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 ...

Frank Rutger Cervell (22 February 1907 – 3 September 1970) was an officer in the

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...

and a fencer. He won bronze medals in the team

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...

event at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

and 1937 World Championships, as well as a world championship silver in 1938.Frank Cervell
Swedish Olympic Committee

Early life

Cervell was born on 22 February 1907 in

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...

, Sweden, the son of consul Gustaf Johansson and his wife Anna Valentin.

Career

Cervell was commissioned as an officer in the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...

in 1930 with the rank of second lieutenant. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1934 and transferred to the

in 1936 where he was promoted to captain in 1940 and major in 1944. Cervell served as air attaché in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

from 1943 to 1946 and as head of department in the Air Staff in 1946. He was then commanding officer of the

Bråvalla Wing Bråvalla Wing ( sv, Bråvalla flygflottilj), also F 13 Norrköping, or simply F 13, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Norrköping in south-eastern Sweden. History The Air Wing was established in 1943 as the fourt ...

(F 13) from 1950 to 1959. Cervell was promoted to lieutenant Colonel in 1947 and to colonel in 1951. In 1959, he was appointed as air and naval attaché in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Cervell served in this position until 1963. He became '' Aide-de-camp'' to the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

in 1943 and chief ''Aide-de-camp'' to King

Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf Ado ...

in 1951. Cervell was chairman of the board of the Gillette (Sweden) AB, Ludvig Wigart & C:os AB and H Unér AB. He was CEO of the Swedish Defence Material Export Promotion Group.

Personal life

In 1931, he married Louise Wigart (born 1907).

Dates of rank

*1930 –

Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

*1934 –

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 sub ...

*1940 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

*1944 –

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 ...

*1947 –

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 ...

*1951 –

Awards and decorations

Swedish

King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

(6 June 1959) * SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization Royal Medal of Merit The Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization Royal Medal of Merit ( sv, Riksförbundet Sveriges lottakårers kungliga förtjänstmedalj, SLKGM/SM) is a medal awarded by the Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization since 1943 for great ...

in silver

Foreign

Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

UK_Royal_Victorian_Order_honorary_member_ribbon

Honorary Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(June 1956) * Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

* French ''de l'éducation physique'' * French Air Force aviation badge * Italian Air Force aviation badge

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cervell, Frank 1907 births 1970 deaths Swedish Air Force colonels Swedish air attachés Swedish naval attachés Swedish male épée fencers Olympic fencers of Sweden Fencers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in fencing People from Norrköping Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of Vasa Sportspeople from Östergötland County