Major Sir Francis Arthur MARINDIN
(1838-1900)

In 1860 during a posting to Mauritius he married Kathleen Mary, the daughter of Sir William Steveson, Governor General of Mauritius. Marindin served as his father-in-law's aide-de-camp (ADC) and private secretary between 1860 and 1863. In 1868 he was appointed adjutant at the School of Military Engineering (SME), Chatham and promoted to brigade major a year later.

Marindin's appointment to SME coincided with the early dominance of the Royal Engineers in association football, which was driven by him. The Corps joined the Football Association (FA) in 1869 the same year that Marindin was appointed the Chairman of the FA Committee. The committee, which was responsible for the adminstration of the FA had been formed six years earlier.

At the age of thirty-one Marindin became the Corps' team captain. On the football pitch he was described as being 'tall well-built' with a 'broad shouldered back' who played up 'the lines'. As a captain he was 'clever and shrewd'. It is likely that he and his fellow team members drew upon their military training to operate as a collective body because the playing style of the Corps team was described as the 'first to show the advantages of combination over old style of individualism', in other words they played as an effective team rather than a bunch of individuals.

In 1871 the FA introduced the Challenge Cup (later the FA Cup) competition and Marindin entered the Corps team. Under Marindin's captaincy the team were FA cup finalists in 1872 and 1874, but unfortunately for Marindin he was posted away from Chatham at the end of the 1874 season and therefore was not part of the team that eventually won the FA cup in 1875.

A football tour to the north of England, in 1873, was organised by Marindin where the Corps team played teams from Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield. It set a pattern that was soon followed by other FA teams, most famously by the Corinthians.

He was seconded to the Board of Trade in 1877 as inspecting officer of railways (at this time Royal Engineer officers filled many of the positions in the Board of Trade's Railway Inspectorate). He retired from the Royal Engineers in 1879 to take up an appointment in the Railway Inspectorate.

Marindin's posting from Chatham saw the end to his playing career but that disappointment was compensated when he succeeded SH Bartholomew as FA President in 1874.

To continue his active interest in the physical side of the game he took up refereeing, which he also considered as part of his role as president. Players were said to 'dread his frown'. Professionals referred to him as 'The Majaw', and despite his upper class upbringing he was was not seen as a 'dandy or la-de-da', but was regarded as "one of the outstanding referees who really knows the rules". But it was as the FA President that Marindin had most influence in shaping the development of the game. During his presidency he presided over a period of transformation from a pleasure pursuit of the wealthy few to a pastime and spectacle for the masses. He was part of a powerful coalition of amateur administrators who oversaw the acceptance of open professionalism in the laws of the game. Together with Arthur Kinnaird and Charles Alcock, Marindin recognized that professionalism was a part of the way the game had developed in among the industrial cities of the north, and that if the FA simply outlawed the professional player the game would split, and would cease to be a national pastime. They argued that professionalism should be accepted, but controlled, and the proposal to legalize it was passed by 35 votes to 15 at a special general meeting of the FA held at Anderston's Hotel, Fleet Street, London on 20 July 1885. However, in spite of this victory Marindin grew increasingly disenchanted with the development of the professional game so resigned from the presidency in 1890.

He became Senior Inspector of Railways in 1895. In 1899 he submitted a report on accidents on railway workers on which a new Act of Parliament concerning rail safety was based. He helped develop London's new electrical lighting system in 1897. He retired from the Railway Inspectorate in 1900 after 23 years of service with them. For his services to the Egyptian State Railway, he was appointed CMG in 1887 and in 1897 he was appointed KCMG.

Shortly after his retirement Marindin died at his home in London on 21 April 1900 and was buried in Craigflower, Dunfermline, Scotland, his wife's home town. His wife, Kathleen Mary and their only child, a daughter, survived him.

Sources:

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Vol 36 (OUP, Oxford, 2004)