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Arnold Reading

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Arnold Hughes Eagleton Reading
Born3 April 1896
Heilbron, Orange Free State
Died4 January 1975(1975-01-04) (aged 78)
Sellicks Green, Somerset,
England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Marines
Years of service1914–1946
RankMajor-general
Commands5th RM Battalion (1940–1942)
102nd RM Battalion (1942–1943)
RM Training Group Devon (1944–1945)
Plymouth Division RM (1945–1946)
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second World War
AwardsOrder of the British Empire

Major-General Arnold Hughes Eagleton Reading CBE DL (3 April 1896 – 4 January 1975) was an English first-class cricketer and Royal Marines officer. He served in the Royal Marines from 1914–1946, rising to the rank of major-general, in addition to playing first-class cricket for the Royal Navy.

Life and military career

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The son of the Reverend Mark Alfred Reading, he was born in the Orange Free State in April 1896 at Heilbron.[1] He was educated in England at Cranleigh School,[2] before joining the Royal Marines at the start of the First World War as a probationary second lieutenant.[3] During the war he was promoted twice, first to lieutenant in March 1915,[4] while in May 1918 he was promoted to captain.[5] Reading later made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the Royal Navy against the British Army cricket team at Lord's in 1929.[6] Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed in the Royal Navy first-innings for 12 runs by Frederick Arnold, while in their second-innings he was dismissed for 7 runs by Edward Armitage.[7] He was promoted to major in June 1932,[8] before being promoted to lieutenant colonel.[9]

At the start of the Second World War he was posted to HMS St. Angelo in Malta.[1] In November 1939, he was made a temporary colonel,[10] which he relinquished in January 1940.[11] He was the commanding officer of 5th RM Battalion between March 1940 and February 1942,[1] taking part in the operations in Dakar between August and October 1940. He was made an acting colonel commandant in February 1942,[12] while in October 1943 he was made a colonel 2nd commandant.[13]

He was appointed as the Royal Marines aide-de-camp to George VI in October 1945, by which time the war was over, replacing Arthur Reginald Chater in the role.[14] After the conclusion of the war, Reading held the rank of temporary brigadier and was promoted to major-general in January 1946.[15] He was made a CBE in the 1946 Birthday Honours.[16] He was placed on the retired list in November of the same year, having ended his career as the commander of the RM Plymouth Division.[17][1]

Following his retirement, Reading settled at Buckland St Mary, Somerset. He was appointed as a deputy lieutenant for Somerset in June 1955.[18] He later moved to Sellicks Green, where he died in January 1975. He was survived by his wife, Phoebe, whom he had married in 1933.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Royal Marine (RM) Officers 1939-1945". www.unithistories.com. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  2. ^ Who's Who. A. & C. Black. 1968.
  3. ^ "No. 28879". The London Gazette. 25 August 1914. p. 6685.
  4. ^ "No. 30248". The London Gazette. 24 August 1917. p. 8703.
  5. ^ "No. 30741". The London Gazette. 11 June 1918. p. 6933.
  6. ^ "First-Class Matches played by Arnold Reading". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Army v Royal Navy, 1929". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  8. ^ "No. 33836". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 1932. p. 3953.
  9. ^ "No. 34614". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 April 1939. p. 2344.
  10. ^ "No. 34724". The London Gazette. 3 November 1939. p. 7409.
  11. ^ "No. 34782". The London Gazette. 30 January 1940. p. 607.
  12. ^ "No. 35463". The London Gazette. 20 February 1942. p. 843.
  13. ^ "No. 36212". The London Gazette. 15 October 1943. p. 4575.
  14. ^ "No. 37339". The London Gazette. 6 November 1945. p. 5405.
  15. ^ "No. 37441". The London Gazette. 22 January 1946. p. 587.
  16. ^ "No. 37598". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1946. p. 2764.
  17. ^ "No. 37813". The London Gazette. 10 December 1946. p. 6027.
  18. ^ "No. 40496". The London Gazette. 3 June 1955. p. 3214.
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