Researching Thomas Townley

Born in Newmarket, Ontario, the son of John and Alice (Dixon) Townley, both of whom were natives of Lancashire, England, Townley was educated in the public schools of Newmarket and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1882 from the Trinity College, Toronto. He later studied law in Winnipeg and was called to the bar of Manitoba in 1886. He moved to Vancouver and started a law practice. From 1889 to 1910, he was registrar ofland titles for the District of New Westminster. In 1901, he was elected mayor of Vancouver and served for one term. From 1886 to 1896, he served in the militia, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Townley was educated at Eton College and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He played cricket at Eton and appeared as a lower-order batsman and bowler in the Eton v Harrow cricket match in the three seasons from 1841 to 1843. It is not known whether he batted right- or left-handed, nor what style of bowling he adopted. His cricket career at Cambridge was not impressive: he again batted mainly in the lower order, and though bowling figures for most matches of his era are incomplete, there is no record that he took any wickets in games that were later deemed to be first-class. Despite this lack of achievement, he won a Blue in both 1847 and 1848 by appearing in the University Match against Oxford University. In addition to playing for the university side, he also appeared in games for MCC against the university in both 1847 and 1848, and also for the Gentlemen of England team and for a "Cambridge Townsmen" side which was a fleeting variant on the Cambridge Town Club.

The directory of Cambridge University alumni has no record that Townley graduated from the university; it notes that in 1849, a year after his final first-class cricket appearance, he was a cornet in the 10th Hussars. By 1857, he was promoted to captain and had seen service in the Crimean War; he bought himself out of the army in 1859. He was prominent in steeplechase racing as an amateur jockey, and finished second in the 1860 Grand National on The Huntsman, which went on to win the race in 1862 with a different rider.