Chris Keeble
| Chris Keeble | |
|---|---|
| Born |
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 | 2 PARA |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order |
Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Patrick Benedict Keeble, DSO, MSc, FCMI (born 14 November 1941) is a retired officer in the British Army, most noted for his service in the Falklands War of 1982.
He was born in Quetta, British India. He was educated at Douai School (Roman Catholic), Berkshire and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the Royal Leicestershire Regiment in 1963 (amalgamated into The Royal Anglian Regiment in 1964). He joined the Parachute Regiment in 1971. 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. Keeble (who held the rank of major at the time), a devout Christian, 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. After kneeling alone in prayer amongst the burning gorse he took the actions which brought the battle to a successful conclusion (interview in video "Command and the Christian Faith", published by the Armed Forces Christian Union) and he accepted the surrender of the Argentine forces at Goose Green on 29 May.
After the battle, despite sentiment among the soldiers of 2 PARA for him to remain in command, he was superseded by Lieutenant-Colonel David Robert Chaundler, who was flown in from Britain to take command of the battalion. After the war, Keeble was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order.[1] He ended his military career as a lieutenant colonel on 27 September 1987.
He retired from duty in 1986 to establish a consultancy and lecturing practice providing instruction on balancing the "ethic of business transformation with the ethic of peoples’ flourishing".
See also
References
- Oak Square Press (3 April 2006). 2 Para's Battle for Darwin Hill and Goose Green. Oak Square Press. ISBN 978-0-9660717-1-9. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- Spencer Fitz-Gibbon (April 2006). Not mentioned in despatches: the history and mythology of the Battle of Goose Green. James Clarke & Co. ISBN 978-0-7188-3016-8. Retrieved 2 April 2012.