Lt Col C V W Court MC*
Commanding Officer - The East Surrey Regiment (The Worcestershire Regiment)
Commanded 10th Bn The East Surrey Regiment from May 1941 to June 1942.
Conrad Vaisey Wathen Court was born on 29th July 1893 in South Africa and was serving in 3rd South African Infantry, which his father commanded, when war broke out in 1914. He came to England and was commissioned in The Worcestershire Regiment in March 1915 and served with the 1st Battalion in France. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1917 at Ypres as Brigade Signals Officer of 24th Infantry Brigade and a bar to the Military Cross in 1918 on the Somme still as Brigade Signals Officer. Between 1915 and 1918 he was wounded no fewer than 8 times. From 1924 to 1926 he was seconded to the Royal West African Frontier Force and from 1927 to 1939, except for the period 1930-31 when he was at The Depot, he served with the 2nd Battalion in Germany, England, China and India. From July 1940 to May 1941 he commanded the 11th Battalion and from May 1941 to June 1942 commanded 10th Bn The East Surrey Regiment. In 1945 he commanded 23rd Infantry Holding Battalion and retired on 6th October 1946.
He died in South Africa on 21st July 1964.
Obituary of Lt. Colonel C. V. W. COURT, M.C. from “Firm” the Regimental magazine of the Worcestershire Regiment.
We regret to record the death, at UMKO-MAAS, NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA, on 21st July, 1964, of Lt, Colonel Conrad Vaisey Wathen Court, M.C. and bar.
Bill Court, as he was always known amongst his friends in The Regiment, had been living in South Africa, where he went on the death of his wife, for the past two years.
Although he had been in poor health for some months, his death came unexpectedly.
He was born in South Africa and was serving in the 3rd Infantry, which his father commanded, when war broke out in 1914. On 13th March, 1915, he was commissioned into The Worcestershire Regiment, and served with the 1st Battalion in France.
He was awarded the Military Cross in 1917, for gallantry as Brigade Signal Officer, 24th Infantry Brigade, and gained a bar to his M.C. in 1918 on the Somme, still as Brigade Signalling Officer. During World War 1 he was wounded no fewer than 8 times.
After the war he was seconded to the Royal West African Frontier Force from 1924 to 1926, served with the 2nd Battalion on the Rhine in 1927 and 1928, at Plymouth 1929 and 1930, and at The Depot in 1931 and 1932.
From 1933 to 1939 he again served with the 2nd Battalion, in China and at Sialkot, India.
In 1940, soon after the outbreak of the Second World War, he raised, at Hereford, and was the (first) Commanding Officer of the 11th Battalion of the Regiment. The Battalion (at Harrow in 1943) was redesignated and became the 1st Battalion (after Tobruk).
He retired on 6th October, 1946, after 32 years’ service with The Regiment.
We extend our sincere sympathy to his sister, Mrs. Vera Baker, who now lives at Umkomaas, Natal, S. Africa.
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