1st British Airborne Division
Arnhem, September 1944
British officers  |  home

officers

Looking for details on an Airborne Officer not listed here yet?
Just e-mail me, and I might be able to help out.
Of course, any additions, corrections etc. are most welcome and can also be e-mailed.


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 

The service number of each person is (when known) given after the date of commissioning. Most officers had only a wartime career, but when no indication is given about a Territorial Army commission or an emergency commission, the officer involved served as a Regular Army officer, with in most cases an active army career before and after the war. For explanations & abbreviations you can look at the help page.

 
E  
Eason,
Bryan Dennis
B.D. Eason
Son of Edwin John D. Eason, and Maude Bryan.
Married ((06?).1947, Pontypridd district, Glamorgan) Jean Whale; ... children (one son?).
(06?).1923
Croydon district, Greater London
-
08.2010 still alive at Yeovil, Somerset
Cadet ?
2nd Lt. 25.07.1943 [288421]
WS/Lt. 25.01.1944 (retd > 04.1946)
11.09.1943     commissioned, Royal Armoured Corps [emergency commission]
23.01.1944     transferred, The South Staffordshire Regiment
(09.1944)     Supernumerary Officer Commanding, Support Company, 2nd Battalion The South Staffordshire Regiment (Arnhem [wounded, escaped])
Eastwood,
Herbert David
H.D. Eastwood H.D. Eastwood
H.D. Eastwood, 2006 (Photo courtesy of Ade) H.D. Eastwood
Son of Rev. John Eastwood (1885-), and Irene Symons Underhill (1881-19171), of Bangor, Wales.
Married ((09?).1948, Bathavon district, Somerset) Betty Ann Margaret Skrine; one son.

27.01.1919
Bangor, Wales
-
29.10.2010
France
Cadet ?
2nd Lt. 11.02.1940 [121135]
WS/Lt. 11.08.1941 (retd 26.09.1946)
T/Capt. 16.04.1943
Hon. Capt. 26.09.1946
Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE 01.01.1973 New Year 73: as Senior Technical Adviser, MoD
MC 09.11.1944 Arnhem 09.44
      167th Officer Cadet Training Unit (OCTU)
11.02.1940     commissioned, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry [emergency commission]
27.01.1944     transferred, Parachute Regiment - Army Air Corps
1944 - 1945 Officer Commanding, 1 Platoon, 21st Independent Parachute Company (UK; Arnhem [evacuated]; Norway)
Post-war career in the Security Services. Acting Resident Commissioner of Malacca, Malaysia in 1953. Senior Technical Adviser, Ministry of Defence.

H.D. Eastwood, 2008 (Photo courtesy of "englandphil") H.D. Eastwood, 2008 (Photo courtesy of "englandphil")

Eden,
Michael Charles
M.C. Eden

Son of Brigadier Henry Charles Hamilton Eden and of Violet Alice Eden (née Pulleine).
Married (1944, Battle, Sussex) Patricia "Patsy" Eden (1920 - 04.12.2010), of Hambleton, Lancashire; one son.

28.12.1921
Easthampstead district, Berkshire
-
21.09.1944
(KIA) [age 22]
[Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery 20.C.10]
Cadet
?
2nd Lt.
28.03.1943 [267948]
WS/Lt.
28.09.1943
28.03.1943


commissioned, Corps of Royal Engineers [emergency commission]
1944
-
(09.1944)
Troop Officer, 2 Troop, 4th Parachute Squadron RE (Arnhem [killed in action])
Edwards,
Donald Kenneth
D.K. Edwards
D.K. Edwards

01.09.1923
-
13.11.1997
Trowbridge, Wiltshire
Cadet
? [7955805]
2nd Lt.
10.10.1943 [295840]
WS/Lt.
10.04.1944 (reld > 04.1946)
MC 09.11.1944 Arnhem 09.1944
10.10.1943


commissioned, Royal Armoured Corps [emergency commission]
23.01.1944


transferred, The South Staffordshire Regiment
(09.1944)


Officer Commanding, 17 Platoon (C Company), 2nd Battalion The South Staffordshire Regiment (Arnhem; [?])
Edwards,
Edward
James
J. Edwards
04.10.1911
-
08.03.1982
Buxted, Uckfield district, East Sussex
2nd Lt. 01.10.1939 [106399]
WS/Lt. 20.08.1940
T/Capt. 20.08.1940-24.06.1942
WS/Capt. 25.06.1942 (reld > 10.1945, < 01.1946)
A/Maj. 25.03.1942-(07.1942)
T/Maj. 21.06.1943-(10.1945)
Hon. Maj. > 10.1945, < 01.1946
Efficiency Medal (Territorial) EM 25.03.1949 -
Efficiency Medal (Territorial) EM 25.03.1949 1st clasp
01.10.1939     commissioned, The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment [emergency commission]
11.08.1943     transferred, Parachute Regiment - Army Air Corps
(09.1944)     Second-in-Command, C Company, 11th Parachute Battalion (Arnhem [captured])
09.1944 - 04.1945 POW (No. 90953) in German captivity (Oflag 79, Braunschweig)
Egan,
the Reverend Bernard [Charles] Mary
B.M. Egan

Son of Edward Joseph Egan (1870?-1928), and Sarah Ann Lynott (1872-1945), of Buntingford, Hertfordshire.

09.01.1905
Streatham, Wandsworth district, London
-
01.07.1988
London
Capt. = Chaplain to the Forces 4th Cl. 17.12.1940 [159715] (reld 11.12.1945; disability)
Hon. Chaplain to the Forces 4th Cl. 11.12.1945
MC 23.03.1944 Sicily 07.1943
Education: Wimbledon College (1914-1923).
Ordained Roman Catholic priest 09.09.1936. Jesuit (S.J.). Games Master, Beaumont 1939-1940.
17.12.1940     commissioned, Royal Army Chaplains' Department [emergency commission] - Roman Catholic
1941 - (1943) Chaplain, 1st Parachute Brigade (N Africa, Tunisia) (qualified parachutist 03.01.1942, being the first chaplain of any denomination to qualify as such)
(07.1943) - (09.1944) Chaplain, 2nd Parachute Battalion (Sicily, Italy & Arnhem [wounded & captured])
09.1944 - 04.1945 POW (No. 52943) in German captivity (Stalag IX-C, Mühlhausen, Hessen)
Returned to education. Senior Geography Master, Corby School, Sunderland, 1945-1948. Headmaster, Barlborough Hall School, 1948-1949. Headmaster, Wimbledon College Preparatory School, London for some 20 years from 1949.
Published: contributor to The priest among the soldiers (1947; ed. by Martin Dempsey).

Elliott,
James Roland [Clarke]
J.R. Elliott
Elder son of James Taylor Elliott, Riversdale, Strabane, Co Tyrone, and Margaret Whiteside, 4th daughter of Walter Clarke, Lurgan, Co Armagh.
Married (02.06.1942) Isabel, younger daughter of Edmund Ashworth Radford, MP, FCA and Beatrice Elizabeth Hay; one son, two daughters.
13.09.1916
Riversdale, Strabane
-
18.03.1985
Isle of Man
Gnr.
?
2nd Lt.
01.04.1939 [87508]
WS/Lt.
24.11.1940
T/Capt.
24.11.1940-(04.1941),
10.03.1943-(09.1944)
Lt.
02.11.1948, seniority 24.11.1940
Capt. TA
01.11.1949
A/Maj. TA
08.06.1950
Maj. TA
13.12.1950, seniority 08.06.1950
Maj. AERO
20.10.1955, seniority 13.12.1950
Maj. RARO
27.02.1959, seniority 13.12.1950
Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE
> 02.1943, < 12.1944
parachute training officer
Emergency Reserve Decoration ERD
04.09.1984
& 1st and 2nd clasp
Education: Felsted School (1931-1932); Queen's University, Belfast



late Cadet, Felsted School Contingent, Officer Training Corps

1937?
-
01.04.1939

served in the ranks, 188th (Antrim) Fortress Battery, RA (TA)

01.04.1939


commissioned, Royal Regiment of Artillery - Supplementary Reserve of Officers
01.04.1939
-
1941?
8th Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA (24.08.1939 mobilized; served in the British Expeditionary Force in France)
1941
-
1942
parachute training officer at the Central Landing Establishment, Ringway Airport, Manchester
01.08.1942


transferred, Parachute Regiment - Army Air Corps
late 1942
-
1943
2nd Parachute Battalion (Tunisia & Italy; missed the Sicily landings due to being hospitalized after a motorbike accident); served also as Liaison Officer with the US Forces
(09.1944)
-
20.09.1944
Battery Captain "Q", 2nd Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery RA (Arnhem [captured])
09.1944 - 04.1945 POW (No. 543) in German captivity (Oflag 79, Braunschweig, Niedersachsen)
02.11.1948
-
26.04.1955
Regular Army Reserve of Officers (serving Territorial Army)
27.04.1955
-
19.10.1955
Territorial Army Reserve of Officers
20.10.1955
-
26.02.1959
Mobile Defence Corps, Army Emergency Reserve of Officers
27.02.1959
-
?
Regular Army Reserve of Officers
Motor trade executive.
Ellis,
Frederick William
F.W. Ellis
?
-

Cadet
? [1762210]
2nd Lt.
24.09.1943 [293982]
WS/Lt.
?
WS/Capt.
05.09.1945 (reld < 04.1946)
Hon. Maj.
< 04.1946
24.09.1943


commissioned, Royal Regiment of Artillery [emergency commission]
(09.1944)


Officer Commanding, H Troop, 2nd Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery RA [supporting 156th Parachute Battalion] (Arnhem [evacuated])
Erskine,
James S
J.S. Erskine
?
-
Prov. 2nd Lt.
?
2nd Lt.
15.08.1943
Lt.
18.12.1943
?


commissioned, Canadian Infantry Corps [emergency commission]
(12.1943)


No. A-16 Canadian Infantry Training Centre, Calgary, Alta.
(02.1944)
-
01.04.1944
Prince of Wales Rangers
01.04.1944
-

No. A-34 Training Centre (Reinforcements) CIC



Canloan scheme: CDN/452
(09.1944)


Officer Commanding, 19 Platoon (D Company), 2nd Battalion The South Staffordshire Regiment (Arnhem [wounded, captured])
09.1944 - 04.1945 POW (No. 3451) in German captivity (Reserve-Lazarett 4/486-L, Apeldoorn, from 05.03.1945 Stalag XIB, Fallingbostel, Niedersachsen 01780)
08.06.1945
-
17.10.1945
No. 11 District Depot (struck off strength)
Evans,
Kenneth Charles
"Ken"
K.C. Evans
Son of ... Evans, and ... Hall.

11.05.1922
Bedford district, Bedfordshire
-
03.2000
Bridgend, Glamorgan
Cadet
?
2nd Lt.
28.03.1943 [267949]
WS/Lt.
28.09.1943 (reld > 04.1946)
28.03.1943


commissioned, Corps of Royal Engineers [emergency commission]
1943
-
(09.1944)
Troop Officer, 1 Troop, 4th Parachute Squadron RE (Arnhem [wounded, captured])
09.1944 - 04.1945 POW (No. 2178) in German captivity (Oflag IX-A/Z, Rotenburg an der Fulda, Hessen)
Evans,
Philip Brandon
P.B. Evans
Son of ... Evans, and ... Phillips.
12.06.1921
Wolverhampton, Staffordshire
-
Cadet
?
2nd Lt.
07.01.1943 [258683]
WS/Lt.
07.07.1943 (reld > 04.1946)
Education: Denstone College (09.1934--4.1940; Selwyn House; School Certificate 1939; Certificate A 1939; House Prefect).
07.01.1943


commissioned, The South Staffordshire Regiment [emergency commission]
(09.1944)


Officer Commanding, 16 Platoon (C Company), 2nd Battalion The South Staffordshire Regiment (Arnhem [wounded, captured])
09.1944 - 04.1945 POW (No. 2149) in German captivity (Oflag IX-A/H, Spangenberg, Hessen)
Ewens,
Alfred Francis
"Frank"
A.F. Ewens
27.03.1909
Walthamstow, Essex
-
02.1982
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
2nd Lt.
01.12.1942 [250583]
WS/Lt.
01.06.1943 (reld 14.10.1953)
T/Capt.
10.07.1945
Hon. Capt.
14.10.1953
01.12.1942


commissioned, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers [emergency commission]
(07.1943)
-
(09.1944)
Adjutant, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 1st Airborne Division (Arnhem [wounded & captured])
09.1944 - 04.1945 POW (No. 2220 & 3429) in German captivity (Reserve-Lazarett 4/486, Apeldoorn, from 06.03.1945 Oflag 69, Neubrandenburg)

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 

When using material from this website, please acknowledge the source as "World War II unit histories & officers". Thanks.  © J.N. (Hans) Houterman

Some Arnhem links:

or go directly to their excellent links page
(each individual website might contain useful links as well, so don't forget to check these too)