# Chris Keeble

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{{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](/source/Quetta), [British India](/source/British_India)
|death_place=
|burial_place=
|allegiance={{UK}}
|branch={{army|United Kingdom}}
|service_years=1963–1987
|rank=[Lieutenant colonel](/source/Lieutenant_colonel)
|unit=[Royal Leicestershire Regiment](/source/Royal_Leicestershire_Regiment)<br />[Royal Anglian Regiment](/source/Royal_Anglian_Regiment)<br />[Parachute Regiment](/source/Parachute_Regiment_(United_Kingdom))
|commands=[2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment](/source/2nd_Battalion%2C_Parachute_Regiment)
|battles=[Falklands War](/source/Falklands_War)
*[Battle of Goose Green](/source/Battle_of_Goose_Green)
*[Battle of Wireless Ridge](/source/Battle_of_Wireless_Ridge)
|awards=[Distinguished Service Order](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order)
|relations=
|other_work=
}}
'''Christopher Patrick Benedict Keeble''' [DSO](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order) (born 14 November 1941) is a former British [Army officer](/source/Officer_(armed_forces)), who fought in the [Falklands War](/source/Falklands_War).

==Early life==
Keeble was born in [Quetta](/source/Quetta), [British India](/source/British_India), and received his early formal education at the Benedictine [Douai School](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Royal_Military_Academy%2C_Sandhurst).

==Military career==
In February 1964 he received a commission into the [British Army](/source/British_Army)'s [Royal Leicestershire Regiment](/source/Royal_Leicestershire_Regiment), which was amalgamated into [The Royal Anglian Regiment](/source/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](/source/Parachute_Regiment_(United_Kingdom)) in 1972,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=45575|date=17 January 1972|page=649|supp=y}}</ref> and was promoted to [major](/source/Major_(rank)) 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](/source/Battle_of_Goose_Green) during the [Falklands War](/source/Falklands_War), Keeble assumed command of the 2nd Battalion of [The Parachute Regiment](/source/Parachute_Regiment_(United_Kingdom)) (2 PARA) after its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel [H. Jones](/source/H._Jones), had been killed in action. A devout [Christian](/source/Christianity), Keeble, then a [major](/source/Major_(United_Kingdom)), took over the leadership of the battalion at a point when its attack upon the [Argentine Army](/source/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](/source/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](/source/%C3%8Dtalo_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](/source/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](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order).<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=49134|date=8 October 1982 |page=12844|supp=y}}</ref>

He then commanded [15th Bn Parachute Regiment](/source/15th_(Scottish_Volunteer)_Parachute_Battalion), a Territorial Army battalion based in [Scotland](/source/Scotland), with its HQ in [Glasgow](/source/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](/source/Allied_Forces_Central_Europe) in the [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands).

==Post-military life==
After retiring from the British Army he set up a [management consultancy](/source/management_consultancy), providing instruction on balancing the "Ethic of business transformation with the Ethic of peoples' flourishing". He is a [supernumerary fellow](/source/Fellow) at [Harris Manchester College](/source/Harris_Manchester_College%2C_Oxford), [Oxford University](/source/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](/source/Harris_Manchester_College%2C_Oxford)|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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chris Keeble](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Keeble) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Keeble?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.