Lt. Col. Leopold Henry George Conville

CBE 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 ...

(19 October 1896 - 12 November 1979) was a British Army officer and farmer in

Sahiwal Sahiwal ( Punjabi / ; ; ), formerly known as Montgomery, is a city in central Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative capital of both Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. It is the 19th largest city of Pakistan by population accordin ...

Punjab on land that is now in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He was appointed OBE and later CBE for services to the United Kingdom community in West Pakistan.

Early life and family

Leopold Conville was born at

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

now in

on 19 October 1896 to H. T. Conville (died 1939), a farmer and agent for agricultural machinery, and his wife. He was educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

and the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. He married Katherine Mary (Teresa) Gispert (1898-1973) and they had sons

David Conville David Henry Conville OBE (4 June 1929 – 24 November 2018) was a British actor and director at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. He was the son of Lt. Col. Leopold Conville who farmed in Sahiwal Punjab on land that is now in Pakistan ...

(1929-2018) who became a noted actor and theatre director, and an older child Michael.

Career

Conville served in the British Army

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

as a second lieutenant and later as a captain. He eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He inherited the very large Convillepur Farm,

, in the Punjab, on his father's death in 1939. It was the subject of a reported Indian tax case in 1936 and is now in Pakistan.David Conville obituary.
''The Times'', 5 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019. He was appointed OBE, and in 1960 was made CBE for services to the United Kingdom community in West Pakistan."Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood"
''The London Gazette'', 11 June 1960, p. 3993.

Death

Conville died 12 November 1979. His address at the time of his death was Wisteria House, Colt Hill,

Odiham Odiham () is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The 2011 population was 4,406. The parish in 1851 had an area of 7,354 acres ...

, Hampshire.''The London Gazette''
28 April 1980, p. 6329. He was buried in Odiham Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conville, Leopold Royal Garrison Artillery officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 1896 births 1979 deaths People educated at Dulwich College British Army personnel of World War I 20th-century British farmers