Updated: 2 December, 2007
Medals - Obituaries & Biographies
Admiral
Sir Michael Boyce, GCB, OBE, ADC (Biography)
Admiral Sir Desmond Dreyer, GCB, DSC has died aged 93 Gunnery officer of Ajax at the Battle of the River Plate. Ajax was the flagship of Commodore Henry Harwood's three cruisers which, in late 1939, discovered the German pocket battleship Graf Spee in the South Atlantic. Dreyer was awarded the DSC for his part in the battle. Dreyer was appointed CBE in 1957, CB in 1960 and KCB in 1963 and promoted GCB in 1967. The Telegraph May 03
Admiral Sir Charles Madden, GCB, KCB, CB, has died aged 94 (Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet from 1963 until 1965) (Daily Telegraph) More (Guardian)
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Admiral of the Fleet Sir Michael Pollock Gunnery officer who fought the Scharnhorst, commanded the Ark Royal and played host to Ian Smith. For his service in Norfolk, Pollock was twice mentioned in dispatches and awarded the DSC. During his postwar appointments Pollock was appointed LVO for his prominent role in organising the funeral of King George VI in 1952. He was appointed CB in 1966, and First Sea Lord and GCB in March 1971. timesonline.co.uk 29 Sep 06 |
Admiral Sir Gordon Tait He captured Enigma cipher settings in a coup in Arctic waters. Admiral Sir Gordon Tait, who has died aged 83, was involved in a crucial naval intelligence coup in the Arctic in 1941 and went on to win the DSC for gallantry as a submarine officer in the Mediterranean two years later. Tait was a junior officer on the light cruiser HMS Nigeria in June 1941 when she was sent, with three destroyers, on a top-secret mission against an apparently insignificant target: the German navy's weather observation ship number 2, the Lauenburg. This 344-tonne vessel was stationed off Jan Mayen island in the Arctic, between Greenland and Norway, and her weather reports were important to German surface ships and aircraft based in occupied Norway. Tait was awarded his DSC for skill and courage as gunnery officer in a series of submarine patrols, during which he helped to sink enemy ships. When he transferred, still a submariner and now a first lieutenant, to the Far East, he earned a mention in dispatches. guardian.co.uk 20 Jun 05
Adm Sir Alan West, KCB DSC - West (Officer who lost plans made First Sea Lord) (Apr 02)
Vice-Admiral
Sir Peter Compston has died aged 84
(The Times) More
Air Vice-Marshal Ronnie Knott. CB DSO, DFC, AFC and Bar has died aged 84 Successful U-boat hunter whose operations over the Gibraltar Approaches, Bay of Biscay and Western Approaches earned him a DFC and a DSO. In the peacetime RAF, Knott proved himself an exemplary flying instructor, staff officer and station commander; he was awarded an AFC in 1955 and a Bar in 1958. Appointed CB in 1947. (Dec 02)
Vice-Admiral
Jack Scatchard, CB DSC and two Bars has
died aged 90 (Daily Telegraph) -
More
(Times)
More
Rear-Admiral Jan Aylen Rear-Admiral Jan Aylen, who has died aged 93, led a special commando unit into Germany during the Second World War and persuaded Helmuth Walter, the German scientist, to work for Britain. On March 22 1942 Aylen took part in the Second Battle of Sirte and was awarded the DSC for his gallantry and skill. He was appointed OBE. and on retirement he was appointed CB.
Rear-Admiral Anthony Davies, CB, CVO has died aged 90 After his final tour in the Navy as head of the British defence liaison staff in Canberra, Anthony Davies was selected in 1966 to be the first Warden of St George’s House in Windsor Castle.He was appointed CVO for his services in 1972, and appointed CB in 1964 (Feb 03)
Rear-Admiral James Flower, CB has died aged 79 Engineer who steered the Navy into the gas turbine age and in retirement helped to restore Brunel's steamship the Great Britain. Appointed CB in 1980. (Jan 03)
Rear Admiral George Gay, CB, MBE, DSC has died aged 88 (saw active service in submarines in the early years of WWII, winning a DSC in 1943 for "bravery, skill and leadership". MBE iN 1946 and CB in 1969)
Rear-Admiral Terence Ridley, CB OBE has died aged 86 (Engineering Officer. OBE in 1954, CB in 1968) (Feb 02)
Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Trowbridge, KCVO has died aged 83 Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Trowbridge, who died on Sunday aged 83, was the first officer to rise from boy sailor to captain of the Royal Yacht Britannia and the last Briton to serve as Governor of Western Australia. MID during WWII and appointed KCVO in 1983. The Telegraph May 03
Captain
Nigel Austen, CBE DSO and Bar has died aged 91 (For his leadership and the consummate skill with which he handled the
destroyer Orwell during the Battle of the Barents Sea, Austen was
awarded the second of his two DSOs. He had received the first for his part
in the sinking of a U-boat in the eastern Mediterranean. CBE in 1960) (Dec
01)
Captain Paul Bootherstone, DSC, has died aged 62 (Distinguished Service Cross as commander of HMS Arrow, the frigate that rescued the crew of the doomed destroyer Sheffield during the Falklands War in 1982) (Guardian) More (Daily Telegraph)
Captain Douglas Bromley, DSC has died aged 89 (DSC for his part in the last destroyer action of the Second World War - the sinking by 26th Destroyer Flotilla of the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro in the Malacca Strait in the early hours of May 16 1945. Twice mentioned in despatches. Awarded the US Legion of Merit. Executive Officer of the carrier Campania when she led the naval task force to Monte Bello Island, off Western Australia, for the explosion of Britain's first atomic bomb in 1952. While there, he rescued one of the scientists from drowning and was awarded the Royal Humane Society Medal)
Captain Ronald Brooke Captain Ronald Brooke, who has died aged 92, was a highly decorated destroyer captain in the Second World War and helped to rescue the last child survivors from the passenger ship City of Benares. In 1942 Brooke took part in special operations and in a number of Arctic convoys, including PQ18. Back in Britain, Churchill visited the returning escort commanders to thank them personally, and Brooke was awarded the first of his DSCs for his gallantry, skill and resolution in escorting an important convoy to Russia in the face of relentless attack. On November 12 1942, Brooke took part in Operation Torch, landing British commandos and infantry at Bougie, Algeria: though frequently dive-bombed, Brooke's ship escaped damage, and he received a bar to his DSC. Then, shortly before midnight on February 16 1943, Brooke was patrolling off Bougie with the destroyers Bicester, Easton and Lamerton when he saw a dark shape ahead of him and launched an attack. The contact disappeared and, despite difficult sonar conditions, Brooke hunted all the next day until shortly before midnight, when the Italian submarine Asteria, short of fresh air, burst to the surface and surrendered: Asteria had been seriously damaged by Brooke's first attack and, unable to escape, was scuttled by her crew. Brooke was awarded the DSO. Just four days later Brooke, with the same destroyer group, was warned about another submarine. After a four-day hunt north-west of Algiers, he found the German U-443, and his attack so damaged the German that Brooke's "chummy" ship, Bicester, was easily able to finish it off with depth charges; there were no survivors. Brooke was mentioned in dispatches. opinion.telegraph.co.uk 6 Dec 04
Captain Bill Jenkins, DSO has died aged 77 The youngest Royal Marine to win a DSO in the Second World War. In mid-April 1945, in the last major offensive of the Italian campaign, the British 78th Infantry Division, supported by armour, attacked towards Argenta from the east, while, to the west of the town, 10th Indian Division was poised for a thrust north of Bologna. (Dec 02)
Captain
'Harpy' Lloyd, CBE has died aged 83(WWII Coastal
Forces CO of light, fast Motor Torpedo Boats)
Captain Robert Lloyd, DSC has died aged 86 Bob Lloyd was in the thick of the battle against German U-boats for most of the Second World War, winning two DSCs and being mentioned in dispatches three times. (Mar 03)
Captain Michael LumbyDSO, DSC has died aged 84 (Wartime submarine skipper. DSC for sinking of U335 in 1942. Also awarded MID) (Jan 02)
Captain 'Ginger' Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO has died aged 94 Submariner responsible for some daring and aggressive patrols close to the enemy-held French coast in 1940. Awarded the DSO for these patrols and operations. He became an ADC to the Queen and was made a commander of the French Legion of Honour when President de Gaulle visited Britain in 1960. During the rebellion of the French Army in Algeria, Cavenagh-Mainwaring was one of a select group of British officers who obtained and read a copy of the French Army's plans for the take-over of Paris. The Telegraph Apr 03
Captain Kenneth Martin, DSC has died aged 82 One of two submariner brothers involved together in the Mediterranean and Pacific theatres during the Second World War. Sleuth and Solent were the last two submarines to return from active service. Ken was awarded the DSC, and his brother Joe a bar to his DSC. Martin was awarded the Greek Order of the Phoenix. (Dec 02)
Captain
Donald McEwen, DSC, has died aged 83
(Awarded
DSC and twice mentioned in dispatches for his service during WWII as
Navigating Officer of the light cruiser Aurora)
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Captain
Ian McKechnie has died aged 60 Ian McKechnie’s
distinguished career in naval aviation was marked by two significant
events. The first was his 1967 napalm bombing of the oil tanker Torrey
Canyon, which helped contain the ecological disaster. The second
incident, never publicised for political reasons, was his ship-to-ship
transfer by helicopter of 72 survivors from a Turkish destroyer, sunk by
friendly fire in a war zone off Cyprus in 1974. He was awarded the Turkish
Distinguished Service Medal, the only foreign recipient in the
history of Ataturk’s republic, and was granted permission to wear it
by the Queen. The Scotsman May 03 |
Captain Hank Rotherham, DSO, OBE has died aged 95 Naval aviator whose decisive report on the Bismarck set in train the pursuit that led to the German battleship's destruction. Rotherham was awarded an immediate DSO, Goddard a DSC and a third member of the aircrew a DSM. In 1940 he was attached as air staff officer to an expedition to Dakar whose purpose was the establishment of a Free French base there. Rotherham was responsible for the provision of air reconnaissance, assembling a squadron of Blenheim bombers for this purpose. For this work he was appointed OBE in 1941. In 1946 Rotherham accepted an appointment as Director of Naval Aviation in the Royal Canadian Navy. He stayed in the post for five rewarding years and decided to settle in Canada, having already married a Canadian wife in 1937. He joined the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve and was active in the Naval Officers Association. His autobiography, It’s Really Quite Safe, was published in Canada in 1985. (Dec 02)
Captain Peter Samborne, OBE has died aged 78 - Commanded Britain's first nuclear-powered submarine HMS Dreadnought OBE in 1964 (Oct 02)
Captain Sir David Tibbits, DSC has died aged 92 Responsible for modernising the 400-year-old navigational authority Trinity House. Planned Operation Ironclad, the invasion of Madagascar. This required a difficult entry at night by a large fleet into Courrier Bay, which Tibbits achieved undetected and unopposed; he was awarded the DSC. knighted in 1976.
Commander John Alliston A highly decorated destroyer captain during the Second World War. After the war, Alliston recorded in his autobiography, Destroyer Man, his dislike of commanding the tank-landing ship Ben Lomond during Operation Harness, a germ warfare experiment off the island of Antigua. But he failed to mention his DSO, DSC and Bar, and US Legion of Honour. telegraph.co.uk 23 Jun 04
Commander Hugh Boyce Commander Hugh Boyce, who has died aged 92, was one of the first specialist electrical officers in the Navy, and helped open North Sea ports to supply Montgomery's advancing armies. In 1944 Boyce was senior staff electrical officer in a minesweeping flotilla of 120 ships when he received an insistent message from General Montgomery that his lines of supply were bonnet-to-tail from Le Havre to the front; he was getting only 9,000 tons of supplies daily, and wanted the shipping channel to Antwerp opened at once. Boyce, after hastily dressing in khaki combat uniform with Royal Navy flashes, was sent to reconnoitre the damage inflicted by the retreating Germans; he went by motor torpedo boat to Ostend, and then by Jeep to the south bank of the Scheldt estuary where the Canadian army was preparing to advance. Whilst inspecting the port facilities at Ostend, Boyce recovered papers which revealed a controlled minefield at the mouth of the Scheldt; he made this safe, before returning to make his report and prepare a plan. He improvised experiments to destroy acoustic mines and the deadly multiple-fused Oyster-type, finding the simple hand-grenade to be effective. Despite fire from German positions on the north shore, the minesweepers cleared more than 400 mines from the Scheldt - though eight out of 50 ships were lost. Meanwhile, Boyce had to recover mines dropped by aircraft during the nights while this operation was going on. Later, he was on the bridge of the headquarters ship Prompt when, despite his earlier efforts, she was blown up by an acoustic mine. Boyce managed to get emergency power working, saving the ship from sinking until the many badly-injured engine room crew could be evacuated. For the next month Boyce worked from a shore base at Schevening, clearing the way to Rotterdam; he later recalled his joy at seeing defeated Germans dejectedly lining canal and river banks as he steamed by. He was awarded the DSC. telegraph.co.uk 28 Jun 04
Commander William Donald, DSC and Bar, MID has died aged 91 (One the most successful small ship commanders during the Norwegian campaign in 1940, and then served at sea continuously throughout the rest of the Second World War. In Stand By For Action (1956), Donald's best-selling autobiography, which is written with humour and humanity, he recalls that he commanded the corvette Guillemot and the destroyers Verdun and Ulster on convoy escort off the East Coast, at the Anzio landings and the Normandy invasion. Later he was commander of a troop transport, Glengyle, in which he rescued internees from the Japanese prison camp on Stanley, Hong Kong) (May 02)
Commander. Philip Francis, DSO and Bar, has died aged 92 (Daily Telegraph) More (Times)
Commander George Going, DSO, OBE has died aged 87 - Photo (Fleet Air Arm observer who took
Commander Ronnie Hay, DSO, DSC and Bar, has died aged 85 More (One of a select band of Royal Marine officers who flew in the Fleet Air Arm throughout the war, after which he transferred to the Royal Navy)
Commander Richard Jennings, DSO, DSC and Bar has died aged 98 (DSC as Gunnery Officer of the cruiser Exeter at the Battle of the River Plate; he later won a bar to his DSC and the DSO) (Times) - HMS Exeter - More (Daily Telegraph) - More
Commander Anthony Langridge, DSC has died aged 85 (DSC for his conduct as a submarine commander on patrol in the Far East in 1945)
Commander Johnnie Maughan, LVO, OBE has died aged 50 (navigator on the Royal Yacht Britannia in the mid-1990s. LVO in 1996 and OBE in 1998) (Apr 02)
Commander
Charles Owen, DSC has died aged 92 (Former naval aviator who was sunk no fewer than four times in WWII, each
time in an aircraft carrier. Awarded the DSC and the US Bronze Star Medal)
Commander Michael Parker has died aged 81 (Private Secretary to the Duke of Edinburgh from 1948 to 1957 and one of his closest friends for nearly 60 years) (MVO in 1953 and CVO in 1957. In 1995 he was appointed AM (Member, Order of Australia)
Commander Loftus Peyton-Jones, CVO, DSO, MBE, DSC has died aged 82 (Gallant conduct in defence of the Arctic convoy JW51B) (Daily Telegraph) More (Times)
Commander Francis Ponsonby, OBE has died aged 70 Cold War submariner before becoming, in his last years, the diligent defence correspondent of the Armed Forces' magazine, The Officer. OBE in 1984.
Commander Peter Richardson, DSC has died aged 78 - Awarded a DSC in 1945 for his part in sinking two U-boats on the same day in the Outer Hebrides. More (Aug 02)
Commander C.J.W. Simpson, CBE, DSC has died aged 90 (Naval adventurer who hunted U-boats during the war and led a famous expedition to explore the fastnesses of Arctic Greenland. DSC in 1945, Polar Medal in 1955, for his leadership of the British North Greenland Expedition. The following year he was awarded the Founder’s Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and in 1956 he was appointed CBE. His account of the expedition, North Ice, was published in 1957) (May 02)
Commander
Nigel "Sharkey" Ward, DSC ( Falkland
War DSC) (Mar 01)
Unique
double for Navy Harrier Father and Son
Commander John West, MBE, DSC, MID(2) has died aged 89 Honoured for his role in three major naval battles during the Second World War. At the Second Battle of Narvik on April 11 1940, he was serving in the Tribal class destroyer Eskimo, and was mentioned in dispatches. In the Second Battle of Sirte on March 22 1942, West was navigating officer of the First World War cruiser Carlisle, and was awarded the DSC. In late 1943 West was navigator of the 6in cruiser Jamaica, consort to the battleship Duke of York, escorting convoys into and out of the Kola Inlet, when the German battleship Scharnhorst attacked convoy JW55B. West was mentioned in dispatches again for his faultless efficiency, coolness and skill under fire. After leaving the Navy he served as a retired officer in the Directorate of Naval Warfare at the Ministry of Defence, where he was appointed MBE for his part in organising a long series of Nato exercises. (Nov 02)
Commander Edward Young, DSO, DSC and Bar has died aged 89 First RNVR officer to command a submarine. Awarded the DSO and two DSCs. Young’s efficiency and coolness were rewarded by the DSC when Saracen sank the Italian submarine Granito off Sicily in November 1942. Awarded a Bar to his DSC for the results of four war patrols with the Far Eastern Fleet. Storm, based at Fremantle, Western Australia, carried out two further successful war patrols, sinking numerous schooners running the nickel-ore trade and making a devastating attack on a convoy in the Mergui Archipelago, firing 150 rounds of ammunition until her gun jammed with the heat. Young was awarded the DSO for these patrols, the last of which racked up a record distance run, for Storm, of 7,151 miles. (Jan 03)
Lieutenant-Commander John Bridge, GC Lieutenant-Commander John Bridge, who died on December 14 aged 91, held the George Cross and a George Medal and Bar; he won his GC for clearing enemy depth charges from Messina harbour in Sicily in August 1943. With the invasion of the Italian mainland imminent, Messina harbour had to be cleared of depth charges and made safe for shipping. On August 21, shortly after the Germans had been driven out of the north-east of the island, a bomb disposal team entered Messina to do a reconnaissance. Two days later five members of the party were killed and two wounded when an attempt to lift the depth charges resulted in a huge explosion. Bridge, a temporary lieutenant in the RNVR, was ordered to go to Messina and take over the operation. From talking to the two survivors, he learned that the enemy had left behind groups of depth charges lashed together with steel wire. Attached to each group was a mechanism, so far unidentified, consisting of two metal cylinders fastened together. After 28 dives on to the booby-trapped groups, all the charges were made safe, including two which were recovered with their mechanisms intact. Bridge made safe or discredited a further 207 depth charges, above or below the water, with all types of firing mechanisms. In September 1940 Bridge was in charge of a BD squad in Cornwall and carried out the demolition of a very dangerous bomb fitted with a delayed-action fuse. He was awarded the George Medal. In March the next year he dealt with 15 bombs, one of which had fallen in the dockyard at Devonport and would have caused great damage had it not been neutralised. He received the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct. The following May, Bridge disposed of a bomb which had fallen into the sluice valve chamber between two graving docks at Falmouth and failed to explode. He was awarded a Bar to his GM, the first naval officer to be so honoured. telegraph.co.uk 29 Dec 06
Lieutenant-Commander Innes Hamilton, DSC and Bar has died aged 86 Officer who sailed in the famous destroyer Maori when she defied the big guns of the Bismarck. Thereafter Maori took part of a number of Malta convoys as the struggle for mastery in the Mediterranean neared its peak, with the island, its airfields and harbour at the very heart of the strategic equation. Eventually, after sustaining repeated air attacks Maori was hit at her berth in Grand Harbour by a bomb that exploded in her engine room. Some of her own ammunition detonated and she began to settle by the stern. Hamilton, the last officer to leave her, was awarded the first of his two DSCs. Later in the war Hamilton was senior officer of an escort group in the Lend Lease destroyer Dacres (formerly USS Duffy), and he subsequently took part in the naval operations that supported the Normandy landings. He ended the war with a Bar to his DSC. (Feb 03)
Lieutenant-Commander Martin Johnson, GM Officer who defused four torpedoes from a captured U-boat and later taught seamanship at Portishead. When, in August 1941, the German submarine U570 was captured after surrendering, uniquely, to an aircraft of Coastal Command, and brought in to the Vickers shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness for examination, the naval authorities anticipated with relish the chance to examine such a highly prized enemy. There was only one snag. The damage U570 had sustained from the Lockheed Hudson’s depth charges had buckled her bow plates, trapping beneath them four 500lb torpedoes and their armed warheads. Johnson was subsequently awarded the George Medal, the citation acknowledging his “gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty” timesonline.co.uk 28 Jul 04
Lieutenant-Commander
Roger Hill, DSO, DSC, has died aged 90 (DSO in
1942 for the vital part he played in Operation Pedestal, which relieved
Malta at a crucial moment in the war in the Mediterranean - DSC for his
success in attacking U-boats) (Times) More
(Daily Telegrpah) (May 01)
Lt-Cdr Martin Johnson, GM Lieutenant-Commander Martin Johnson, who has died aged 93, was awarded the George Medal for making safe four torpedoes in the only German submarine to be captured and brought to Britain during the Second World War. -570 surrendered after being depth-charged and machinegunned by an RAF Hudson south of Iceland in 1941, and was taken to Vickers' shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness. When Johnson's award for "gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty" was gazetted on December 8 1942, his friend, Lt Tim Tewson, also a GM holder, had a sign attached to Johnson's chair at the Admiralty. "No Naked Flame", it read. telegraph.co.uk 13 Jul 04
Lieutenant-Commander Dicky Kendall Lieutenant-Commander Dicky Kendall, who has died aged 82, placed a two-ton mine under the German battleship Tirpitz in the Kaa Fjord of northern Norway. On the evening of September 20 1942, after being towed 1,200 miles from Scotland in an attack submarine, Kendall boarded the miniature sub X-6. While his captain, Lt Don Cameron, navigated through a minefield on the surface, Kendall had to trim the craft to counterbalance a leak in one of the two-ton explosive charges fixed to its sides. Cameron was awarded the VC; Lt John Lorimer and Kendall received the DSO; and Engine Room Artificer Edmund Goddard the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. The Germans billeted Kendall and Lorimer in a prison camp outside Bremen with the survivors of Operation Principal, the human torpedo attack in the Mediterranean; and for several months all the most highly decorated officers in the RNVR shared the same hut. Afterwards Kendall rarely talked about Operation Source (the Tirpitz attack) or his captivity, except to boast of bribing a guard for a bottle of Champagne to celebrate his 21st birthday. He was released after 18 months, and left the Navy in 1946..telegraph.co.uk 8 Apr 06
Lieutenant-Commander Pat Kingsmill, DSO, VRD has died aged 82 Intrepid aviator who flew on the Fleet Air Arm's doomed attempt to stop the Channel Dash by German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau on February 12, 1942. Pat Kingsmill, the pilot of one of the Swordfish, was among only five survivors who were rescued from the waters of the Dover Strait. Lieutenant-Commander Eugene Esmonde, who led No 825 into the attack that day, was awarded the posthumous Victoria Cross, his crew being one of the four lost to enemy flak and fighters. Kingsmill was awarded the DSO, for his bravery on that day, as was Samples; Bunce was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. Demobilised in 1945, Kingsmill continued in the Reserve and was awarded the RN Volunteer Reserve Officers’ Decoration (VRD). More (Jan 03)
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Navy hero killed on routine Sea Harrier mission A Royal Navy Sea Harrier pilot who made a dramatic escape during a dangerous mission in the Gulf was killed yesterday on a routine training flight. In 1998, Lieutenant-Commander Jack London managed to land a Sea Harrier on the deck of an aircraft carrier in the Gulf despite the roof of the cockpit shattering at 40,000ft, sending the plane spinning out of control. Instead of ejecting, he fought the controls and landed on board HMS Invincible. He was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in the Air. More More T8 (Dec 02) |
Lieutenant-Commander Kenneth Pattisson, DSC has died aged 85 - Naval pilot in the battle of the north Atlantic in May 1941, when massed Royal Navy forces avenged the sinking of the battlecruiser HMS Hood, flagship of the British fleet, by destroying the German battleship Bismarck. For his part in the action Pattisson was awarded the DSC. More (Jul 02)
Lieutenant-Commander 'Ben' Rice, DSM has died aged 86 Swordfish pilot who sank a U-boat at Narvik and helped the Navy to beat the Italians at Cape Matapan. U64 was the first U-boat of the war to be sunk by the Fleet Air Arm. The official report of the action commented that “it was doubtful if a shipborne aircraft had ever before been used to such good purpose”. Rice was awarded the DSM and Brown the DSC. The Times Apr 03
Lieutenant-Commander Ben Rice, DSM has died aged 86 The first rating pilot to land on an aircraft carrier, when he touched down on Courageous in February 1939, and then the first to sink a German U-boat in the Second World War. The Commander-in-Chief wrote: "Rarely has a ship-borne aircraft been used to such good purpose." Rice was awarded the DSM, his observer, Lt-Cdr Bruno Brown, the DSC, and Leading Telegraphist Air Gunner M G Pacey was mentioned in dispatches. Swordfish - Warspite The Telegraph May 03
Lieutenant-Commander Mike Tritton, DSC and 2 Bars has died aged 83 - Helped to make the Vought Corsair fighter ready for service at sea in WWII, during which he was awarded three DSCs. He was awarded the first of his DSCs for general operations in the Mediterranean from Furious and from Malta. Sent to the carrier Illustrious in the Indian Ocean, where he took command of 15 Naval Fighter Wing in April 1944, and he led them on a number of attacks on Japanese-held shore installations at Sabang and at Sourbaya and awarded a bar to his DSC. In January 1945 Tritton's 15 Naval Fighter Wing, still embarked in Illustrious, took part in Operation Meridian, a series of raids on the oil-refining complex at Palembang, Indonesia, a vitally important installation in the Japanese war effort. For this Tritton was awarded the second bar to his DSC. (Aug 02)
Sir Brooks Richards, KCMG, DSC and Bar, MID has died aged 84 Naval officer who won two DSCs in operations (SOE) to support partisans and went on to a diplomatic career in Vietnam and Greece. MID in 1940. DSC for his enterprise and gallantry in French North Africa in 1942. He received a Bar to his DSC in 1943, and for his service as Head of the French Section of SOE in Algiers was awarded the Légion d’Honneur and the Croix de Guerre. Appointed CMG in 1963, and appointed KCMG in 1976. More (Sep 02)
Neil Campbell, DSC has died aged 80 Awarded the DSC as a submariner in the Second World War "For gallantry, skill and outstanding devotion to duty whilst serving in HM Submarine Thrasher in numerous successive patrols in trying climatic conditions in the Pacific, frequently carried out in shallow and difficult waters, and in the presence of strong opposition." The Telegraph May 03
Marine Bill Sparks has died aged 85 Last surviving Cockleshell hero who paddled 85 miles into France to blow up German merchant shipping. George VI presented Sparks with the Distinguished Service Medal. More (Dec 02)
The Very Reverend Henry Lloyd, DSO, OBE, has died aged 89 (First RN chaplain to be awarded a DSO during WWII)
Sir James Cable, CMG, KCVO has died aged 80 (Diplomat and one of the most influential naval strategic thinkers of the last half-century)The
World War II Medals of Victor Johns (Naval Group)
Royal Navy Officers awarded French Medals (Commander Bob Sanguinetti and Commander The Honourable Michael Cochrane, were honoured by the award of the French Croix de Valeur Militaire for their service whilst under French command during the Kosovo campaign) (Photo) (Feb 02)
Michael Bray. DSC Michael Bray, who has died aged 83, was one of the youngest motor gun boat (MGB) commanders in the Second World War, monitoring German activity in the English Channel. He was awarded the DSC. Throughout the war Bray collected photographs taken by others and evaded the censor to send vivid letters to his parents, on which he later based his wartime memoir, One Young Man's War (1993). telegraph.co.uk 26 Jul 04
Sir Walter Blount, Bt Walter Blountwas awarded his DSC for his gallantry and initiative while in command of the high-speed motor torpedo boats of Coastal Forces during operations in the Channel, and two Bars for attacks on heavily armed German convoys and naval forces in the Adriatic. Blount earned his second DSC in October 1944 for his part in a night action against two separate convoys. Blount was awarded a second Bar to his DSC after another night action, off the Istrian coast, in February 1945. timesonline.co.uk 5 Jan 05
Royal Navy Research (Provides addresses, contacts) (f.wilson@royal-naval-reserve.co.uk)
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General Sir Cecil Blacker, CGB, OBE, MC has died aged 86 Accomplished Adjutant-General, outstanding horseman and amusing author. Military Cross during Operation Goodwood, the extension of the south-eastern corner of the beachhead in June 1944. (Oct 02)
Gen Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, who died aged 81, provided inspiring leadership in Korea at the battle of the Imjin river. When orders were received to abandon the position, Farrar-Hockley covered the withdrawal with fire and a smokescreen and he was one of the last to fall back; but, when the battalion's position was eventually overrun by the Chinese, he was taken prisoner. The citation for the DSO awarded to him for his part in the battle stated: "Throughout this desperate engagement on which the ability of the Battalion to hold its position entirely depended, Captain Farrar-Hockley was an inspiration to the defenders. His outstanding gallantry, fighting spirit and great powers of leadership heartened his men and welded them into an indomitable team. His conduct could not have been surpassed." During the two years that Farrar-Hockley spent in PoW camps, he made six attempts to escape. In 1942, after volunteering for parachute training, he was granted an emergency commission in the Parachute Regiment. At the age of 20 he was in command of a rifle company of the 6th Battalion and he won an MC during the Communist rebellion in Athens. After serving in Palestine, Farrar-Hockley returned to the Glosters and went with them to Korea. Following his release from prisoner-of-war camp, he attended Staff College before rejoining the Airborne Forces, serving as deputy assistant adjutant and quartermaster-general, then as brigade major of the 16th Parachute Brigade. He saw active service during this period in the EOKA campaign in Cyprus, the landings at Port Said in 1956 and the British intervention in Jordan in 1958. The following year he became chief instructor at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, before taking command of the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment in the Persian Gulf in 1962. The greatest feat of arms of his career was, perhaps, his battalion's capture, in 1964, of the Arab Nationalist stronghold at Wadi Dhubsan deep in the Radfan mountains north of Aden. The battalion was called upon to undertake a difficult 10-mile advance into mountainous enemy territory and then attack a highly inaccessible and strongly-defended rebel base. Helicopters were not available in sufficient numbers to permit an assault from the air, so his men roped themselves down the sheer sides of the flanking ridges and achieved complete surprise over the rebels in the gorge below. During a hard-fought battle, Farrar-Hockley's Scout helicopter was shot down beyond his own lines. With some difficulty, he rejoined his battalion and, finding it pinned down, he launched a well-executed attack which drove the enemy from their position. This action led to the submission of the dissident Radfani tribes and to the award of a Bar to Farrar-Hockley's DSO. He was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1977 on his appointment as GOC South East District, and was knighted in the Birthday Honours of that year. Major-General Dair Farrar-Hockley, followed his father into the Parachute Regiment and was awarded the MC in the Falklands War. telegraph.co.uk 14 Mar 06
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General Sir Desmond Fitzpatrick, GCB, GCVO, DSO, MBE, MC has died aged 89 An outstanding front-line commander and a highly successful staff officer; after winning an MC in Palestine in 1939 and a DSO in Germany during the Second World War he became C-in-C, BAOR, and Commander, Northern Army Group, in 1968. Appointed MBE, and appointed KCB in 1965, GCB in 1971 and GCVO in 1997. More (Oct 02) |
Brigadier 'Speedy' Hill Brigadier "Speedy" Hill, who died aged 95, won an MC and three DSOs as a commander of airborne forces during the Second World War. In May 1940, Hill was a member of Field Marshal Viscount Gort's command post, playing a leading part in the civilian evacuation of Brussels and La Panne beach during the final phase of the withdrawal. He returned to Dover in the last destroyer to leave Dunkirk, and was awarded an MC. In 1942 Hill took command of the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, which was dropped at Souk El Arba, deep behind enemy lines in Tunisia. His orders were to secure the plain so that it could be used as a landing strip and then to take Beja, the road and rail centre 40 miles to the north east, in order to persuade the French garrison to fight on the Allied side. The citation for Hill's first DSO paid tribute to the brilliant handling of his force and his complete disregard of personal danger. The French recognised his gallantry with the award of the Légion d'Honneur. Hill was one of the first to join the Parachute Regiment and after being wounded in Tunisia in 1942, he was evacuated to England. Although forbidden to take exercise in hospital, he used to climb out of his window at night to stroll around the gardens. Seven weeks later, he declared himself fit and, in December, he converted the 10th Battalion, Essex Regiment, to the 9th Parachute Battalion. In April the following year, Hill took command of 3rd Parachute Brigade, consisting of the 8th and 9th Parachute Battalions and the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, which he commanded on D-Day as part of the 6th Airborne Division. The 12th Parachute Battalion, took Bréville, the pivotal position from which 346th Division launched their attacks on the ridge, albeit at great cost. Hill said afterwards that the enemy had sustained considerable losses of men and equipment and a great defensive victory had been won. He was awarded a Bar to his DSO. In March 1945 Hill commanded the brigade in Operation Varsity, the battle of the Rhine Crossing, before pushing on to Wismar on the Baltic, arriving on May 2, hours before the Russians. He was wounded in action three times. He was awarded a second Bar to his DSO, and the American Silver Star. Hill was appointed military governor of Copenhagen in May and was awarded the King Haakon VII Liberty Cross for his services. telegraph.co.uk 18 Mar 06
General
Sir Walter Walker, KCB, CBE, DSO and 2 Bars has died aged 89 (DSOs
as a Gurkha commander in the Burma campaign, second in the Malayan Emergency
in the 1950s, his third in 1965 when, as Director of Operations in Borneo,
he devised and executed the tactics which thwarted President Sukarno of
Indonesia’s attempt to subvert the newly-formed Federation of Malaysia by
military means)
Lieutenant-General Sir Napier Crookenden, KCB, DSO, OBE has died aged 87 Airborne soldier who landed in the D-Day beachhead and fought his way from there to the Rhine. DSO in 1945 for his wartime services. (Nov 02)
Lt-General Sir Allan Taylor Lt-General Sir Allan Taylor, who has died aged 85, won an MC during the Normandy campaign, became Deputy-Commander-in-Chief UK Land Forces. On August 9 1944, the 7th Royal Tank Regiment was ordered to support 147 Infantry Brigade in an attack near Vimont, south of Caen. Soon after the attack started, the tanks ran into a minefield and their advance was halted. Taylor, a major in command of B Squadron, helped to clear a way through the area despite coming under heavy mortar fire and the danger from anti-personnel mines. The infantry then hit another minefield and suffered many casualties. Taylor brought his tank back to the very depleted company and, having shown them that it was safe to follow in his tank tracks, led them to their objective. He helped the infantrymen to reorganise before moving forward what remained of his squadron to support them. When darkness fell, Taylor decided to stay with the men, and this decision had a considerable effect on their morale. Taylor remained with the infantry throughout the next day, helping them to deal with several Spandau posts that were still holding out. His squadron came under sustained mortaring and machine-gunning from the enemy concealed in the thick hedges and his exhausted crews, pinned down in their tanks, were unable to dismount even for a few minutes to cook themselves a hot meal. Showing great coolness and complete disregard for his own safety, he visited all of them on foot and encouraged them to hold out. He was awarded an immediate MC. telegraph.co.uk 29 Jun 04
Maj-Gen 'Bala' Bredin Major-General 'Bala' Bredin, who died aged 88, was awarded an MC and Bar when serving with the Royal Ulster Rifles in Palestine in 1938 and an immediate DSO in Italy in 1944; he won an immediate Bar to his DSO in 1945 and received another Bar when commanding the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, on Cyprus in 1957; he was also twice mentioned in dispatches. He was appointed CB in 1969. telegraph.co.uk 3 Mar 05
Major-General John Cowley, CB has died aged 84 Paymaster-in-Chief of the Army who put a stop to the pay parade and made sure wives got their hands on the housekeeping. (Nov 02)
Major-General Sir James Eyre has died aged 72 Staff officer who was Secretary to the Chiefs of Staff Committee during the Falklands war and was appointed Silver Stick in 1975. MID in 1955 for service in Cyprus, and KCVO in 1986, and CBE in 1980. (Jan 03)
Major-General Rowland Mans, CBE has died aged 81 Officer who led his troops on a record-breaking 80-mile forced march during the 1942 Madagascar campaign against the French. Appointed MBE in 1956 was advanced to OBE in 1966, and CBE in 1971. (Oct 02)
Major-General Antony Ward-Booth, OBE has died aged 75 The Parachute Regiment (Sep 02)
Major-General Robert Broke. OBE, MC has died aged 88 (MC in France in 1940, OBE in 1946 and later rose to be Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery in the 1970s) (Jan 02)
Major-General Sir Harry Flashman VC, KCB, KCIE, KLH, etc. (fictional character [?] created in the novel series by George MacDonald Fraser) (Michael Hargreave Mawson) and a report on the ribbon bar grouping of the same individual (Ed Haynes)
Major-General Errol Lonsdale, MBE has died aged 90 Commission into the Royal Army Service Corps in 1934, from where he was seconded to the Sudan Defence Force in 1938. For his bravery in the campaign against the Italians in the Sudan and Eritrea, he was made an MBE (Military) in 1942 and later mentioned in dispatches. He was commander RASC 1st Commonwealth Division in Korea 1953-54 and then in Malaya with the 1st Federal Division during the communist insurgency, for which he was again mentioned in dispatches. The Scotsman May 03
Major-General Rowley Mans, CBE has died aged 81 Saw active service in Africa during the Second World War. In 1952 he served in BAOR and then Malaya as a company commander with the 1st Queen's and then the 17th Gurkha Division. He was awarded an operational MBE for his services. MBE in 1956; OBE in 1966; and CBE in 1971. (Dec 02)
Major-General Richard Moberly, CB, OBE has died aged 95 (Signals Officer) (Jan 02)
Major-General Cosmo Nevill, CB, DSO has died aged 95 In 1944 he was awarded the DSO for his gallantry and outstanding leadership while commanding 2nd Battalion the Devonshire Regiment on D-Day. OBE in 1943; CBE in 1954; and CB in 1958. More (Oct 02)
Major-General
David Lloyd Owen, CB, DSO, OBE, MC, has died aged 83
More
(Buccaneering raider behind Rommel’s front line in the sand seas
of the Western Desert)
Major-General
Charles Page, CBE, MBE, has died aged 80
(Army's
Director of Combat Development from 1971 until 1974;played a key role in the
introduction of the Bruin radio system)
Major-General Derek Pounds, CB has died aged 80 Unsung hero of the Korean War when he led several daring commando raids behind enemy lines. Pounds was awarded the US Bronze Star; but it was felt that, if he had been under British command, he would have received a DSO. CB in 1975, Cheng Chau village in Hong Kong awarded him their gold medal for his work with them in the 1950s. More (Dec 02)
Major General Sir Digby Raeburn, CB, KCVO, DSO has died aged 86 (Successful career in the Army with an eight-year appointment as Governor of the Tower of London and in command of the Yeoman Warders; and as Keeper of the Jewel House he was in charge of the separate corps of Curators and Wardens and responsible for the security of the Crown Jewels) (Awarded DSO for his part in an action which took place between April 1 and April 3 near the German town of Nordhorn. Appointed CB in 1966, and KCVO in 1979) (Photo) (Daily Telegraph) (Dec 01) More (The Times) (Jan 02)
Major-General C.H. Stainforth CB, OBE, has died aged 86 (Chairman of the Army UK Command Structure Committee, 1969-72)
Major-General Sir Philip Ward, KCVO, CBE has died aged 78 Appointed CBE for his services in the Gulf and took over as General Officer Commanding London District and Major-General of the Household Division in October 1973. He knew the ceremonial aspects down to the last detail and clearly enjoyed this period of his career, of which the highlight was probably the occasion of the marriage of Princess Anne in 1973. He was appointed KCVO at the end of his tour of command. More (Jan 03)
Major-General Sir Jack Younger, Bt, has died aged 81 (Captured by the Germans in the battle for Tobruk and, after getting away from a PoW camp, spent a year fighting with Italian partisans behind enemy lines. Younger, having perfected his Italian, gathered much useful military intelligence which he sent back through partisan channels. After commanding a group of partisans engaged in sabotage for several months, in October 1944 he was ordered to return to the 8th Army with a party of escaped prisoners. He was awarded an MBE. MBE in 1945 and CBE in 1969; he became a Knight of St John in 1980.(Jun 02)
Brigadier
'Geordie' Andrews, CBE, DSO has died aged 91 (DSO in 1944 having commanded 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, from
Normandy to the Reichswald. Also a Chevalier of the Order of Leopold,
Belgium, and awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm.
CBE in 1960))
Brigadier Jock Hamilton-Baillie, MC has died age 84 PoW who took part in some of the classic prison-camp breakouts before being accorded the accolade of incarceration in Colditz. Military Cross in December 1945 in recognition of his resolute escape attempts and efforts on behalf of other prisoners in the camps where he was held before being sent to Colditz. The Times Apr 03
Brigadier Jock Hamilton-Baillie, MC has died aged 84 the engineer on the Eichstatt tunnel, through which he and 62 other men escaped from their Bavarian PoW camp in June 1943. For his part in the Eichstatt escape, and in a previous one (the "Warburg wire job") Hamilton-Baillie was awarded the MC. The Telegraph May 03
Brig Denis Ballantine Brigadier Denis Ballantine, who has died aged 85, was awarded an MC while serving with the Wiltshire Regiment in Italy in 1944. He took command of the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment in 1960 and was appointed OBE. telegraph.co.uk 25 Sep 04
Brigadier David Block, CBE, DSO, MC has died aged 93 (MC in North Africa in 1943 and the DSO in Italy the following year while serving with the 152nd (Ayrshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment RA)
Brigadier Geoffrey 'Billy' Beyts, DSO, MBE, MC, has died aged 92 (Awarded MC and DSO during a career with the Indian Army, in which he saw action against Burmese rebels, Waziri tribesman and the Japanese Army)
Brigadier C. G. Buttenshaw, CBE DSO has died aged 90 - Gunner who won a DSO in the bitter fighting round Lake Comacchio at the end of the Italian campaign. Hull commanded Bladeforce, comprising the Crusader III tanks of his own regiment, the 17th/21st Lancers, a squadron of armoured cars, an artillery battery, a motor company of 10th Battalion the Rifle Brigade and an engineer squadron. It was intended to be the 1st Army’s advance guard in the dash for Tunis. He was appointed MBE for his service with Bladeforce. He was advanced to CBE on leaving the Army in 1967. The Times Apr 03
Brigadier Paul Crook Brigadier Paul Crook, who has died aged 89, won a DSO for his leadership of 3 Para Group in the assault on El Gamil airfield during the Suez Crisis. The citation for the DSO awarded to Crook stated that his gallantry under fire, his inspiring leadership and the skill with which he handled his force made an immeasurable contribution to the success of the action. He was appointed OBE in 1945 and advanced to CBE. He served as a company commander of the 1st Battalion in Malaya in operations against the Chinese Communists. He was mentioned in dispatches for the third time. He held the US Bronze Star. opinion.telegraph.co.uk 30 Oct 04
Brigadier John Daniell, CBE, DSO has died aged 99 Brigadier John Daniell, who has died aged 99, was awarded the DSO in 1944 while serving as Commander Royal Artillery with the 25th Indian Division in the Arakan peninsula, Burma. Appointed CBE in 1955. (Nov 02)
Brigadier Bill Dodd, OBE has died aged 65 (SAS Officer - appointed MBE in 1974 and advanced to OBE in 1980) (May 02)
Brigadier Sir Rainald Lewthwaite has died aged 89 English baronet who served in one battalion of the Scots Guards, and commanded another. Joined the operations staff of Headquarters Eighth Army in North Africa until shortly before the battle of El Alamein. He had been mentioned in dispatches while serving on divisional staff in 1941 and was mentioned again before leaving the Eighth Army to rejoin 2nd Bn Scots Guards in August 1942. In March the following year, he was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry and tactical skill during an engagement on the border of Libya and Tunisia. He later served on the staff of Headquarters 21st Army Group prior to the Normandy invasion until December 1944, receiving the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. OBE in 1974, and a CVO in 1975 following the successful visit of the Queen to Hong Kong. The Scotsman Jun 03
Lord
Aldington, Brigadier Toby Low, CBE, DSO has died aged 86
Brigadier
James Vickers, CBE, DSO and Bar, has died aged 90
(Burma Campaign)
Brigadier
Mervyn Walter, CBE, has died aged 94 (Commander of
British Mulberry Harbour)
(Mar 01)
Brigadier
David Warren, DSO, MC has died aged 82 (Immediate MC during the invasion of Italy in 1943 and an immediate DSO
for his part in the D-Day landings)
Brigadier Michael Gordon-Watson, OBE, MC and 2 Bars has died aged 89 (Outstanding front-line commander who won an MC and two Bars while serving with the Irish Guards. OBE in 1949) (Jun 02)
Colonel Geoffrey Armstrong, DSO, MC has died aged 92 MC in 1942 with the Honourable Artillery Company in North Africa, and a DSO in Burma in 1945 while in command of 136 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. (Nov 02)
