Count Carl Gustaf Bonde af Björnö (28 April 1872 – 13 June 1957) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

officer,

equerry An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...

and horse rider who competed at the 1912 and 1928 Olympics.

Military career

Bonde was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden and was the son of landowner, count Gustaf ''Fredrik'' Bonde af Björnö and his English wife ''Ida'' Horatia Charlotta Marryat. After passing his '' studentexamen'' in 1892, Bonde became a sergeant in the Life Regiment Hussars (K 3) in 1893, second lieutenant in 1894 and lieutenant there in 1900. He retired in 1908 and became cavalry captain in the reserve in 1910. The year before, in 1909, Bonde was appointed

Equerry An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...

of the court and advanced in 1916 to

Crown Equerry The Crown Equerry is the operational head of the Royal Mews of the Royal Household of the Monarch, Sovereign of the United Kingdom. As executive head of the Royal Mews Department, he is responsible for the provision of vehicular transport for the ...

, a position he held for decades.

Sports career

Bonde was a prominent horse rider. In 1912, he won the gold medal in the individual dressage competition with his horse ''Emperor''. Sixteen years later, he won the silver medal as a member of the Swedish team. He also competed in the 1928 Olympic individual dressage competition with his horse ''Ingo'' and finished 19th.

Other work

Bonde possessed a wide range of entailed estates, including Vibyholm Castle and Hörningsholm Castle in

Södermanland Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Österg� ...

Katrineholm Katrineholm (pronunciation: or ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Katrineholm Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 24,271 inhabitants in 2018. It is located in the inland of Södermanland and is the third largest ur ...

, Bordsjö, Askeryd and Herrestad in

Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...

and Sävstaholm and Toftaholm. He was a member of Halland County Rural Economy and Agricultural Societie's acquisition committee (''Hallands läns hushållningssällskaps förvärvsutskott'') and member of the Halland County '' landstorm''. Bonde was an inspector of POW camps in

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from 1917 to 1918. He was chairman of the Stockholm Harness Horseman's Association from 1900 and chairman and vice chairman of the Swedish Equestrian Central Association in 1933–38. He was a judge of equestrian competitions at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Personal life

Bonde was married and divorced twice. He was married 1896–1919 to Blanche Charlotte Eleonore Dickson (1875–1960), daughter of James Fredrik Dickson and Blanche Dickson. Bonde was married a second time 1920–1941 to Ebba Wallenberg (1896–1960), daughter of the banker Marcus Wallenberg, Sr. and Amalia Hagdahl. In the first marriage he was the father of Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Thord Bonde and Colonel Carl C:son Bonde, and in the latter Peder Bonde, chamberlain and active in the so-called Wallenberg sphere. Bonde's first wife, Blanche Dickson, inherited Tjolöholm Castle, and they lived there until their divorce in 1919.

Awards and decorations

Bonde's awards:

Swedish

King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1928) * SWE Order of Vasa - Knight 2nd Class BAR

Commander 2nd Class of the

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

Knight 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 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

Ribbon bar of the Gustaf V Olympic Medal

King Gustaf V's Olympic Commemorative Medal (''Konung Gustaf V:s olympiska minnesmedalj'') * Medical Gold Medal (''Sjukvårdsguldmedalj'') (Swedish Red Cross)

Foreign

* Grand Officer of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

* Knight 2nd Class of the

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

Knight of the Order of Leopold * BEL Militair Kruis 2klasse BAR

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 ...

Second Class * Palmes academiques Officier ribbon

Officer of the ''

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

'' *

Red Cross Medal First, Second and Third Class * OTT Order of the Crescent BAR

Order of the Crescent The Imperial Order of the Crescent () was a chivalric order of the Ottoman Empire. History The order was instituted in 1799 by Sultan Selim III when he wished to reward Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, Horatio Nelson, an Church of England, ...

* Austrian Honour Decoration of the Red Cross, Second Class with decoration * Bulgarian War Commemorative Medal

Bibliography

References

External links

Carl Bonde at databaseOlympics.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonde, Carl 1872 births 1957 deaths Swedish dressage riders Olympic equestrians for Sweden Swedish male equestrians Equestrians at the 1912 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in equestrian Military personnel from Stockholm Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Commanders Second Class of the Order of Vasa Sportspeople from Stockholm