Colonel Frederick Bryant CBE CMG DSO

Frederick Carkeet Bryant was born on 10 Dec 1879 son of T H Bryant of Leatherhead Court. His family were match manufacturers Bryant & May. Frederick was educated at Harrow and RMA Woolwich after which he was commissioned into the RGA as a 2nd Lieut in Dec 1898. As a captain he commanded the RA battery in the Gold Coast from 1910 and at the outbreak of war in 1914 he was given the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel to command the allied forces in German occupied Togoland. He had 1,700 officers and men under his command and fought the first battle of WW1 on 22 Aug 1914 near Nuatja. Casualties included 23 killed and 50 wounded but it resulted in the unconditional surrender of the Germans and the destruction of a vital wireless station at Kamina. Bryant was appointed CMG and promoted to substantive major.
Whilst on leave in England Major Bryant married Rosamund Hope. He was then posted to the Western Front to command 76th Army Brigade. They distinguished themselves at Vimy Ridge in April - May 1917 and Bryant was awarded the DSO. His talents as an engineer were put to use when he created a special brass-bodied vacuum fuse which had a piston detonator and setting ring graded for different distances thus enabling the artillery to be more reliable and accurate. For this he was given a CBE. After the war he retired to Oxfordshire but in WW2 he was Provost Marshal of Northern Command and in the Middle East. He died in August 1952. A more detailed account of his career can be found at: https://www.spink.com/lot/18001000558

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