Alec Tod

The son of an Army colonel, Alec Tod also enjoyed a successful Army career. He joined the Royal Artillery in 1918 and, after a long career, reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Horse Artillery. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1945 for service with the 75th Anti-Tank Regiment of the Royal Artillery in the 1944-45 North-West European Campaign.

A fine horseman, Tod was an instructor at the Army Equitation School at Weedon, Northamptonshire. In 1934 he beat 41 other riders to win the Connaught Gold Cup, for British Army Officers, at the International Horse Show at Olympia. He rode a faultless round on the mare Blue Dun, who had won the title two years earlier with O. W. Williams-Wynn in the saddle.

Tod was a member of the Great Britain team that won the 1935 Prince of Wales’s Cup at the International Horse Show at Olympia. His team-mates were major J. H. Dudgeon ad Captain A. J. Cleave. The following year, Tod won the officer’s jumping competition at the Royal Tournament at Olympia. Tod was also a keen polo player, and played for the Royal Artillery.