{{Short description|British army officer (born 1941)}} {{for|the English footballer|Chris Keeble (footballer)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox military person |name=Chris Keeble |birth_date= {{birth date and age|1941|11|14|df=y}} |death_date= |image= |caption= |nicknames= |birth_place=Quetta, British India |death_place= |burial_place= |allegiance={{UK}} |branch={{army|United Kingdom}} |service_years=1963–1987 |rank=Lieutenant colonel |unit=Royal Leicestershire Regiment<br />Royal Anglian Regiment<br />Parachute Regiment |commands=2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment |battles=Falklands War *Battle of Goose Green *Battle of Wireless Ridge |awards=Distinguished Service Order |relations= |other_work= }} '''Christopher Patrick Benedict Keeble''' DSO (born 14 November 1941) is a former British Army officer, who fought in the Falklands War.

==Early life== Keeble was born in Quetta, British India, and received his early formal education at the Benedictine Douai School (for both prep school at Ditcham Park and the senior school),<ref>{{cite web|title=Pupils of the Schools at Paris, Douai and Woolhampton|url=http://www.douaiabbey.org.uk/files/HistSchool.pdf|publisher=Douai Abbey|access-date=18 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903150900/http://www.douaiabbey.org.uk/files/HistSchool.pdf|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

==Military career== In February 1964 he received a commission into the British Army's Royal Leicestershire Regiment, which was amalgamated into The Royal Anglian Regiment seven months later.<ref>{{cite web|title=Keeble, Christopher Patrick Benedict – DSO MSc FCMI|url=http://www.royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk/entity/133342-keeble-christopher-patrick-benedict-dso-msc-fcmi|publisher=Royal Tigers' Association}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=43241|date=11 February 1964|page=1263|supp=y}}</ref> He joined the Parachute Regiment in 1972,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=45575|date=17 January 1972|page=649|supp=y}}</ref> and was promoted to major serving with 10 Para in 1975.<ref>Military profile of Keeble, 'Paradata' website (2019). https://www.paradata.org.uk/people/chris-p-b-keeble </ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=46469|date=21 January 1975|page=865|supp=y}}</ref>

On 28–29 May 1982, at the Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands War, Keeble assumed command of the 2nd Battalion of The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) after its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel H. Jones, had been killed in action. A devout Christian, Keeble, then a major, took over the leadership of the battalion at a point when its attack upon the Argentine Army position had broken down, having lost 16% of its strength as casualties; it was short of ammunition, had been without sleep for 40 hours, and was in a debilitated condition to face the unknown potential of a counter-attack from the Argentine forces present in the vicinity.<ref>{{cite news|title=Books blog: The inspiring Catholics who strived for peace amid war|url=http://staging.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2015/11/30/books-blog-the-inspiring-catholics-who-strived-for-peace-amid-war/comment-page-1/|work=The Catholic Herald|date=30 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428055955/http://staging.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2015/11/30/books-blog-the-inspiring-catholics-who-strived-for-peace-amid-war/comment-page-1/|archive-date=28 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> After kneeling alone in prayer amongst the burning gorse seeking guidance as to what to do, Keeble conceived the idea of refraining from more attacks to try a psychological ploy, subsequently releasing several captured Argentine prisoners of war in the direction of their Goose Green garrison, carrying messages into it requiring its surrender or threatening it with a fictitious large-scale assault by the British forces, supported by artillery. The Argentine commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ítalo Piaggi, subsequently surrendered the garrison to the Parachute Regiment without further fighting.<ref>{{cite news|title=Forgiveness Out of War |url=https://www.forachange.co.uk/features/3266.html |work=For A Change |publisher=Initiatives of Change |date=4 April 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803175432/http://forachange.co.uk/features/3266.html |archivedate=3 August 2016}}</ref>

After the battle, despite popular sentiment among the soldiers of 2 PARA for him to remain in command, he was replaced by Lt. Col. David Chaundler,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=49194|date=14 December 1982 |page=16124|supp=y}}</ref> who was flown in from the United Kingdom to take command of the battalion. At the end of the conflict Keeble was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=49134|date=8 October 1982 |page=12844|supp=y}}</ref>

He then commanded 15th Bn Parachute Regiment, a Territorial Army battalion based in Scotland, with its HQ in Glasgow. Keeble finished his military career with the rank of lieutenant colonel on 27 September 1987,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=51074|date=29 September 1987|page=12060|supp=y}}</ref> his final appointment having been a staff officer grade 1 at Allied Forces Central Europe in the Netherlands.

==Post-military life== After retiring from the British Army he set up a management consultancy, providing instruction on balancing the "Ethic of business transformation with the Ethic of peoples' flourishing". He is a supernumerary fellow at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fellows & Staff – Supernumerary Fellows|url=http://www.hmc.ox.ac.uk/pages/default.asp?id=16&sID=98|publisher=hmc.ox.ac.uk|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424083019/http://www.hmc.ox.ac.uk/pages/default.asp?id=16&sID=98|archivedate=24 April 2016}}</ref>

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==References== *{{cite book|author=Oak Square Press|title=2 Para's Battle for Darwin Hill and Goose Green|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ArIQEyRQDiMC|year=2006|publisher=Oak Square Press|isbn=978-0-9660717-1-9}} *{{cite book|author=Spencer Fitz-Gibbon|title=Not mentioned in despatches: the history and mythology of the Battle of Goose Green|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hhn3zsMlW6sC|date=April 2006|publisher=James Clarke & Co.|isbn=978-0-7188-3016-8}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeble, Chris}} Category:Living people Category:British Parachute Regiment officers Category:British Army personnel of the Falklands War Category:British Roman Catholics Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Category:Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Category:Royal Anglian Regiment officers Category:Royal Leicestershire Regiment officers Category:Military personnel from Quetta Category:People educated at Douai School Category:1941 births Category:Military personnel of British India Category:Lieutenant colonels