Major General Alexander Whitmore Colquhoun Richardson (11 May 1887 – 22 July 1964) was a British Army officer and

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

der who competed during at the

1924 Winter Olympics The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games (french: Iers Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 ( frp, Chamôni 1924), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France ...

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

. Richardson was born at

Gerrards Cross Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in south Buckinghamshire, England, separated from the London Borough of Hillingdon at Harefield by Denham, south of Chalfont St Peter and north bordering villages of Fulmer, Hedgerley, Iver Heath and St ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. He served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in the

Bedfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the World War ...

reaching the rank of Major and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

. Richardson was a member of the four-man bobsled team with

Ralph Broome Lieutenant colonel Ralph Howard Broome (5 July 1889 – 25 January 1985) was a British Army officer and bobsledder who competed during the early 1920s. He was born in Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh, India, and died in Poole, Dorset, Engla ...

Thomas Arnold Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were wide ...

und

Rodney Soher Rodney Ewart Soher (27 November 1893 – 25 January 1983) was a British bobsledder who competed during the early 1920s. He won a silver medal in the four-man event at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Cham ...

who won silver medal in the

. From 1930 until his retirement in 1931 Richardson was Commanding Officer 4th Battalion Royal Tank Corps. He was recalled in 1938 and became Commanding Officer 84th Anti-Aircraft Brigade. From 1940 to 1941 he was Commanding Officer 26th Armoured Brigade and then became Director-General Armoured Fighting Vehicles at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

He became Brigadier General Staff 2nd Army in 1942 and in 1943 Chief of Staff 18th Army Group, Tunisia and then Chief of Staff 15th Army Group, Italy. He retired in 1945.The Generals of WWII
/ref> Richardson's son Guy Richardson won a silver medal

rowing at the 1948 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1948 Summer Olympics featured seven events, for men only. Competitions were held over the Henley Royal Regatta course from 5 to 9 August. Medal summary Participating nations A total of 310 rowers from 27 nations competed at the ...

References

Bobsleigh four-man Olympic medalists for 1924, 1932-56, and since 1964
*Wallenchinsky, David. (1984). "Bobsled: Four-Man". In ''The Complete Book the Olympics: 1896–1980''. New York: Penguin Books. p. 559. 1887 births 1964 deaths Olympic bobsledders of Great Britain Bobsledders at the 1924 Winter Olympics British male bobsledders British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Olympic medalists in bobsleigh Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment officers Medalists at the 1924 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain {{Winter-Olympic-medalist-stub