served with the Royal Engineers and was a key figure in the early development of football (soccer). He was later knighted for his work in public services.

Born on 1st May 1838 it Weymouth, Dorset, he was the second son of the Rev. S. Marindin of Chesterton, Shropshire. He was educated at Eton College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.

Marindin spent active service in the Crimean War (1854-56) and was a member of the Board of Trade Railway Inspectorate, an occupation he continued after he left the Corps. He is credited with having founded the Royal Engineers Football team in 1869, which went on to win the FA Cup in 1875. He retired from the Royal Engineers in 1879 at the rank of Major.

As a football player, Marindin played in the first FA Cup Final in 1872, which the Royal Engineers' team lost. At the time, Marindin held the rank of Captain. The team lost the final again in 1874, but won it in 1875, each time with Marindin in the XI.

Marindin become the President of the Football Association in 1874 and served in that capacity until 1879. As a referee he took charge of the 1880 FA Cup final and those from 1884 to 1890. This period included a replay at Derbyshire County Cricket Club's Racecourse Ground in 1886, the first time an FA Cup Final had been played outside London. In his last final, crowds invaded the pitch and soldiers had to clear the field. He was considered "one of the outstanding referees who really knows the rules". He was widely known simply as "The Major".

He became an Inspecting Officer for the Board of Trade in 1875, rising to Senior Inspector of Railways in 1895. His work in this regard involved travelling the country to test and inspect new works on passenger railways to ensure their safety before they could be used. In describing this period of his life, his obituary in The Times of 24th April 1900, described him as "plain speaking, coupled with a complete mastery of his subject", making the point that the railway companies of the time knew that " [his office] "was not likely to allow irregularities to remain long unnoticed". In 1899 he submitted a report on accidents on railway workers on which a new Act of Parliament concerning rail safety was based, and throughout the 1890s was responsible for a host of improvements in the working practices of Britain's railways.

He helped develop London's new electrical lighting system and was knighted in 1897. He died aged 61 on 21st April 1900 at home at Hans Crescent, London S.W.

References

* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~maxineweddell/1340.htm] - Obituary.

External links

* [http://www.remuseum.org.uk/rem_his_article.htm Royal Engineers Museum] When the Royal Engineers won the FA Cup 1875
* [http://www.remuseum.org.uk/corpshistory/rem_corps_part12.htm Royal Engineers Museum] Engineers in a Civic role
* [http://www.remuseum.org.uk/rem_his_welfare.htm#sport Royal Engineers Museum] History of Sports in the Royal Engineers