Major-General Claude Ernest Pert (29 September 1898 – 14 March 1982) was a senior

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

officer in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

, and

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

champion.

Biography

Pert was born 29 September 1898 in British India, the third son of Mr. F. J. Pert of the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

. He was educated at

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

from May 1913 to July 1916, then trained as an officer at

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Cadet College in India, and commissioned as a second lieutenant on the Unattached List for 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 ...

on 18 June 1917. Within a few days, on 23 June, he was admitted into the Indian Army, joining the

17th Cavalry The 15th Lancers (Baloch) is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry and the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottab ...

, and was promoted to lieutenant on 18 June 1918. He was posted away from his regiment to the

Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a military formation of the British Empire, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–1915), at the ...

fighting in Palestine, serving with the 2nd Battalion,

124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry The 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1820 as the 2nd (Marine) Battalion 12th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. It was designated as the 124th Duchess of Connaught' ...

and an Imperial Service Cavalry unit between 13 August to 31 October 1918. After the war he returned to his regiment and saw further service in

Waziristan Waziristan (Persian language, Persian, Pashto, Ormuri, , ) is a mountainous region of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan Dis ...

on the North West Frontier in 1921, receiving promotion to captain on 18 June 1921. The 17th Cavalry and the

37th Lancers The 15th Lancers (Baloch) is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry and the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottab ...

were amalgamated on 16 February 1922 to form the

15th Lancers The 15th Lancers (Baloch) is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry and the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottab ...

. Pert married Lillian Katherine Nicholls (died 1980) the same year. Pert 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 ...

, playing for the United Kingdom against the United States at Meadow Brook. He served as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the Governor of Bombay's Bodyguard from 1928 to 1930, and was promoted to major on 18 June 1935. In 1937 he was part of the polo team who won the

Roehampton Trophy The Roehampton trophy is the oldest polo trophy in the United Kingdom. The trophy was first played for at the Roehampton Club in 1902 and was won by Buccaneers. Today it is played for at the Ham Polo Club, the tournament is played for at an 6-goal ...

. In 1937 the 15th Lancers were converted to a training regiment and he transferred to

Probyn's Horse (5th King Edward VII's Own Lancers) The 5th Horse is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was previously known as the 5th King Edward's Own Lancers Probyn's Horse, which was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by the amalgamation of ...

on 31 August 1937, where he was appointed temporary second-in-command on 1 October 1939. He was promoted to the

acting rank An acting rank is a designation that allows military personnel to assume a higher military rank, which is usually temporary. They may assume that rank either with or without the pay and allowances appropriate to that grade, depending on the natu ...

of lieutenant-colonel as

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of Probyn's Horse on 1 March 1941. He was appointed temporary lieutenant-colonel on 1 June 1941, receiving promotion to the substantive rank on 18 June 1943, though this was later cancelled and then backdated to 3 September 1942. He was appointed acting colonel on 11 March 1943. Later he was appointed second-in-command of the 251st Indian Tank Brigade, and in November 1943 commanding officer of the 255th Indian Armoured Brigade, a post he held until May 1945. He was appointed temporary colonel on 28 February 1944, and temporary brigadier on 1 February 1945. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

"in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Burma" on 24 May 1945, ranked as temporary brigadier,

Indian Armoured Corps The Indian Armoured Corps was a unit of the British Empire's Indian Army. The Corps was formed on 1 May 1941 to administer existing armoured units within the Indian Army. Its headquarters was located at Ferozepore. Upon partition in 1947, the unit's ...

. Appointed acting major-general on 31 May 1945, he served as the

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

1st Armoured Division of the Indian Army. He received a

mention in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) 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 of t ...

on 19 July 1945 for his service in Burma, as a temporary colonel, Indian Armoured Corps. Pert was appointed Director of Armoured Fighting Vehicles on 7 June 1946, and promoted to colonel on 11 February 1947. He was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

on 14 August 1947, ranked as a colonel (temporary major-general), Probyn's Horse. He retired from the army on 31 August 1948, and was granted the honorary rank of major-general. In retirement he served as the manager of the

Guards Polo Club The Guards Polo Club is an English polo club in Windsor, Berkshire. It is closely associated with the British royal family. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was president of the club from its formation on 25 January 1955 until Death and funeral ...

from 1957 to 1975. The club now awards the "Claude Pert Cup" in his honour. He was appointed a Commander in the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

on 1 January 1976. He died on 14 March 1982.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pert, Claude Ernest 1898 births 1982 deaths People educated at Clifton College British polo players Indian polo players Roehampton Trophy International Polo Cup British Indian Army generals Indian Army personnel of World War I Indian Army generals of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order