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 o ...

Augustus Mervyn Owen Anwyl Anwyl-Passingham

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

DL JP (31 August 1880 – 22 November 1955) was a British soldier, recruiting officer and Territorial Army organiser.

Early life and family

Born on August 31, 1880, Anwyl-Passingham belonged to a family of Anglo-Welsh gentry. He was the second and youngest son of Major Robert Townshend Anwyl-Passingham, JP, DL (1843–1893), of Bala,

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

(who had taken the additional name of Anwyl in 1888), and his wife Lucy Emma (d. 1909), eldest daughter of Thomas Jeffreys Badger of Kingsland,

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

. His elder brother was the soldier Robert Townshend Anwyl-Passingham, OBE (1867–1926), and two of his sisters married Italian noblemen. ''The Visitation of England and Wales'', vol. 18 (1914), pp. 63-64.

Career

Military

Anwyl-Passingham was educated at

Dover College , motto_translation = I cannot refuse the task , established = , closed = , type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , headmaster = Simon Fisher , r_head_label = , r_head ...

,"Colonel A. M. O. Anwyl-Passingham", ''The Times'', 23 Nov. 1955, p. 13. before joining The Middlesex Regiment in 1899 as a Second Lieutenant; he served 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 South ...

(1901–02), and was promoted to a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1903. Between 1905 and 1907, he was part of the

Royal West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognitio ...

and in 1906 participated in the Hadeija and

Sokoto Sokoto is a major city located in extreme northwestern Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously the ...

expeditions in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Returning to the United Kingdom thereafter, he was wounded in 1907 during rioting in Ireland. Promoted to Captain in 1911, he was appointed a Recruiting Staff Officer for the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Recruiting Area in 1913 and remained in that post after the onset of 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 January 1916, he was appointed a

Staff Captain Staff captain is the English translation of a number of military ranks: Historical use of the rank Czechoslovakia In the Czechoslovak Army, until 1953, Staff Captain ( cs, štábní kapitán, sk, štábny kapitán) was a senior captain ran ...

in 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 ...

with the

temporary rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibi ...

of Major; he was promoted to the full rank in July 1916, and in September he was appointed an Assistant Inspector of Registration and Recruiting in the War Office. He was made a Deputy Director of Recruiting with responsibility for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and was promoted to temporary Colonel in August 1917; he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

for his services."Anwyl-Passingham, Col. Augustus Mervyn Owen"
''Who Was Who'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, 2007). Retrieved 20 October 2019. Anwyl-Passingham left that post and the temporary rank in May 1918, and was "recalled to the colours". According to his obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', he served in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and was mentioned in dispatches. After the war, he served in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

between 1919 and 1921, helping to oversee the preparations for its transfer to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He was promoted to

and retired in August 1922.

Retirement and later life

In 1924, Anwyl-Passingham became secretary of the Middlesex Territorial Army and Air Force Association, serving until 1945. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

in 1927 and served as the county's high sheriff in 1938. In the

1942 New Year Honours The 1942 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 30 December 1941.United Kingdom and Britis ...

, he was advanced to

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE).
Supplement to the London Gazette
', 1 January 1942 (issue 35399), p. 14. He died on November 22, 1955.

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1880 births 1955 deaths Middlesex Regiment officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of Middlesex High Sheriffs of Middlesex British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Royal West African Frontier Force officers British Army personnel of World War I