Michael Ansell
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Colonel Sir Mike Ansell CBE, DSO |
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|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Michael Picton Ansell |
| Nationality | British |
| Discipline | Show jumping |
| Born |
26 March 1905 Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland |
| Died | 17 February 1994 (aged 88) Brighton, England |
Colonel Sir Michael Picton "Mike" Ansell, CBE, DSO (26 March 1905 - 17 February 1994) was a soldier, show jumping rider, polo player, and horse show administrator.
Ansell was born on 26 March 1905 at the Curragh, County Kildare. His father George Ansell died in the First World War, while serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army. After attending St Michael's Westgate-in-Sea and Wellington he went to Royal Military College Sandhurst.
In 1924 he was commissioned into the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards and in the 1930s was a cavalry officer, show jumping rider, and international polo player. He was a Commander by 1935.
In France in March 1940, during World War II, he was given charge of the 1st Lothians and Border Horse, becoming the British Army's youngest commanding officer. He won the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), but was shortly afterwards wounded in the hand and eyes by "friendly fire", blinding him permanently, and then became a prisoner of war. All four fingers on his injured left hand were later amputated. He was repatriated from a German POW camp in 1943.
From 1957 to 1962 he was Colonel of the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards.
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