Keith Hervey

The son of a Scottish-born civil engineer, Keith Hervey dedicated his life to the Army. He served firstly with the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) and then the 108th Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry, and was appointed an instructor at the Army’s Equitation School at Weedon, Northamptonshire in 1927. Having taken over command on an anti-tank regiment in 1940, Hervey saw service in France, Belgium and the Middle-East. In 1942 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his gallantry in the Middle-East. Hervey ultimately attained the rank of brigadier.

A fine horseman, Hervey was equally at home eventing, show jumping, or riding with the West Norfolk Hunt, of which he was a one-time secretary. At the 1924 Paris Olympics, he competed in both the three day event and show jumping competitions. As a show jumper, he won the Connaught Gold Cup at the 1924 International Horse Show at Olympia the month before the Paris Games. Hervey won at the Royal Tournament at Olympia in successive years, winning the King’s Cup for Army Officers in 1925, and the individual jumping competition for the Prince of Wales’s Cup in 1926.

Hervey was a local magistrate, and also president of the Sandringham District Cricket League.