Reynold Clement

Reynold Alleyne Clement was born in Barbados in 1834.[1] He was the son of Hampden Clement (1808–1880) – an English sugar plantation owner in Barbados who had been educated at Exeter College, Oxford – and Philippa Cobham Alleyne.[1] His paternal grandfather was Richard Clement (1754–1829), a Dutch owner of Barbadian sugar plantations whose English residence was 13 Bolton Street, Mayfair.[4] Reynold was the nephew of Martha Clement,[4] the wife of the plantation owner Colonel Thomas Moody, Kt., who named a son, Hampden Clement Blamire Moody, after his father, and through whom he was related to Major-General Richard Clement Moody, the founder of British Columbia.[5]

Reynold was named after his maternal grandfather, Sir Reynold Abel Alleyne, 2nd Baronet (1789–1870) of Barbados. Reynold Clement had three siblings: Rosalie, Richard, and Helena.[1]

Trinity College, Cambridge

Reynold Clement was raised in England at No. 23 and No. 20 Wilton Crescent, Belgravia, and at Snarestone Lodge, Snarestone, Leicestershire.[1] He was educated at Rugby School and at Trinity College, Cambridge,[6] at which he matriculated in 1853.[1] At Cambridge, as a consequence of the abolitionist sympathies of many of the undergraduates, Reynold stated that he had been born at Snarestone Lodge, Leicestershire, although his actual birthplace was his father’s sugar plantation in Barbados.[1]

He played cricket as a middle-order batsman both at Rugby School and at Cambridge University: in 1854 he was selected for the University Match against Oxford University, although he failed to score in either innings.[7] He played for Cambridge only in the 1854 season. There is no record that he graduated from Cambridge University. By 1857, he was appearing in a minor match for a United Ireland eleven, and in 1863 his last first-class match was for the Marylebone Cricket Club.[8] Reynold's elder brother, Richard, played cricket for Oxford University and appeared in the 1853 University Match.[8]

After Cambridge, Clement joined the 68th Regiment and served during the 1860s in the New Zealand Wars, in which he attained the rank of Major.[6] In 1876, he was a member of Queen Victoria's personal bodyguard.[6]

He was appointed secretary to the Board of Trustees of Ascot Racecourse in 1881, and Clerk of the Course at the same in 1885,[1][3] as which he made 'vast improvements' to the course and the stands.[1]