Carl-Axel Oscar Torén (8 March 1887 – 21 October 1961) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

officer and horse rider who competed in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

. He finished 13th in the individual jumping event with his horse ''Falken''.

Early life

Torén was born on 8 March 1887 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, the son of major general Gabriel Torén (1858–1919) and his wife Mary Hummel. He first trained in sprint running, but then changed to horse riding, as his father was an equestrian official and organizer of equestrian events at the 1912 Olympics. He became Swedish champion in running 400 meters in 1906 and broke the Scandinavian record in the same in 1906. Torén had four brothers. One of them, Helge (1891–1954), competed internationally in middle-distance running and held a national record over 800 m.

Career

Torén was commissioned as an officer with the rank of '' underlöjtnant'' in the Life Regiment Hussars in 1910. He attended the

Royal Swedish Army Staff College The Royal Swedish Army Staff College ( sv, Kungliga Krigshögskolan, KHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment between 1866 and 1961, providing courses for army officers. It was the home of the Swedish Army's staff college, which provided adv ...

from 1916 to 1918 and then served as an aspirant in the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

from 1919 to 1920 and from 1922 to 1923. Torén was promoted to '' ryttmästare'' in 1925 and was a cadet officer at the Military Academy Karlberg from 1925 to 1929. He was promoted to major and served in

Norrland Dragoon Regiment The Norrland Dragoon Regiment ( sv, Norrlands dragonregemente), also K 4, is a Swedish Army unit specialized in arctic warfare and special operations. Located in the province of Lappland, it was historically a cavalry unit that traces its orig ...

in 1934 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1937. Torén then served as a military attache in Warsaw, Prague and in Bucharest from 1937 to 1940. In 1939, he was promoted to colonel and in 1940 to colonel in the reserve. He was appointed executive officer of the Life Regiment of Horse in 1940. Torén became head of the administrative corps of the Swedish Cavalry in 1943. Torén was also a board member of the Sv. bot. förening, ''Föreningen för dendrologi och parkvård'' ("Association for Dendrology and Park Care"), chairman of the board of ''Föreningen Gamla djursholmare'' ("Association for former people from Djursholm"), in the Friends of the Life Regiment of Horse Association, in ''Saltsjöbadens villaägarförening'' (" Saltsjöbaden Homeowners' Association") and in the Saltsjöbaden Parent Teacher Association (''Föreningen Hem och skola i Saltsjöbaden'').

Personal life

In 1919, Torén married Lilly Nordenson (1896–1940), the daughter of Erik Nordenson and Bertha Kleman. With Lilly he had the children Carola (born 1920), Anne-Marie (1922–1931), Hans-Gabriel (born 1925), Harriet (born 1928) and Eva (born 1931). In 1941, he married Baroness Anita Bennet (born 1904), the daughter of Baron Jacob Bennet and Anna Rosenblad. They had one child, Inga (born 1943).

Dates of rank

*1910 – '' Underlöjtnant'' *19?? – Lieutenant *1925 – '' Ryttmästare'' *1934 –

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

*1937 –

Lieutenant Colonel 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 colone ...

*1939 – Colonel

Awards and decorations

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Sword * SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Knight of the Order of Vasa * DEU_Deutsche_Adlerorden_1_BAR

Commander of the Order of the German Eagle

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toren, Carl-Axel 1887 births 1961 deaths Swedish Army colonels Swedish male equestrians Swedish show jumping riders Olympic equestrians for Sweden Equestrians at the 1912 Summer Olympics Military personnel from Stockholm Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of Vasa Swedish military attachés