Major General Henry Georg Rudolf Peyron (14 June 1883 – 19 February 1972) was a senior Swedish Army officer and a fencer.[1] He competed in the individual and team épée events at the 1908 Summer Olympics.[2]

Henry Peyron
Birth nameHenry Georg Rudolf Peyron
Born(1883-06-14)14 June 1883
Stockholm, Sweden
Died18 February 1972(1972-02-18) (aged 88)
Stockholm, Sweden
Buried
AllegianceSweden
Service/branchSwedish Army
Years of service1903–1943
RankMajor General (Sweden)
Lieutenant Colonel (Finland)
Commands held
Battles/warsFinnish Civil War
RelationsLennart Peyron (son)

Early life edit

Peyron was born on 14 June 1883 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of vice admiral Edvard Svante Knut Peyron and his wife Kathinka Karen Aleta Due. He was the brother of the naval officer Edvard Svante Knut Peyron. He passed mogenhetsexamen in Stockholm in 1901 and Peyron became underlöjtnant in the Life Regiment Dragoons in 1903.[3]

Career edit

Peyron attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1910 to 1912, was an aspirant in the General Staff from 1913 to 1915 and was appointed captain of the General Staff 1917. He returned the same year as ryttmästare to the Life Regiment Dragoons. Peyron, who had left the Swedish Army in 1918, took part in the Finnish Civil War as a General Staff officer at headquarters. He participated there, among other things, to the plans of the Tampere and the Vyborg operations and was appointed Finnish lieutenant colonel.[3] Back in the Swedish Army, he served as a military attaché in Rome from 1919 to 1921, became a major in the army in 1924, was a military attaché in Berlin from 1924 to 26 and chief of staff at the Cavalry Inspectorate (Kavalleriinspektionen) from 1926 to 1932. He was promoted to major in the General Staff in 1926 and lieutenant colonel in 1928.[3]

During the interwar period, Peyron sought to find ways to counteract the cavalry's downsizing. While maintaining the traditional cavalry name, the units would be composed of parts with such different marching capabilities as "cavalrymen", bicycle troops and motorized troops.[3] In 1932, Peyron became lieutenant colonel in the Life Regiment Hussars in Skövde, was promoted to colonel in the army in 1934 and was the regiment's executive commander from 1935 to 1937, after which he was executive commander until 1940 of the Life Regiment of Horse. In 1943, Peyron was promoted to major general and appointed Inspector of the Cavalry. In this position, Peyron sought to promote the field operations of the units. He took special interest in the tactics. During World War II, Peyron was first commander of the cavalry brigade and then for a long time carried out operations as division commander in Värmland. He retired from active service in 1943.[3]

Peyron was chairman of Skövde Cross Country Riding Club (Skövde fältrittklubb) from 1933 to 1937, vice chairman of Stockholm Cross Country Riding Club from 1937 to 1940 and a member of the Swedish Equestrian Federation (Svenska ridsportens centralförbund) from 1937 to 1943.[3]

Personal life edit

In 1908, Peyron married Louise Reuterskiöld (1887–1967), the daughter of the envoy Lennart Reuterskiöld and Louise Nordenfalk.[4] They had four children: major general Lennart Peyron (1909–1981), artist Louise Peyron-Carlberg (1911–1978), translator Elsie Tollet (1914–1981) and major general Gustaf Peyron (1921–2007).[5][6]

Death edit

 
Henry Peyron's gravestone at Norra begravningsplatsen.

Peyron died on 18 February 1972. He was interred at Norra begravningsplatsen in Solna Municipality on 28 April 1972.[7]

Dates of rank edit

Swedish Army edit

Finnish Army edit

  • 1918 – Lieutenant Colonel

Awards and decorations edit

Swedish edit

Foreign edit

Honours edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Henry Peyron". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Henry Peyron Olympic Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Dahl, Torsten; Bohman, Nils, eds. (1949). Svenska män och kvinnor: biografisk uppslagsbok. 6 P-Sheldon (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier. pp. 116–117. SELIBR 53805.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm [Who's Who? 1, Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. pp. 1055–1056. SELIBR 53509.
  5. ^ Sveriges ridderskap och adels kalender Årg. 89(1967) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier. 1967. pp. 535–536. SELIBR 4fb2sh5j21px2xb8.
  6. ^ Sveriges dödbok 1901-2009 [Swedish death index 1901-2009] (in Swedish) (Version 5.0 ed.). Solna: Sveriges släktforskarförbund. 2010. ISBN 9789187676598. SELIBR 11931231.
  7. ^ "Peyron, HENRY GEORG R." www.svenskagravar.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Peyron". www.adelsvapen.com (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  9. ^ Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1968 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1968. p. 97. SELIBR 8261599.
  10. ^ "Högsta utmärkelse, personer" (in Swedish). Swedish Fencing Federation. Retrieved 2 June 2021.

External links edit

Military offices
Preceded by
Carl Erik Knös
Life Regiment Hussars
1935–1937
Succeeded by
Knut Henrik Palmstierna
Preceded by Life Regiment of Horse
1937–1940
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Göran Gyllenstierna
Inspector of the Cavalry
1940–1943
Succeeded by
Sven Ryman