Brigadier Austin Henry Williams (11 February 18905 September 1973) was a British polo champion and officer in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. He was born in

Felsted Felsted (sometimes spelt Felstead) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Bannister Green, Bartholomew Green, Causeway End, Coblers Green, Cock Green, Frenches Gre ...

in Essex, England. He was educated at

Felsted School Felsted School is a co-educational independent school, independent boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school, situated in Felsted in Essex, England. It is in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, and was founded i ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, from where he was commissioned a second lieutenant on the Unattached List for the Indian Army on 8 September 1909. After a year attached to a British regiment he was appointed to the Indian Army and the 38th Central India Horse on 4 December 1910. He was promoted to lieutenant on 8 December 1911. He married Gwladys Mary Gosset, in 1911. They had a son, David Philip Hugh Tudor-Williams in 1922. They divorced in 1927. In August 1914 he was on leave in England and rejoined his regiment in the field in France in early January 1915. He served with his regiment in France and Palestine, being appointed Adjutant in April 1916 and promoted Captain in July 1916, until he was sent back to India in August 1918. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

as recorded in the

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

of 1 January 1919. When the 38th & 39th Central India Horse were amalgamated in 1921 to form the 21st Central India Horse he was again appointed Adjutant. He was promoted to major on 9 September 1925. Before his transfer to the 16th Light Cavalry in 1933 at various times he served as an instructor at the Equitation School at

Saugor Sagar, formerly Saugor, is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sagar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. It's Madhya Pradesh's 6th largest city of by Population. The city is situated on a ...

and Military Advisor to

Jodhpur State Kingdom of Marwar, also known as Jodhpur State during the modern era, was a kingdom in the Marwar region from 1243 to 1818 and a princely state under British rule from 1818 to 1947. It was established in Pali by ''Rao Siha'', possibly a migran ...

. He participated in the 1927

International Polo Cup The International Polo Cup, also called the Newport Cup and the Westchester Cup, is a trophy in polo that was created in 1886 and is played for by teams from the United States and England. Matches were conducted 12 times between 1886 and 1939, su ...

. He was appointed a Squadron Commander in the 21st Central India Horse on 15 April 1931. He transferred to the 16th Light Cavalry as the second in command on 9 April 1933, and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and appointed commanding officer on 31 October 1934, a position he held until 30 October 1938. He was appointed officiating commandant of the Equitation School at Saugor as of 25 October 1938, then promoted to colonel and appointed commandant on 25 January 1939, a position he held until 31 August 1939 when the school was closed. He went on to be the commandant of the Small Arms School India at Saugor from November 1939 until he retired. He had been promoted to acting brigadier on 21 August 1941 and temporary brigadier on 21 February 1942. He was an ADC to the King from 6 April 1943 to 4 September 1944, appointed a Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1944 and retired a Colonel with the honorary rank of Brigadier on 4 September 1944. He moved to South Africa in 1948 with his wife Eva Albanesi (daughter of composer

Carlo Albanesi Carlo Albanesi (22 October 1858 – 26 September 1926) was an Italian-born composer, pianist, teacher and examiner who spent most of his working life in England. His ''Exercises for Fingering'', first published in the early 1900s, are still in u ...

and novelist Effie Rowlands) whom he had married in 1927. There was a daughter (Meg Hartman) and four grandchildren. He died on 5 September 1973 in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

in South Africa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Austin Henry 1890 births 1973 deaths English polo players International Polo Cup British Indian Army officers British people in colonial India