Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Dimitry Dimitrievitch Zvegintzov () (25 January 1911 – 23 April 1984) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer.

Biography

Zvegintzov was born in Russia into an

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

family, the son of Colonel Dimitry Ivanovitch Zvegintzov (1880–1967) and Princess Maria Obolensky (1882–1947), the daughter of

Ivan Mikhailovich Obolensky ''Knyaz'' Ivan Mikhailovich Obolensky (), or Prince John Obolenski (1853 – 28 February 1910), was an Imperial Russian Lieutenant-General. Early life and ancestry He was a member of a Rurikid princely Obolensky family, whose ancestors once r ...

. During the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

of 1917, his family moved to England, fearing the repercussions of the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

takeover. He was subsequently educated at

Bloxham School Bloxham School, also called All Saints' School, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private co-educational day and boarding school of the Public school (United Kingdom), British public school tradition, located in the village of Bloxham ...

, where he was nicknamed "Zog", and served as drum major in the

Officers' Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

band, with the rank of Cadet Serjeant. On 17 September 1931, Zvegintzov, then working as a clerk and living in Barons Court, London, became a naturalised British subject, having been granted a Certificate of Naturalization, and sworn the

Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

. He joined the Supplementary Reserve of Officers in May 1933, and 1 February 1935 was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

, receiving promotion to lieutenant on 1 February 1938. He saw service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, being promoted to captain on 1 February 1943, and having the war substantive rank of major by the end of the conflict. He remained in the army post-war, being promoted to major on 25 January 1947. and was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

on 1 January 1949. On 1 July 1952 he was brevetted as a lieutenant-colonel, eventually being promoted to that rank on 5 April 1955. He was promoted again, to colonel, on 12 September 1957, and to brigadier on 12 September 1961. Zvegintzov 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

on 1 January 1963, and eventually retired from the army on 2 February 1965. In April 1968 he was made an Officer of the Order of Saint John. Zvegintzov died on 23 April 1984 at his home in Glasbury on Wye, Wales. His funeral was held at All Saints Church, Glasbury on Wye, and he was cremated on the 27th at Hereford Crematorium.

Personal life

Zvegintzov married the Honourable Rachel Kathleen Bailey, granddaughter of

Joseph Bailey, 1st Baron Glanusk Joseph Russell Bailey, 1st Baron Glanusk (7 April 1840 – 6 January 1906), known as Sir Joseph Bailey, 2nd Baronet, from 1858 to 1899, was a Welsh Conservative Member of Parliament. Early life Born at Leamington Spa, he was the son of Joseph ...

, on 20 April 1940. They had three children. His younger brother Ivan was killed in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

on 28 December 1941 while serving as a second lieutenant in the 3rd County of London Yeomanry. He is commemorated on the

Alamein Memorial The Alamein Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial in the El Alamein War Cemetery, El Alamein, Egypt. The memorial commemorates 11,866 Commonwealth forces members who died during World War II. The memorial was designed by ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zvegintzov, Dimitry 1911 births 1984 deaths People educated at Bloxham School Border Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of St John White Russian emigrants to the United Kingdom British Army brigadiers Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom