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Players Index Page Last Updated
23 September 2021
 
 

Pelham von Donop

 Royal Engineers FC

 2 appearances, 0 goals

 P 2 W 1 D 1 L 0 F 6: A 4
75% successful
1873-75

 captain: none
minutes played: 180

Timeline
  Lieutenant-Colonel Pelham George von Donop
  According to the 1851 census, Louisa Mary Diana (née Brenton) is pregnant with her third child, who will be Pelham. His father, Edward Pelham Brenton (d.27 January 1890) is a Commander in the Royal Navy. They live at Sydney Lodge, 8 Elm Grove in Southsea. They have three servants.
Birth Monday, 28 April 1851 in Sydney Lodge, 8 Elm Grove, Southsea, Hampshire [no registration can be found].
"On the 28th ult., at Sydney Lodge, Southsea, the wife of Commander Brenton von Donop, R.N., of a son." - The Shipping and Mercantile Gazette, Saturday, 3 May 1851/London Morning Advertiser, Monday 5 May 1851/Hampshire Chronicle, Saturday, 10 May 1851.
Baptism 28 May 1851 at St. John's Church in Portsea
  According to the 1861 census, Pelham is the second eldest of seven children living at home with their mother, Louisa. They live at Brenton Cottage, 5 Sion Row in Walcot area of Bath. They have five servants.
  Cannot be found on the 1871 census.
According to the Army List, Pelham joined the Royal Engineers on 15 December 1871.
  According to the 1881 census, Pelham is a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers living at 31 Park Street in Bath with his elderly parents and two of his sisters. His father is a retired vice-Admiral. They have four servants.
According to the Harts Army List, captain P.G. Von Donop served with the Nile Expedition in 1884-85, receiving the Medal with Clasp, and Khedive's Star. Again, according to the 1888 list, von Donop was commanding the 21st company R.E. in Chatham. He was a Lieut. from 15 December 1971 and a captain from 15 December 1883.
Marriage to Annie Ethel Farren Orr, on 15 March 1890 at St. Thomas Cathedral, Bombay. [registered in Bombay in the British India Office Ecclesiastical Returns, March 1890].
"At St. Thomas's Cathedral, Bombay, was celebrated recently a remarkably bright and pretty wedding. The bride was Miss Ethel Orr, eldest daughter of Mr. J. W. Orr, Prothonotary, High Court of Bombay. The bridegroom was Major von Donop, R.E., eldest son of the late Admiral von Donop. All branches of the legal and military professions were all represented, and added much to the splendour of the scene. The bride wore a dress of white brocade; white satin petticoat, veiled with lisse and Irish point lace, and trimmed with orange blossoms, white heather, and myrtle; her tulle veil was fastened by a diamond ornament; and her necklace and brooch of pearls and moonstones and her splendid bouquet were the gifts of the bridegroom. The bridesmaids were Miss Latham and Miss West, and the groomsmen were Mr. Tudor Jones, R.E., and Major Lugard, R.A. The service was performed by the Ven. Archdeacon Lewis, assisted by the Rev. W. W. Scott, of Byculla Church." - John Bull, 10 May 1890.
  According to the 1901 census, Pelham, along with is wife and one servant, are living at 94 Ashley Gardens in Westminster. He is now a Lieut.Colonel.
Death Monday, 7 November 1921, aged 70 years 193 days [registered in St. George Hanover Square, December 1921].
"VON DONOP.―On the 7th inst., in London, Lieut.-Colonel Pelham G. von Donop, late Royal Engineers and Chief Inspector of Railways, eldest surviving son of the late vice-Admiral E. P. B. von Donop, aged 70." - The Hull Daily Mail, Tuesday, 8 November 1921

Obituary
Pelham von Donop in his later years "DEATH OF LIEUT.-COLONEL P. G. VON DONOP
"Lieut.-Colonel Pelham George von Donop died in London on Monday, aged 70. The eldest surviving son of vice-Admiral E. P. von Donop, and brother of Major-General Sir Stanley von Donop, he was educated at Somerset College, Bath, and entered the Royal Engineers in 1871. From 1889 to 1894 he was inspector of Submarine Defences, India, and in 1899 he joined the staff of the Board of Trade as an inspecting officer of railways, becoming Chief Inspecting Officer in 1913 and retiring in 1916. In this capacity he held inquiries into various railway accidents and made reports thereon."
 - The Gloucester Citizen, Tuesday, 8 November 1921
Funeral: Buried in Mortlake cemetery, Richmond, London.
Probate: "VON DONOP Pelham George of 11 Montpelier-square South Kensington  Middlesex died 7 November 1921 Probate London 11 January to Annie Ethel Farran Von Donop widow.
 Effects £4522 18s. 4d." [2019 equivalent: £223,027]
Source Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] &

Playing Career
Club(s) Educated at Royal Somersetshire College, Bath, before entering the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in 1869. He represented the academy in the annual cricket match as well as football. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 15 December 1871 and the following April was posted to the School of Military Engineering at Chatham, Kent.
Club honours FA Cup runners-up 1873-74, winners 1874-75;
Individual honours None
Height/Weight not known
Source Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990].

England Career
Player number One of nine who became the twelfth players (16) to appear for England.
Position(s) Forward
First match No. 2, 8 March 1873, England 4 Scotland 2, a friendly match at The Surrey Cricket Ground, The Oval, Kennington, London, aged 21 years 314 days.
Last match No. 4, 6 March 1875, England 2 Scotland 2, a friendly match at The Surrey Cricket Ground, The Oval, Kennington, London, aged 23 years 312 days.
Distinctions most appearanced Englishmen at the Royal Engineers.

Beyond England
In 1889, von Donop became an inspector of Submarine Defences in India, and in 1899, joined the Board of Trade as an inspecting officer of Railways for the Board of Trade's Railway Inspectorate. He was promoted to Chief Inspecting Officer in July 1913, succeeding Sir Horatio Arthur Yorke KCB RE, and held that position until his retirement in 1916. During his time with the Board of Trade he investigated numerous railway accidents, such as those at Witham, Essex in 1905 and at Ilford, Essex, in 1915, and also carried out safety inspections of tram services, such as that at Warrington, Lancashire. Von Donop acted as godfather to the writer P.G. Wodehouse, who was named Pelham in his honour. - An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who. Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.255.


The Numbers
parties Appearances minutes captain
2 2 180 0 none
The minutes here given can only ever be a guideline and cannot therefore be accurate, only an approximation.
P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts % W/L
2 1 1 0 6 4 +2 0 0 3.00 2.00 75.0 +1

Match Record

Venue & Competition P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts % W/L
Home venues
 Friendly matches		 2 1 1 0 6 4 +2 0 0 3.00 2.00 75.0 +1

Match History
  
  Club: Royal Engineers F.C. - two full appearances (180 min) F.A. Committee (Charles Alcock) - two full appearances (180 min)x
 
apps match match details comp res rundown pos

Age 21
1 2 8 March 1873 - England 4 Scotland 2
The Surrey Cricket Ground, Kennington		 Fr HW   for
  

one of nine who became the twelfth (sixteen) player to appear for England
one of two players who became the first (two) Royal Engineer to represent England

Age 23
2 4 6 March 1875 - England 2 Scotland 2
The Surrey Cricket Ground, Kennington		 Fr HD   for
  

his (& Bonsor) gap of 728 days (1 years, 363 days) is a new record between appearances

  

 		  
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