Knut Enell

Knut Enell was the son of a banker and graduated from school in 1906. He joined the Göta Life Guard in 1908 as a non-commissioned officer. While attending the Central Gymnastics Institute from 1913-15, he was promoted to lieutenant and in 1918, he served as adjutant to his regiment during an expedition to the Åland Islands. Two years later, Enell was seconded to Joinville-le-Pont in France to complete a course at the Centre of Physical Education. He rose to the rank of captain in 1922 but left the military in 1937. In 1940, he became a reserve officer of the Dalarna regiment.

Enell graduated from the business school in Stockholm in 1930. After retiring from the army, he opened an accounting firm in Stockholm and was officially certified as an auditor in 1940. In Sweden, he was made a Knight of the Order of the Sword (1930) and abroad, Knight of the Order of the White Rose (Finland) and Knight of the Order of Glory (Tunisia). As a fencer, competing at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm marked the beginning of his international career. In 1920, he returned to the Olympic fencing piste and competed in the épée and foil individual events, advancing to round two in the latter. Representing the FFF fencing club, Enell was a five-time Swedish champion in the foil (1915, 1916, 1918, 1924, 1925) and four times with the épée (1918, 1923, 1924, 1928). He received the Swedish Sports Confederation Gold Medal of Merit and the Elite Badge in fencing.

Enell was married from 1910- 12 to Countess Blanche Stephanie Hamilton, with whom he had a son. Three years after the divorce, she was killed by her lover, a student from Chile. In 1916, Oskaria “Carrie” Maria Lindström became his second wife. The couple had two daughters.