Anthony Courage (22 October 1875 – 27 February 1944) was a decorated soldier in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

who served in the

15th The King's Hussars The 15th The King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army. First raised in 1759, it saw service over two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 19th Royal Hussars into the 15th/19th The King's Ro ...

in India, South Africa and 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 ...

Early life

Courage was born on 22 October 1875 in The Red House,

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...

, Surrey, the son of Henry Courage of Gravenhurst House, Bolney, Sussex, and his wife Julia Harriet Knyvett. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

, followed by

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

Military career

Following Sandhurst, Courage commissioned into the

in 1896 and was appointed

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the regiment. He served in India and South Africa with the Dorset Yeomanry in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. Later in the

Courage returned to the

and sailed in the original British Expeditionary Force. On 18 February 1915 Courage was gazetted as having been appointed to the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. He was wounded during the Second Battle of Ypres and was appointed to the Staff of the General Headquarters in 1916. In 1917 Courage was promoted to

Lt Col Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

and appointed commander of the 2nd Tank Brigade during the

Battle of Messines Battle of Messines may refer to: *Battle of Messines (1914) *Battle of Messines (1917) The Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) was an attack by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), on the Western Front, near the village of ...

, the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

and the Battle of Cambrai. Following that he was then appointed commander of the 5th Tank Brigade attached to the Australian Corps during the battles of Hamel, Montdidier, First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux,

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

and against the Hindenburg Line. Following the 5th Tank Brigade, Courage was appointed commander of a Group of Two Tank Brigades. On 5 July 1918 he was awarded the

for ''"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in successfully organising Tanks in their assembly position and making dispositions which were mainly responsible for their successful attack. He showed splendid skill and resource."'' During the War, Courage was

Mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

six times, 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 ...

, the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

avec palme. On 7 August 1918 Courage was promoted to temporary

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, whilst still

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. Following the war, he was confirmed as brevet Colonel. In 1924 he was appointed by

the King In the British English-speaking world, The King refers to: * Charles III (born 1948), King of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms since 2022 As a nickname * Michael Jackson (1958–2009), American singer and pop icon, nicknamed "T ...

a member of the Order of St John. He was then appointed Colonel of the

15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars The 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of the 15th The King's Hussars and the 19th Royal Hussars in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it was ama ...

in 1929 and remained in that position until his death in 1944. Whilst remaining Colonel, Courage retired from the Army on 12 February 1932 and was confirmed in his retirement as a Brigadier-General and given the retirement pay of a Colonel.

Post service career

Courage was appointed Chairman of Courage & Co Ltd, the family brewery company, founded by his great-grandfather, John Courage. He was also appointed a Director of White Horse Distillery and of Hyderabad (Deccan), Company, Ltd.

Personal life

Courage married Mable Ada Hewett, daughter of Sir John Hewett in July 1903 in

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne C ...

and had issue. *Leila May Courage (Jun 1905-Oct 1984), married Richard Leslie Agnew and had issue. *Nigel Anthony Courage (1906-1965), died unmarried. *Guy Courage (1908-1983), married Ann Dorothy Mary Stephenson and had issue. *Anthony John Courage (1922-1944), died unmarried. Courage was a keen sportsman with

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

, fishing and

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

. He died on 27 February 1944 in Banbury.

References

External links

*
Who is Who page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courage, Brig.-Gen. Anthony 1875 births 1944 deaths People educated at Rugby School British Army brigadiers