The son of the Reverend Mark Alfred Reading, he was born in the Orange Free State in April 1896 at
Heilbron. He was educated in England at
Cranleigh School, before joining the
Royal Marines at the start of the
First World War as a probationary
second lieutenant. During the war he was promoted twice, first to
lieutenant in March 1915, while in May 1918 he was promoted to
captain. Reading later made a single appearance in
first-class cricket for the
Royal Navy against the
British Army cricket team at
Lord's in 1929. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed in the Royal Navy first-innings for 12 runs by
Frederick Arnold, while in their second-innings he was dismissed for 7 runs by
Edward Armitage. He was promoted to
major in June 1932, before being promoted to
lieutenant colonel. At the start of the
Second World War he was posted to
HMS St. Angelo in
Malta. which he relinquished in January 1940. He was the commanding officer of
5th RM Battalion between March 1940 and February 1942, while in October 1943 he was made a
colonel 2nd commandant. He was appointed as the Royal Marines
aide-de-camp to
George VI in October 1945, by which time the war was over, replacing
Arthur Reginald Chater in the role. After the conclusion of the war, Reading held the rank of temporary
brigadier and was promoted to
major-general in January 1946. He was made a
CBE in the
1946 Birthday Honours. He was placed on the retired list in November of the same year, having ended his career as the commander of the RM Plymouth Division. He later moved to
Sellicks Green, where he died in January 1975. He was survived by his wife, Phoebe, whom he had married in 1933. ==References==