Francis Arthur Marindin | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Marindin c. 1892 | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1838-05-01)1 May 1838 Weymouth, Dorset, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | 21 April 1900(1900-04-21) (aged 61) Hans Crescent, London, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Education | Eton College Royal Military Academy, Woolwich | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Football player Football executive Soldier Inspecting officer of railways | ||||||||||||||||
| Known for | Founder and player of Royal Engineers AFC President ofThe FA (1874–90) | ||||||||||||||||
| Father | Rev. Samuel Marindin | ||||||||||||||||
| Military career | |||||||||||||||||
| Branch |  British Army | ||||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1854–1879 | ||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Colonel | ||||||||||||||||
| Unit | Royal Engineers | ||||||||||||||||
| Battles / wars | Crimean War | ||||||||||||||||
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ColonelSir Francis Arthur Marindin,KCMG (1 May 1838 – 21 April 1900) served with theRoyal Engineers and was a key figure in the early development ofassociation football. He was later knighted for his work in public services.[1]
Born inWeymouth, Dorset, he was the second son of the Rev. Samuel Marindin of Chesterton, in the parish ofWorfield,Shropshire. He was educated atEton College and theRoyal Military Academy, Woolwich.[2]
Marindin joined the Royal Engineers as an Ensign on 28 December 1854 and saw active service in theCrimean War (1855–56). He was a member of the Board of Trade Railway Inspectorate, an occupation he continued after he left the Corps. He was ultimately an honorary colonel in theEngineer and Railway Staff Corps.[1]
He is credited with having founded theRoyal Engineers Football team in 1869, which went on to win theFA Cup in 1875. The club had been founded in at least 1863 and is notable as the first sideto exploit modern teamwork and passing tactics. He retired from the Royal Engineers in 1879 at the rank of Major.[1]
As a football player, Marindin played in the firstFA Cup final in 1872, which the Royal Engineers' team lost toWanderers. At the time, Marindin held the rank ofCaptain. The team lost the final again in 1874 toOxford University, with Marindin in the XI, but won it against theOld Etonians in 1875, although Marindin was absent, having left Chatham for a new posting. The legend that he came to the match but abstained from playing over a conflict of interest as both an Engineer and an Old Etonian is unfounded.[3]
Marindin become the President of theFootball Association in 1874 and served in that capacity until 1890. As areferee he took charge of the1880 FA Cup final and seven in succession from1884 to1890.[4] This period included a replay atDerbyshire County Cricket Club'sRacecourse Ground in1886, 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".[2]
Marindin served as an arbitrator (along withLord Kingsburgh) in settling the dispute among the four home rugby unions which resulted in the creation of theInternational Rugby Football Board in 1890.[5]
He became an Inspecting Officer for theBoard 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, and also compiling reports on railway accidents –the accident at Thirsk in 1892 being a notable example. In describing this period of his life, his obituary in The Times of 24 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.[1]
He helped develop London's new electrical lighting system and was knighted in 1897. He died aged 61 on 21 April 1900 at home atHans Crescent, London S.W., and was buried on the family Scottish property at Craigflower,Torryburn,Dunfermline.[3]
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