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 ...

Sir Michael Picton Ansell,

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 ...

, DSO (26 March 1905 – 17 February 1994) was a soldier, show jumping rider, polo player, and

horse show A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer ...

administrator.

Early life

Ansell was born on 26 March 1905 at the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

, County Kildare. His father George Ansell died 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 ...

, while serving as a lieutenant colonel 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 ...

. After attending St Michael's Westgate-in-Sea and Wellington he went to

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 infant ...

Military career

In 1924 he was commissioned into the

5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. It served in the Second World ...

and in the 1930s was a cavalry officer, show jumping rider, and international polo player. He was a Commander by 1935. His

service number A service number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they may be used in civilian organizations as well. National identification numbers may ...

was 30796. In France in March 1940, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was given charge of the 1st Lothians and Border Horse, becoming the

's youngest commanding officer at the time. He won 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, ty ...

(DSO), but was shortly afterwards wounded in the hand and eyes by "

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...

", blinding him permanently, and then became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

(POW). All four fingers on his injured left hand were later amputated. He was repatriated from a German POW camp in 1943. From 1957 to 1962 he was Colonel of the

Showjumping

An invitation to take up the position of chairman of the British Showjumping Association led to him being credited with revitalising the sport. He restarted the

Royal International Horse Show The Royal International Horse Show (originally the International Horse Show) is the official horse show of the British Horse Society and consists of both showing and showjumping events. The event is held during July each year at the All England ...

and initiated the

Horse of the Year Show The Horse of the Year Show - also known as HOYS (pronounced /hois/)- was founded to be a culmination of the British equestrian events year. The Show was the idea of Captain Tony Collings and was realised by the then Chairman of BSJA (now British ...

. He was Chairman of the

British Horse Society The British Horse Society (BHS) is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a Society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education". It currently has ...

and Chaired the British Showjumping Association from 1945 until 1964. He was the first president of the

British Equestrian Federation British Equestrian (previously The British Equestrian Federation) founded 1972 is the national governing body of equestrian sport in Great Britain and represents the country at the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). Her Maje ...

Honours/Affiliations

In 1967, when his address was given as "Pillhead House,

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

", he was

High Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative ...

. He was President of St Dunstan's, a charity for blind servicemen, from 1977 to 1986. Picton was made a

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) in the

1951 New Year Honours The 1951 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1951 for the Brit ...

and a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

(Kt) in the

1968 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1968 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the '' Lo ...

. He appeared on the television programme '' This Is Your Life'' on 28 March 1960, and as a castaway on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'' on 14 July 1973. His autobiography, ''Soldier On'', was published in 1973. It had a foreword by the Duke of Edinburgh. His final book, ''Leopard: the story of my horse,'' featured a foreword by Prince Charles. In 1977, he was a recipient of the Silver

Olympic Order The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Traditi ...

Death

He died on 17 February 1994 in Brighton, England, aged 88.

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

External links

*
White City - The Man Behind The Horse Show
' 1955

British Pathe British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

newsreel, showing Ansell at work at the International Horse Show
Background on Butlins Show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansell, Michael 1905 births 1994 deaths Military personnel from County Kildare Irish amputees British World War II prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Germany British show jumping riders Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People from County Kildare Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor British Army personnel of World War II British blind people 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards officers Sportspeople from Bideford High Sheriffs of Devon Lothians and Border Horse officers British male equestrians Recipients of the Olympic Order Military personnel from Bideford