{{Short description|Decorated British Army officer (1939–1962)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox military person | name = Aidan Sprot | image = | caption = | birth_date =17 January 1919 | death_date =28 January 2021 (aged 102) | burial_label = | burial_place = | birth_place =Lilliesleaf | death_place =Crookston by Peebles | burial_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} --> | nickname = | allegiance ={{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom | branch =23px British Army | service_years =1939–1962 | rank =Lieutenant Colonel | unit =Royal Scots Greys | commands =Royal Scots Greys | battles =Second Battle of El Alamein, Operation Avalanche, Operation Overlord | awards =Military Cross<br>Legion of Honour | relations = | other_work =Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale }} Lieutenant Colonel '''Aidan Mark Sprot''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MC}} (19 January 1919 &ndash; 28 January 2021) was a British Army officer, who won an immediate Military Cross and later served as the Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale.

==Early life== Sprot was born on 19 January 1919 and was the son of Mark and Meliora Sprot (a daughter of Sir John Hay, 9th Baronet and Anne Milliken-Napier, daughter of Sir Robert Milliken-Napier, 9th Baronet). His sister Celia became Viscountess Whitelaw.<ref name="IND">{{cite web |title=Viscountess Whitelaw: Wife of Tory grandee |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/viscountess-whitelaw-wife-tory-grandee-6804669.html |website=The Independent |access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref>

He was educated at Stowe School, Sprot was forbidden from following his father into the army,<ref name="SCO">{{cite web |title=Obituary: Aidan Sprot MC, Scot whose bravery helped free France from Nazis |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/obituary-aidan-sprot-mc-scot-whose-bravery-helped-free-france-from-nazis-3138932 |website=The Scotsman |access-date=9 March 2021}}</ref> and initially worked as a banker in the City of London.<ref name="DT" />

==Military career== On the outbreak of World War II, Sprot joined his father's old regiment, the Royal Scots Greys<ref name="DT">{{cite web |title=Lieutenant-Colonel Aidan Sprot, officer who won an Immediate MC in France in 1944 – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/03/08/lieutenant-colonel-aidan-sprot-officer-won-immediate-mc-france/ |website=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=9 March 2021}}</ref><ref name="SCO" /> and was commissioned in 1941.<ref name="DT" />

Serving in Palestine on internal security duties, Sprot then moved with his regiment to the Western Desert, where he took part in the Second Battle of El Alamein. In September 1943, he served during Operation Avalanche, the landings at Salerno.<ref name="DT" /><ref name="SCO" />

In June 1944, the Royal Scots Greys were assigned to the Normandy landings, during which Sprot commanded the reconnaissance troop.<ref name="DT" /> He later saw action in the Falaise Pocket, where, on 1 September 1944, he performed the actions that resulted in him being awarded the Military Cross.<ref name="DT" /><ref name="SCO" /> After driving a Stuart tank over two stone bridges which were being prepared for demolition, at a third bridge, made of wood, Sprot was held up by enemy guns. After these were knocked out, a Scissors bridge was installed, which did not cover the full span.<ref name="DT" /> Sprot drove his tank, under heavy sniper fire, across the bridge, paving the way for half of the squadron to follow before the bridge became unusable, allowing for the village of Long to be captured.<ref name="DT" /><ref name="SCO" />

After World War II, Sprot remained with Royal Scots Greys in Germany until 1952, before later also serving in Libya, Egypt and Jordan. He became the commander of the regiment from 1959 until his retirement from the army in 1962.<ref name="SCO" />

==Post military career== At the request of his uncle, Sir Duncan Hay,<ref name="DT" /> 10th Baronet of Smithfield and Haystoun, Sprot moved to the Riddell estate<ref name="RID">{{cite web |title=Riddell Estate on Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CKywlxNjgGe/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/CKywlxNjgGe |archive-date=26 December 2021 |url-access=registration|website=Instagram |access-date=9 March 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> near Peebles, which he subsequently inherited.<ref name="DT" /> Sprot was a member of the Queen's Bodyguard for Scotland and served for 14 years as the Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale. He was also active with the British Red Cross and Scout Association. Sprot was awarded the French Légion d'honneur in 2015.<ref name="DT" /><ref name="SCO" />

==Family== Sprot never married.<ref name="DT" />

==References== {{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprot, Aidan}} Category:1919 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Lord-lieutenants of Tweeddale Category:Royal Scots Greys officers Category:People educated at Stowe School Category:Recipients of the Military Cross Category:British recipients of the Legion of Honour Category:British men centenarians Category:British Army personnel of World War II Category:20th-century British Army personnel Category:Lieutenant colonels