Kenneth Spring

Kenneth Spring OBE TD
Kenneth Spring painted in 1948.
Born	(1921-10-23)23 October 1921 Dulwich, London
Died	25 December 1997(1997-12-25) (aged 76) Sibford, Oxfordshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1941-1975
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Battles/wars	Burma Campaign (Second World War)
Awards	Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Efficiency Decoration

Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Arthur Spring OBE TD (23 October 1921 – 25 December 1997) was a British Army officer, artist and co-founder of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.

Early life and family

Spring was born in Dulwich, London, the son of Albert Spring (1884-1961), a former Royal Flying Corps officer and schoolmaster, and the composer, Dorothy Spring - born Cecil Dorothy Arburn Chapman (1885-1961).^[1] Spring was a descendant of the Suffolk Spring family, and a relation of Lord Risby and Brigadier-General Frederick Spring.^[2] He was educated at Alleyn's School and the University of London.

Military career

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Spring registered as a conscientious objector and was conscripted into the Non-Combatant Corps (NCC). With other members of the NCC, he went on to volunteer for work in bomb disposal in London, and in October 1941 resigned his status as a conscientious objector. He served as a sapper in 15 Bomb Disposal Company, Royal Engineers between December 1941 and July 1943, when he transferred to the staff of “B” Company, No.2 Training Battalion, Royal Engineers at Blacon Camp.^[3] In March 1944 he was selected for officer training and undertook the Officer Cadet Training Unit commissioning course at Catterick Garrison. On 23 July 1944 he commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Artillery.^[4]

He was posted to India in October 1944, taking command of 35 Battery, 33rd Indian Mountain Regiment, Royal Indian Artillery, part of the 25th Indian Infantry Division.^[5] He saw extensive action in the Arakan Campaign 1944–1945 in Burma, during which he was injured. On 30 March 1945 he was promoted to war substantive lieutenant and became adjutant of the 33rd Mountain Regiment. Spring was involved in Operation Zipper and served as the Station Staff Officer, South East Asia Command in Kuala Lumpur during the Japanese surrender. Between November 1945 and June 1946 he was Acting District Officer of Teluk Anson in British Malaya.^[6] In this position he established a prisoner-of-war camp for Japanese prisoners in Perak. He returned to England in June 1946 and was placed on the list of the regular reserve of officers. On 22 April 1947 he was released from regular service due to his wartime injuries and transferred to the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve, becoming honorary lieutenant.^[7]

He was promoted to acting captain on 17 November 1948 and to honorary lieutenant colonel on 25 April 1974. He relinquished his commission in 1975, and was invested as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military) that same year.^[8] Spring was also awarded the Efficiency Decoration for long service in 1958.^[9]

Later life

Shortly after returning to England, Spring started to teach art at his alma mater, Alleyn’s School,^[10] having received tutelage from Sir William Coldstream, whom he met whilst serving in the Royal Artillery. In 1956, he helped Michael Croft to found the National Youth Theatre.^[11][12][13] Spring was also an art lecturer and teacher at Camberwell College of Arts and Goldsmiths, University of London. In the 1960s Spring moved to Oxfordshire to become a master at Bloxham School.

Spring married Doreen Healy in 1947 and together they had two children:^[14]

• David Spring (1948-1982), married Elizabeth Gibbs^[15]
• Michael Spring (b.1953), married Penelope Johns Taylor^[16]

He died on 25 December 1997 in Oxfordshire and is buried in Bloxham. In 2008, a previously unnamed and unascended mountain in East Greenland was named 'Colonel's Peak' in memory of Spring, following the first ascent of the mountain by his grandson.^[17]

References