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	{{Short description\|British polo player and soldier (1910–2003)}}		{{Short description\|British polo player and soldier (1910–2003)}}
	{{Use British English\|date=September ~~2022~~}}		{{Use British English\|date=September 2013}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=August 2021}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=August 2021}}
	'''Lieutenant-Colonel Alec Harper''' [[Distinguished Service Order\|DSO]] (12 July 1910 – 11 March 2003) fought with the [[Chindit]]s, played [[Polo]] for England and was honorary secretary of the [[Hurlingham Polo Association]].		'''Lieutenant-Colonel Alec Harper''' [[Distinguished Service Order\|DSO]] (12 July 1910 – 11 March 2003) fought with the [[Chindit]]s, played [[Polo]] for England and was honorary secretary of the [[Hurlingham Polo Association]].

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{{Short description|British polo player and soldier (1910–2003)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
'''Lieutenant-Colonel Alec Harper''' [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]] (12 July 1910 – 11 March 2003) fought with the [[Chindit]]s, played [[Polo]] for England and was honorary secretary of the [[Hurlingham Polo Association]].

==Early life==
Alexander Forrest Harper, always known to his family as Alec, was born in [[Freshford, Somerset|Freshford]] in [[Somerset]] and educated at [[Blundell's School]] in [[Tiverton, Devon|Tiverton]] and then at the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]].

==Military career==
Harper was commissioned onto the Unattached List for [[Indian Army (1895–1947)|Indian Army]] on 28 August 1930, arrived in India on 29 September 1930 and was attached to the 2nd Battalion, [[Lancashire Fusiliers]] on 25 October 1930. After one year he was posted to his permanent [[Indian Army (1895–1947)|Indian Army]] unit and joined the [[9th Royal Deccan Horse]] on 26 October 1931. Stationed at Poona. Harper learned to hunt big game and was promoted from zero handicap to a two-goal player by the end of his first regimental polo tournament.

In 1936 Harper attended the Equitation School at Saugor, after which he was appointed Quarter Master of his regiment until October 1938, when he was appointed Commandant of the Governor's Bodyguard to the [[Governor of Bengal]]. He retained this position until 1940, after which he returned to his regiment.

After the outbreak of [[World War II]], keen to see action, volunteered for the [[Burma Campaign 1944|2nd Chindit expedition]], which was to drop long range penetration groups into Burma. The objective was to cut the lines of communication serving the Japanese Army operating against the American-led Chinese forces advancing from the north through the [[Hukawng Valley]].

Harper took command of the [[9 Gorkha Rifles|3rd/9th Gurkha Rifles]] after their [[commanding officer|CO]] became seriously ill and he led a three-day trek north-west through the [[Gangaw|Gangaw Range]] to rejoin [[Mike Calvert|Brigadier Mike Calvert's]] 77th Brigade south of [[Hopin (Kachin State)|Hopin]].

At the end of the Burma campaign, Harper accompanied the 3rd/9th to [[Java]] as part of the [[5th Infantry Division (India)|5th Indian Division]] where [[Indonesia]]n nationalists had proclaimed independence from [[Netherlands|Dutch]] rule, and the withdrawal of the Japanese to their barracks had created a breakdown of law and order. Harper led his battalion in an advance through [[Surabaya]] in [[East Java]], which took two weeks of fighting to restore order and free the Europeans who were being held in internment camps or as hostages. He was awarded an immediate DSO.

After attending Staff College at [[Quetta]] in 1947 Harper retired from the Army and after a period in [[India]] helping to run his father-in-law's distillery business in [[Calcutta]], he returned to England and settled on the [[Cowdray Park, West Sussex|Cowdray Estate]] in 1955.

==Polo and later life==
During his playing years Harper represented England, when it inflicted a rare defeat on Argentina in a 23-goal match in 1951, and again in 1953. Harper also played for a number of other teams, including The Mariners, which included [[Prince Philip]], and for which he had to be made an honorary naval officer. He appeared in the British Open final eight times, mainly for his club, Cowdray Park, and finally gave up at aged 77 after playing 20 chukkas during his final season.

Between 1971 and 1989 Harper was a key figure in the sport, as honorary secretary of its governing body, the [[Hurlingham Polo Association]].

Harper had a long-held theory that in order to play really well, sex was essential before a match.

Harper made his living by buying young horses and turning them into polo ponies. He was assisted by his Indian orderly, Bachan Singh, who had also been the regimental rough rider in the Deccan Horse. Harper also became a steward with the [[Greyhound Racing Association]].

==Publications==
Harper wrote two volumes of autobiography:
*Horse and Foot (1995)
*More Horse and Foot (2002)

== Sources ==
*[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/gurkha-obituaries/1424648/Lieutenant-Colonel-Alec-Harper.html Extracted from the obituary of Lieutenant-Colonel Alec Harper, The Daily Telegraph, 15 March 2003]
* London Gazette
* Indian Army List (various dates)

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Alec}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bath and North East Somerset]]
[[Category:People educated at Blundell's School]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:English polo players]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Lancashire Fusiliers officers]]
[[Category:English autobiographers]]

Alec Harper - Revision history

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