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{{short description|English cricketer and British Army officer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name =
| image = FrancisTownend.jpg
| country = England
| full_name = Francis Whitchurch Townend
| birth_date = 10 July 1885
| birth_place = [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], Canada
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1915|3|29|1885|7|10}}
| death_place = [[Béthune]], [[Pas-de-Calais]], France
| heightft =
| heightinch =
| nickname =
| family =
| batting = Unknown
| bowling =
| role =
| club1 = [[Europeans cricket team|Europeans]]
| year1 = 1908/09
| columns = 1
| column1 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
| matches1 = 3
| runs1 = 95
| bat avg1 = 15.83
| 100s/50s1 = –/1
| top score1 = 69
| hidedeliveries = true
| catches/stumpings1 = 1/–
| date = 27 March
| year = 2021
| source = http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/35380.html ESPNcricinfo
}}

'''Francis Whitchurch Townend''' (10 July 1885 – 29 March 1915) was an English first-class [[cricket]]er and [[British Army]] officer.

Townend was born at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]] to The Reverend Alfred Townend, a former [[Royal Army Chaplains' Department|Army Chaplain]], and his wife, Margaret.<ref name="BOOK">{{cite book|last=McCrery|first=Nigel|title=Final Wicket: Test and First Class Cricketers Killed in the Great War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mphCgAAQBAJ|date=30 July 2015|publisher=[[Pen and Sword]]|isbn=978-1473864191|pages=62–3}}</ref> He was sent to England to be educated, where he was taught on the [[Isle of Wight]] at [[Appuldurcombe House|Appuldurcombe]], before attending Camberley School. From there he attended [[Dulwich College]].<ref name="DUL">{{cite web |url=https://dulwichcollege1914-18.co.uk/fallen/townend-fw/|title=Townend, FW|publisher=www.dulwichcollege1914-18.co.uk|access-date=27 March 2021}}</ref> He left Dulwich in 1901 to attend the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]] where he played cricket and [[association football|football]] for the academy.<ref name="BOOK"/> Townend graduated into the [[Royal Engineers]] as a [[Second lieutenant#United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries|second lieutenant]] in February 1904.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27648|date=19 February 1904|page=1091}}</ref> He spent a further two years at the [[Royal School of Military Engineering]],<ref name="DUL"/> before being promoted to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] in September 1906.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27956|date=9 October 1906|page=6790}}</ref> In the same year he was posted to [[British India]], where he was attached to the 3rd Sappers and Miners.<ref name="BOOK"/> While serving in India, Townend played [[first-class cricket]] for the [[Europeans cricket team]] in 1908, making three appearances; two against the [[Parsees cricket team|Parsees]] and one against the [[Hindus cricket team|Hindus]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archives/Players/14/14734/First-Class_Matches.html|title=First-Class Matches played by Francis Townend|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=27 March 2021|url-access=subscription}}{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Playing as a batsman, Townend scored 95 runs across his three matches, with a highest score of 69.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/14/14734/f_Batting_by_Team.html|title=First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Francis Townend|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=27 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Besides playing in first-class matches, he was a well known cricketer for the Royal Engineers and also played minor matches for the [[Free Foresters Cricket Club|Free Foresters]] and the British Indian Army.<ref name="BOOK"/>

Townend served in the [[First World War]], travelling with the [[Indian Expeditionary Force]] and arriving in France in October 1914. In the same month he was also promoted to [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29038|date=12 January 1915|page=380}}</ref> Upon his arrival in France, he was attached to the [[35th Division (United Kingdom)|35th Divisional Signals Company]], followed by attachment to the [[7th Meerut Divisional Area|Dehra Dun Brigade]], serving with the latter in the [[Battle of Neuve Chapelle]] in March 1915.<ref name="DUL"/> Later that month he was laying telephone lines at [[Béthune]], when he was seriously wounded when a German shell exploded nearby. He was taken to hospital "conscious and perfectly collected", but succumbed to his wounds shortly after. Townend was buried at the Béthune Town Cemetery.<ref name="BOOK"/> He was posthumously [[mentioned in dispatches]] by Field Marshal [[John French, 1st Earl of Ypres|Sir John French]] in June 1915.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29200|date=18 June 1915|page=6012|supp=y}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cricinfo|id=35380}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Townend, Francis}}
[[Category:1885 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Dulwich College]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]]
[[Category:Royal Engineers officers]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Halifax, Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:English cricketers]]
[[Category:Europeans cricketers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:British military personnel killed in World War I]]

Francis Townend - Revision history

MartiAshley1795: Drafted new place