Ion Calvocoressi
Encyclopedia
Major Ion Melville Calvocoressi MBE
MC
(12 April 1919 – 7 July 2007) was an officer in the British Army
in the Second World War and later a stockbroker in the City of London
. He was High Sheriff of Kent
in 1978-79.
Calvocoressi was born in Calcutta, the only child of Matthew John Calvocoressi (1873–1939). His father was descended from a Greek family from Chios
; two uncles married into the Ralli family. He was a director of the Indian branch of Greek merchant business, Ralli Brothers
. His mother, Agnes Hermione Melville, was of Anglo-Scottish ancestry and was the granddaughter of Michael Linning Melville
. His parents moved to London
in 1922. He was educated at Eton College
and read Modern Languages at Magdalen College, Oxford
After the outbreak of the Second World War, he was commissioned into the Scots Guards
in 1940, and was posted to Egypt
with the 2nd Battalion in 1941. He won an immediate Military Cross
in 1942, while serving as a lieutenant in command of a platoon of six-pounder
anti-tank guns. The battalion was defending a ridge at Bir El Rigel in Libya
. After days of intense fighting, the battalion was attacked by two armoured columns from the 21st Panzer Division on 13 June 1942. His platoon destroyed five German tanks before it was overrun. Calvocoressi was captured, but escaped the following night. He rejoined his unit the next day after walking 17 miles (27 km) across the desert.
He was wounded in July 1942, rescuing members of the battalion's forward observation post, and became aide-de-camp
to the commander of XXX Corps, Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese
in 1943. He accompanied Leese in North Africa, and, after Leese took command of the Eighth Army
, into Italy, and finally to the Far East, where Leese became commander of Allied Land Forces South East Asia. He received the MBE
for his service.
He became a stockbroker after the war, concentrating on private client work. He moved to Westerham
in Kent
in 1950, near the country home of Winston Churchill
at Chartwell
. He was instrumental in the erection of a statue of Churchill by Oscar Nemon
in the town in 1965. He was High Sheriff of Kent
in 1978-79.
After he retired, he was chairman of the appeal for the Guards Museum
at Wellington Barracks. He was also a life member of the Marylebone Cricket Club
, a Fellow of the Ancient Monuments Society
, and a financial adviser to the Royal Society of Musicians
.
He was survived by his wife, Katherine Kennedy (the sister of Sir Ludovic Kennedy
), whom he married on 29 April 1947, their three sons (James, Richard, and Andrew) and daughter (Iona). His son, art historian Richard Calvocoressi, was a curator at the Tate Gallery
(1979–87) and director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
(1987–2007), and became director of the Henry Moore Foundation
in 2007.
His cousin, Peter Calvocoressi
, worked in RAF Intelligence
at Bletchley Park
in the Second World War and was an author.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(12 April 1919 – 7 July 2007) was an officer in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in the Second World War and later a stockbroker in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. He was High Sheriff of Kent
High Sheriff of Kent
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
in 1978-79.
Calvocoressi was born in Calcutta, the only child of Matthew John Calvocoressi (1873–1939). His father was descended from a Greek family from Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
; two uncles married into the Ralli family. He was a director of the Indian branch of Greek merchant business, Ralli Brothers
Ralli Brothers
The five Ralli brothers, Zannis a.k.a. John , Augustus ,Pandia a.k.a. Zeus ,Toumazis , and...
. His mother, Agnes Hermione Melville, was of Anglo-Scottish ancestry and was the granddaughter of Michael Linning Melville
Michael Linning Melville
Michael Linning Melville born Edinburgh, was a Scots Barrister, Judge and Lieutenant Governor of Sierra Leone. He was commissioned by King William IV of the United Kingdom to suppress the slave trade by force off the West Coast of Africa....
. His parents moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1922. He was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and read Modern Languages at Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
After the outbreak of the Second World War, he was commissioned into the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
in 1940, and was posted to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
with the 2nd Battalion in 1941. He won an immediate Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
in 1942, while serving as a lieutenant in command of a platoon of six-pounder
Ordnance QF 6 pounder
The Ordnance Quick-Firing 6-pounder 7 cwt, or just 6 pounder, was a British 57 mm gun, their primary anti-tank gun during the middle of World War II, as well as the main armament for a number of armoured fighting vehicles...
anti-tank guns. The battalion was defending a ridge at Bir El Rigel in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. After days of intense fighting, the battalion was attacked by two armoured columns from the 21st Panzer Division on 13 June 1942. His platoon destroyed five German tanks before it was overrun. Calvocoressi was captured, but escaped the following night. He rejoined his unit the next day after walking 17 miles (27 km) across the desert.
He was wounded in July 1942, rescuing members of the battalion's forward observation post, and became aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the commander of XXX Corps, Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese
Oliver Leese
Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Baronet, KCB, CBE, DSO was a British general during World War II.-Early years:...
in 1943. He accompanied Leese in North Africa, and, after Leese took command of the Eighth Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
, into Italy, and finally to the Far East, where Leese became commander of Allied Land Forces South East Asia. He received the MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for his service.
He became a stockbroker after the war, concentrating on private client work. He moved to Westerham
Westerham
Westerham is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, in South East England with 5,000 people. The parish is south of the North Downs, ten miles west of Sevenoaks. It covers 5800 acres . It is recorded as early as the 9th century, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book in a...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in 1950, near the country home of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
at Chartwell
Chartwell
Chartwell was the principal adult home of Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill and his wife Clementine bought the property, located two miles south of Westerham, Kent, England, in 1922...
. He was instrumental in the erection of a statue of Churchill by Oscar Nemon
Oscar Nemon
Oscar Nemon was a Croatian sculptor who was born in Osijek, Croatia, but eventually settled in England. He is best known for his series of more than a dozen public statues of Sir Winston Churchill.-Biography:...
in the town in 1965. He was High Sheriff of Kent
High Sheriff of Kent
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
in 1978-79.
After he retired, he was chairman of the appeal for the Guards Museum
Guards Museum
The Guards Museum is a military museum in Central London, England. It is located in Wellington Barracks on Birdcage Walk close to Buckingham Palace, which is the home of the five regiments of Foot Guards .The museum first opened in 1988...
at Wellington Barracks. He was also a life member of the Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
, a Fellow of the Ancient Monuments Society
Ancient Monuments Society
The Ancient Monuments Society is a registered charity in England and Wales, founded in 1924 "for the study and conservation of ancient monuments, historic buildings and fine old craftsmanship".-National Amenity Societies:...
, and a financial adviser to the Royal Society of Musicians
Royal Society of Musicians
The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the "Fund for Decay'd Musicians" by a declaration of trust signed by 228 musicians, including Edward Purcell ,...
.
He was survived by his wife, Katherine Kennedy (the sister of Sir Ludovic Kennedy
Ludovic Kennedy
Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy was a British journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley, and for his role in the abolition of the death penalty in the United...
), whom he married on 29 April 1947, their three sons (James, Richard, and Andrew) and daughter (Iona). His son, art historian Richard Calvocoressi, was a curator at the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
(1979–87) and director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, holds the national collection of modern art. When opened in 1960, the collection was held in Inverleith House, at the Royal Botanic Gardens...
(1987–2007), and became director of the Henry Moore Foundation
Henry Moore Foundation
The Henry Moore Foundation is a registered charity in England, established for education and promotion of the fine arts — in particular, to advance understanding of the works of Henry Moore. The charity was set up with a gift from the artist in 1977...
in 2007.
His cousin, Peter Calvocoressi
Peter Calvocoressi
Peter John Ambrose Calvocoressi was a British political author, historian and a former intelligence officer at Bletchley Park during World War II.-Early years:...
, worked in RAF Intelligence
RAF Intelligence
Intelligence services in the Royal Air Force is delivered by Officers of the Royal Air Force Operations Support Intelligence Branch and Airmen from the Intelligence Analyst Trade and Intelligence Analyst Trade...
at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
in the Second World War and was an author.