Chris Keeble

For the English footballer, see Chris Keeble (footballer).
Chris Keeble
Born (1941-11-14) 14 November 1941
Quetta, British India
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch  British Army
Years of service 1963 - 1987
Rank Lieutenant Colonel
Unit Royal Leicestershire Regiment
Royal Anglian Regiment
Parachute Regiment
Commands held 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment
Battles/wars

Falklands War

Awards Distinguished Service Order

Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Patrick Benedict Keeble, DSO, FCMI (born 14 November 1941) is a retired officer in the British Army, most noted for his service in the Falklands War of 1982.

Background

Keeble was born in Quetta, British India. He was educated at the Benedictine Douai School (for both prep school at Ditcham Park and the senior school[1]) and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

Career

In February 1964 Keeble was commissioned into the Royal Leicestershire Regiment, which amalgamated into The Royal Anglian Regiment just seven months later.[2][3] He joined the Parachute Regiment in 1972[4] and was promoted to major in 1975.[5] During the Battle of Goose Green, he inherited command of the 2nd Battalion of The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) when Lieutenant-Colonel H. Jones was killed in action. A devout Catholic, Keeble, then a major, took over command of the battalion at a stage where one in six of his men were killed or wounded, they were largely out of ammunition, had been without sleep for 40 hours and were vulnerable to a counter-attack.[6] After kneeling alone in prayer amongst the burning gorse he ordered his men to withdraw and released several Argentine prisoners of war with a message to the Argentines to surrender or risk more casualties. The offer was accepted and Keeble, accompanied by his artillery officer and veteran BBC journalist Robert Fox, approached his Argentine counterpart Lieutenant Colonel Ítalo Piaggi to negotiate a ceasefire.[7] On 29 May he accepted the peaceful surrender of the Argentine forces at Goose Green.

After the battle, despite popular sentiment among the soldiers of 2 PARA for him to remain in command, he was superseded by Lieutenant-Colonel David Robert Chaundler,[8] who was flown in from Britain to take command of the battalion. After the war, Keeble was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order.[9] He then commanded 15 PARA, a Territorial Army Battalion based in Scotland with its HQ in Glasgow. He ended his military career as a lieutenant colonel on 27 September 1987,[10] his final appointment being a Staff Officer Grade 1 at Allied Forces Central Europe in the Netherlands.

Post-military

Keeble retired from duty to establish a consultancy and lecturing practice providing instruction on balancing the "ethic of business transformation with the ethic of peoples’ flourishing". He is currently a supernumerary fellow at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pupils of the Schools at Paris, Douai and Woolhampton" (PDF). Douai Abbey.
  2. ↑ "Keeble, Christopher Patrick Benedict - DSO MSc FCMI". Royal Tigers' Association.
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 43241. p. 1263. 11 February 1964.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45575. p. 649. 17 January 1972.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46469. p. 865. 21 January 1975.
  6. ↑ "Books blog: The inspiring Catholics who strived for peace amid war". The Catholic Herald. 30 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Forgiveness Out of War". For A Change. Initiatives of Change. 4 April 2007. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016.
  8. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49194. p. 16124. 14 December 1982.
  9. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49134. p. 12844. 8 October 1982.
  10. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 51074. p. 12060. 29 September 1987.
  11. ↑ "Fellows & Staff - Supernumerary Fellows". hmc.ox.ac.uk.


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