1st British Airborne Division
Arnhem, September 1944
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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.

 
O
O'Callaghan,
Eric Charles
E.C. O'Callaghan E.C. O'Callaghan
E.C. O'Callaghan (Photo courtesy of Mr Bob Gerritsen)
Married 1st (1943) Gladys Wilden, who died in 1949; one daughter.
Married 2nd (1950) Dorothy Rogers (marriage dissolved); one daughter.
Married 3rd (marriage dissolved).
Married 4th (1989) Caroline Grimwood; one son, one daughter.

05.01.1923
Alverstoke, Hampshire
-
23.05.2003

New Forest district, Hampshire
2nd Lt.
05.09.1942 [243580]
WS/Lt.
05.03.1943
Lt.
23.03.1946, seniority 05.07.1945
A/Capt.
23.02.1944-22.05.1944
T/Capt.
23.05.1944-09.06.1945, 06.11.1945-31.05.1947
WS/Capt.
01.06.1947
Capt.
04.01.1950
A/Maj.
01.03.1947-31.05.1947
T/Maj.
01.06.1947-20.11.1949, 01.12.1955-04.01.1957
Maj.
05.01.1957
Lt.Col.
03.03.1965
Col.
30.06.1969 (retd 20.12.1974)
Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE
07.01.1949
Palestine 1947-48
MC
21.10.1943
Sicily 07.1943
Mention in Despatches MID
20.09.1945
Arnhem 09.1944
Mention in Despatches MID
07.01.1949
?
Education: Gosport Central Grammar School.



served in the ranks for 1 year 206 days in the Hampshire Regiment
05.09.1942


commissioned, Corps of Royal Engineers [emergency commission to 22.03.1946]
(07.1943)


3 Platoon, 9th (Airborne) Field Company RE (N Africa, Sicily, Italy)
(09.1944)


Officer Commanding, 2 Platoon, 9th (Airborne) Field Company RE (Arnhem [wounded, POW])
09.1944
-
04.1945?
POW in German captivity (Oflag IX A/H, Spangenberg)
10.1945
-
1947
1st Airborne Squadron RE (Palestine)
23.03.1946


permanent commission
1947
-
(1948)
Officer Commanding, 1st (Airborne) Squadron RE (Palestine)
1949


Royal School of Military Engineering, Chatham
1950


US Army Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, Virginia
14.08.1953
-
24.11.1955
Staff Captain, War Office
26.11.1957
-
10.02.1958
Staff Officer Royal Engineers 3rd grade, HQ Northern Command
11.02.1958
-
08.12.1958
Staff Officer Royal Engineers 2nd grade, ... (British Army of the Rhine)



returned to Sandhurst as a company commander before moving to Cyprus for a UN tour of duty

08.01.1962
-
25.02.1965
General Staff Officer 2nd grade (GSO2), HQ ... Division



command his own regiment; returned to the Royal School of Military Engineering as Chief Instructor at the Plant, Road and Airfields Wing before being posted to Germany as Commander RE with the 4th Division in the rank of colonel
?
-
1974
Commandant, Army Apprentices' College at Chepstow, Gwent
Investment management company, since 1974.
O'Grady,
[Francis] Arthur Edgar
A.E. O'Grady (Photo courtesy of Mr Brian O'Grady, via Pegasus Archive) A.E. O'Grady (Photo courtesy of Mr Brian O'Grady, via Pegasus Archive)
A.E. O'Grady (Photo courtesy of Mr Brian O'Grady, via Pegasus Archive) A.E. O'Grady (Photo courtesy of Mr Brian O'Grady, via Pegasus Archive)
Son of Edgar Stanvil O'Grady (1888-1952), and Marguerite Francoise Marie Hecquet (1883-1948).
Married Sylvia ... (07.04.1922 - 06.2000); one daughter, one son.

03.10.1915
Asansol, West Bengal, India
-
30.05.1994
Great Bookham, Surrey Northern  district, Surrey
2nd Lt. 05.12.1942 [255022]
WS/Lt. 05.06.1943
T/Capt. 27.09.1944 (reld 1946 [release letter dated 16.05.1946])
King Haakon VII Liberty Medal Hkn 19.03.1948 Norway [diploma dated 20.09.1946] *
05.12.1942     commissioned, Royal Regiment of Artillery [emergency commission]
      45th Infantry Division (UK)
06.1944 - 12.1945 No. 1 Forward Observation Unit RA (Airborne)
06.1944 - 12.1944 Adjutant [attached 1st Airborne Division HQ] (Arnhem [evacuated])
12.1944 - 12.1945 Area Welfare Officer (Norway)
12.1945 - (02.1946) Staff Captain "A", 49th Infantry Divisional Artillery Brigade
* Recommendation for the award of the King Haakon VII Liberty Medal to T/Capt. A.E. O'Grady: "Captain O'Grady was Adjutant of his unit from its formation in June 1944 until December 1944. During this period the heavy work involved in forming, mobilising, training and taking part himself in the Arnhem action and in completely reorganising the Unit after Arnhem, fell largely on the shoulders of this officer. Captain O'Grady proved himself fully equal to the task and despatched his duties with the highest distinction. At all times his efficiency, cheerfulness and tireless efforts often in the face of adverse conditions, have been not only an example but an inspiration to others. Since landing in Norway this officer has shown further outstanding service as Welfare Officer and it is largely due to his initiative and unrelenting efforts that the welfare of his troops has been looked after so well."
[Originally recommended for MBE (Military Division), but downgraded to this medal.]
Further a commendation was written on 06.01.1944 by Maj.Gen. S. Leroy Irwin, commanding 5th US Infantry Division, praising O'Grady's work as a liaison officer to the 11th US Infantry Regiment. A general letter of recommendation was written on 26.02.1947 by his former Commanding Officer Maj. D.R. Wight-Boycott of No. 1 Forward Observation Unit RA. Another letter of recommendation was written on 28.02.1946 by Brig. E.S. Lindsay, commanding 49th Infantry Division's Artillery Brigade.
A.E. O'Grady (Photo courtesy of Mr Brian O'Grady, via Pegasus Archive) A.E. O'Grady (Photo courtesy of Mr Brian O'Grady, via Pegasus Archive)
Ogilvie,
James Graeme
J.G. Ogilvie J.G. Ogilvie
J.G. Ogilvie J.G. Ogilvie
Son of James Tough Ogilvie (1877-), and Mary Isobel Ogilvie.
Married (1940, Tonbridge, Kent) Sadie Mary Kempster, of Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent; one son.

12.04.1918
Rubislaw district, Aberdeen, Scotland
-
26.09.1944
(KIA) [age 26]
[Rhenen General Cemetery, 27.C.12]
2nd Lt. 27.07.1940 [140041]
WS/Lt. 27.01.1942
T/Capt. 12.02.1943-26.09.1944
Education: Loretto School (09.1931-04.1936; VIth Form, Rugby Football XV, Boxing, Swimming, Corporal Officer Training Corps).
Worked for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, 1936-1939.
      served in the ranks, London Scottish, then trained at Mill Hill & Farnborough
27.07.1940     commissioned, The Gordon Highlanders [emergency commission]
1940 - 1940 seconded to a training battalion of The Black Watch
1940 - 1941 4th Battalion The Gordon Highlanders
01.11.1941     transferred, Royal Regiment of Artillery
17.09.1942     transferred, Glider Pilot Regiment - Army Air Corps
(09.1944)     Officer Commanding, D Squadron (No. 1 Wing), The Glider Pilot Regiment (Arnhem [killed in action]; drowned while swimming the river Rhine)
[In September 1944 he went over to Arnhem in command of a force of fifty Glider Pilots. No help could be got through, and on the 25th they were ordered to retreat. In briefing his men for this, Captain Ogilvie told them that if things got too bad he would call on all strong swimmers to swim the Rhine with him. On reaching the river bank they were exposed to very heavy fire while awaiting their turn in the small boats, and finally he led the way to a small promontory and they entered the water. In the strong current Ogilvie was separated from the pilot who was swimming with him and failed to get across. He was posted as missing, but ten months later word came that his body had been taken from the river the next day by members of the Dutch Resistance Group, and at great risk to themselves had been buried by night in the civilian cemetery of the village of Rhenen, fifteen miles from Arnhem.]

J.G. Ogilvie

Olliff,
Donald Edwin
D.E. Olliff D.E. Olliff

24.11.1919
Bath, Somerset
-
02.2001
North Cotswolds, Gloucestershire
Lt.
08.01.1944 [306048]
WS/Capt.
08.01.1945

MB

08.01.1944


commissioned, Royal Army Medical Corps [emergency commission]
(09.1944)


Section Officer, 133rd Parachute Field Ambulance (Arnhem)
Oliver,
Royston William Raymond
"Roy"
R.W.R. Oliver R.W.R. Oliver
R.W.R. Oliver
R.W.R. Oliver (Photo from pegasusarchive.org)

21.02.1914
Lambeth district, Greater London
-
21.09.1981
[buried at Seaside, Oregon, USA]
Lt.
10.08.1940 [143210]
[emergency commission]
T/Capt.
28.12.1940-..., 20.08.1943-...
WS/Capt.
03.06.1944
T/Maj.
03.06.1944
WS/Maj.
?
Lt.
08.06.1946, seniority 18.05.1939
[permanent commission]
Capt.
08.06.1946, seniority 18.05.1944 (retd 16.06.1948)
T/Lt.Col.
?
Hon. Lt.Col.
16.06.1948 (retd)
Maj. RARO
01.01.1949
Silver Star Medal (US) SSM
31.05.1945
Arnhem 09.1944
Mention in Despatches MID
22.03.1945
NW Europe
10.08.1940


commissioned, Royal Tank Regiment [emergency commission to 08.06.1946]
(1944)


No. 5 Public Relations Service
(09.1944)


Deputy Assistant Director of Public Relations, Second Army [seconded as Army Public Relations Officer, 1st Airborne Division (Arnhem)]
08.06.1946


permanent [short service?] commission
?
-
16.06.1948
retired from the 15th/19th Royal Hussars
16.06.1948
-
20.02.1964
Regular Army Reserve of Officers - Royal Armoured Corps - 15th/19th Royal Hussars [age limit]
R.W.R. Oliver (Photo from pegasusarchive.org)
O'Malley *,
Hamilton Joseph Keyes
"Hammy"
H.J.K. O'Malley H.J.K. O'Malley
H.J.K. O'Malley H.J.K. O'Malley
H.J.K. O'Malley H.J.K. O'Malley
H.J.K. O'Malley H.J.K. O'Malley
Son (with three sisters and one brother) of Lt.Col. Middleton Joseph Keyes O'Malley (1882-1933), and Jane Byrnes Malley (1888-1964).
Married 1st (15.02.1941, St Paul's RC Church, Haywards Heath, Sussex; divorced 1946) Lady Iris Victoria Beatrice Grace Mountbatten (13.01.1920 - 01.09.1982), only child of Alexander Albert Mountbatten, 1st and last Marquess of Carisbrooke, GCB, GCVO (1886-1960), and Irene Francis Adza Mountbatten (1890-1956).
Married 2nd (25.01.1947, Richmond, Yorkshire; divorced 1970) Eleanor Marie "Sadie" de Penteny O'Kelly (09.05.1922 - 02.2001), third daughter of Lt.Col. Edgar John de Pentheny O'Kelly, DSO, of Hambledon House, Childe Okeford, Dorset; four sons, one daughter.
Married 3rd (12.1970, Chelsea, London) Elizabeth Mary "Betty" Saunders (27.07.1922 - 27.02.1995), bullfighter.
* Changed surname 10.02.1941 from O'Malley-Keyes to O'Malley.

18.10.1910
Aldershot, Hartley Wintney district, Hampshire
-
31.03.1989
Benalmadena, Malaga, Andalucia, Spain
2nd Lt. 03.02.1933 [44556]
Lt. 03.02.1936
A/Capt. 02.09.1939-01.12.1939
T/Capt. 02.12.1939-15.04.1940,
22.10.1940-02.02.1941
Capt. 03.02.1941
A/Maj. 09.06.1941-08.09.1941
T/Maj. 09.09.1941-04.11.1942,
05.03.1943-22.11.1943
Maj. 01.07.1946 (retd 02.09.1949; receiving a gratuity)
Education: Downside (1920-1922); Oratory School.
 04.12.1929 - 02.02.1933 Supplementary List - Army Reserve of Officers
03.02.1933     commissioned, Irish Guards
1933 - 1937 1st Battalion Irish Guards
06.10.1937 - 09.09.1939 Supervising Officer for Physical Training (Class GG to 31.07.1938), London District
1939 - ? 2nd Battalion Irish Guards (London)
? - ? Training Battalion Irish Guards
03.02.1941 - ? 1st Battalion Irish Guards (Sanderstead) (05.03.1941 Officer Commanding HQ Company)
? - 17.09.1944 attached, Glider Pilot Regiment (Normandy, Arnhem; wounded, captured)
17.09.1944 - 05.1945 POW (No. 6178) in German captivity (hospital Lochem 17.09.1944-01.10.1944; Oberursel 01.10.1944-03.10.1944; Wetzlar 03.10.1944-05.10.1944; Stalag Luft I (Barth) 05.10.1944-05.1945)
02.09.1949 - 07.12.1960 Regular Army Reserve of Officers [exceeded age limit]
O'Sullivan,
John Charles
J.C. O'Sullivan J.C. O'Sullivan
Son (with two sisters and one brother) of Charles Joseph O'Sullivan (1878-1950), and Mary Eva Lovatt Frazer (1889-1958).
Married Marie Patricia Roche (06.12.1921 - 19.01.2010); one son, three daughters.
19.07.1914
Aldershot, Farnham district, Hampshire
-
17.12.1988
Jersey, Channel Islands
2nd Lt. 31.01.1935 [64579]
Lt. 31.01.1938
A/Capt. 22.04.1940-21.07.1940
T/Capt. 22.07.1940-08.07.1942
WS/Capt. 09.07.1942
Capt. 31.01.1943
A/Maj. 09.04.1942-08.07.1942
T/Maj. 09.07.1942-03.10.1942,
05.02.1943-30.03.1943
Mention in Despatches MID 13.01.1944 Middle East
Palestine 1936-39 Medal & Clasp
31.01.1935     commissioned, The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) [emergency commission]
(09.1944)     Second-in-Command, S Company, 1st Parachute Battalion (Arnhem [captured])
09.1944 - 04.1945 POW (No. 525) in German captivity (Oflag VII-B, Eichstätt, Bayern & Oflag XIIB, Hadamar)
08.01.1946 - (04.1946) General Staff Officer 3rd grade (GSO3), HQ Eastern Command
Oxenford,
Alan
Arthur Ruthven
A.A.R. Oxenford A.A.R. Oxenford
Son of Ferdinand Oxenford (1869-1923), and Carolyn Reeves Todd (1876-1932).
Married ((03?).1943, Droxford district, Hamsphire) Anne Gillespie Lanyon (17.08.1917 - 12.1974), of Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire; one son. Anne OXenford remarried (1950) Robert S.A. Jenkyns.

30.10.1912
Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey
-
08.10.1944

(DOW) [age 31]
[Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, 24.A.11]
2nd Lt. 29.06.1940 [138945]
WS/Lt. 29.12.1941
T/Capt. 1944?
Education: Christ's Hospital (1923-1929).
29.06.1940     commissioned, The Durham Light Infantry [emergency commission]
05.06.1942     transferred, Glider Pilot Regiment - Army Air Corps
(09.1944)     Officer Commanding, 25 Flight (E Squadron, No. 2 Wing), The Glider Pilot Regiment (Arnhem [captured])
09.1944 - 08.10.1944 POW in German captivity [died of wounds] (another POW card)

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