Michael Ansell
| Colonel Sir Mike Ansell CBE, DSO | |
|---|---|
| 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.
Early life
Ansell was born on 26 March 1905 at the Curragh, County Kildare.[1] His father George Ansell died in the First World War, while serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army.[2] After attending St Michael's Westgate-in-Sea and Wellington he went to Royal Military College Sandhurst.
Army
In 1924 he was commissioned into the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards[1][2] and in the 1930s was a cavalry officer, show jumping rider,[1] and international polo player. He was a Commander by 1935.[2]
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.[1] 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.[1] All four fingers on his injured left hand were later amputated.[2] He was repatriated from a German POW camp in 1943.[1]
Showjumping
An invitation to take up the position of chairman of the British Showjumping Association[1] led to him being credited with revitalising the sport.[1] He restarted the Royal International Horse Show and initiated the Horse of the Year Show.[1] He was Chairman of the British Horse Society[3] and Chaired the British Showjumping Association from 1945 until 1964.[2] He also was the first president of the British Equestrian Federation.[3]
In 1967, when his address was given as "Pillhead House, Bideford", he was High Sheriff of Devon. He was President of St Dunstan's, a charity for blind servicemen, from 1977 to 1986.[1]
Picton was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1951 and a Knight Bachelor (Kt) in 1968.[1] He appeared on the television programme This Is Your Life on 28 March 1960,[4] and as a "castaway" on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 14 July 1973.[5] His autobiography, Soldier On,was published in 1973. It had a foreword by the Duke of Edinburgh.[6] His final book, Leopard: the story of my horse, featured a forward by Prince Charles.[7]
He died on 17 February 1994 in Brighton, England.[1]
Bibliography
- —— (1951). Show Jumping: Obstacles and Courses. Collins.
- —— (1954). Jumping. Naldrett Press.
- —— (1973). Soldier On. Peter Davies. ISBN 978-0432005866.
- —— (1974). Riding High. Peter Davies. ISBN 978-0432005873.
- —— (1980). Leopard: the story of my horse. Quartilles International Limited. ISBN 978-0903021173.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Cecil, Blacker (2 March 1994). "Obituary: Sir Michael Ansell". The Independent. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Olstrom, Clifford E. (2011). Undaunted by Blindness (eBook) (2nd ed.). Perkins School for the Blind. pp. unpaginated. ISBN 9780982272190.
- 1 2 "Laureates". British Horse Society. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
- ↑ "Michael Ansell". Big Red Book. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- ↑ "Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Colonel Sir Michael Ansell". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- ↑ Ansell, Mike (1973). Soldier On. Peter Davies. ISBN 978-0432005866.
- ↑ Ansell, Michael (2014-07-20). "Leopard the story of my horse". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
External links
- White City - The Man Behind The Horse Show 1955 British Pathe newsreel, showing Ansell at work at the International Horse Show
- Background on Butlins Show
- additional information