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 ...

Walter Marlborough Pryor, DSO & Bar, DL, JP (18 November 1880 – 28 May 1962) was a British soldier.

Early life

Pryor was the only son of Marlborough Robert Pryor, DL, JP, Weston Park,

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

, Hertfordshire and his wife. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, Cambridge where he gained a BA (1901), and an MA (1905). In 1910 he married the writer Ethne Philippa, only daughter of

Sir Norman Moore, 1st Baronet Sir Norman Moore, 1st Baronet, FRCP (8 January 1847 – 30 November 1922) was a British doctor and historian, best known for his work with the Royal College of Physicians and his writings on history of medicine. Born in Higher Broughton, Salfo ...

. They had three sons; John Marlborough Pryor (1911-1984), Mark Gillachrist Marlborough Pryor (1919-1970) and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Matthew Marlborough Pryor MBE (known as Matthew; 1917-2005). His grandson by Matthew is the archaeologist

Francis Pryor Francis Manning Marlborough Pryor (born 13 January 1945) is an English archaeologist specialising in the study of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Britain. He is best known for his discovery and excavation of Flag Fen, a Bronze Age archaeological s ...

; by Mark his grandchildren include the author William Pryor and the artist

Lucy Raverat Lucy Raverat (née Pryor; born 1948) is the professional name used by Lucy Ethne Rawlinson, a British painter. Life Born in Cambridge, Lucy Raverat is the daughter of Mark Pryor and Sophie Gurney (née Raverat), and granddaughter of the artists ...

First World War

During the First World War Pryor served as an officer in the British Army, beginning the war as an acting Captain in the

Hertfordshire Regiment The Hertfordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army. Originating in units of Rifle Volunteers formed in 1859, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and the First and Second Wor ...

. In September 1917 he was promoted to Acting Lieutenant Colonel and placed in command of 1/6th Royal Warwickshire Regiment, leading them on the Western and Italian Fronts for the remainder of the war. During the conflict he was

mentioned in despatches 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 ...

four times. In 1917 he was made a companion of the Distinguished Service Order, to which a Bar was added in 1918. Additionally, he was awarded the Italian Bronze Medal of Military Valor in 1919.

Later life

After the war, he was chairman of the Sun Fire Insurance Company and the Sun Life Assurance Society. He also served as a magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pryor, Walter Marlborough 1880 births 1962 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deputy Lieutenants of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire Regiment officers Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers People from Hitchin British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Hertfordshire