Alec Harper Lieutenant - Colonel Alec Harper DSO ( 12 July 1910 – 11 March 2003 ) fought with the Chindit s , played Polo for England and was honorary secretary of the Hurlingham Polo Association . Early life . Alexander Forrest Harper , always known as Alec , was born in Freshford in Somerset and educated at Blundell ' s School in Tiverton and at the RMA Sandhurst . Military career . Harper was commissioned onto the Unattached List for Indian Army on 28 August 1930 , arrived in India on 29 September 1930 and was attached to the 2nd Battalion , Lancashire Fusiliers on 25 October 1930 . After one year he was posted to his permanent Indian Army unit and joined the 9th Royal Deccan Horse on 26 October 1931 . Stationed at Poona , Harper learned to hunt big game and was promoted from zero handicap to a two - goal player by the end of his first regimental polo tournament . In 1936 Harper attended the Equitation School at Saugor , after which he was appointed Quarter Master of his regiment until October 1938 , when he was appointed Commandant of the Governor ' s Bodyguard to the Governor of Bengal . He retained the position he retained until 1940 , after which he returned to his regiment . After the outbreak of World War II , keen to see action , volunteered for the 2nd Chindit expedition , which was to drop long range penetration groups into Burma . The objective was to cut the lines of communication serving the Japanese Army operating against the American - led Chinese forces advancing from the north through the Hukawng Valley . Harper took command of the 3rd / 9th Gurkha Rifles after their CO became seriously ill and he led a three - day trek north - west through the Gangaw Range to rejoin Brigadier Mike Calvert ' s 77th Brigade south of Hopin . At the end of the Burma campaign , Harper accompanied the 3rd / 9th to Java as part of the 5th Indian Division where Indonesia n nationalists had proclaimed independence from Dutch rule , and the withdrawal of the Japanese to their barracks had created a breakdown of law and order . Harper led his battalion in an advance through Surabaya in East Java , which took two weeks of fighting to restore order and free the Europeans who were being held in internment camps or as hostages . He was awarded an immediate DSO . After attending Staff College at Quetta in 1947 Harper retired from the Army and after a period in India helping to run his father - in - law ' s distillery business in Calcutta , he returned to England and settled on the Cowdray Estate in 1955 . Polo and later life . During his playing years Harper represented England , when it inflicted a rare defeat on Argentina in a 23 - goal match in 1951 , and again in 1953 . Harper also played for a number of other teams , including The Mariners , which included Prince Philip , and for which he had to be made an honorary naval officer . He appeared in the British Open final eight times , mainly for his club , Cowdray Park , and finally gave up at aged 77 after playing 20 chukkas during his final season . Between 1971 and 1989 Harper was a key figure in the sport , as honorary secretary of its governing body , the Hurlingham Polo Association . Harper had a long - held theory that in order to play really well , sex was essential before a match . Harper made his living by buying young horses and turning them into polo ponies . He was assisted by his Indian orderly , Bachan Singh , who had also been the regimental rough rider in the Deccan Horse . Harper also became a steward with the Greyhound Racing Association . Publications . Harper wrote two volumes of autobiography :