Lieutenant-Colonel F.B.B. Noble
10th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry

… his duties have frequently placed him in dangerous situations where his conduct was inspiring. In spite of previous recommendations he has not yet received recognition, which he richly deserves.

(O.B.E. citation, 8 Feb 1945)

Born on 20 February 1913 Havant, Hampshire, Frederick Babington Bridgeman Noble was commissioned into the Highland Light Infantry in 1933. He was stationed on the North West Frontier in India before the Second World War. He served in the Western Desert as a liaison and general staff officer for the 5th Indian Division. When it moved to the campaign Burma theatre in 1943, he became as GSO 1, for which he was awarded Order of the British Empire.

After staff postings across two theatres, he was assigned to North West Europe. In early February, he was appointed second-in-command for 10th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry. When Lieutenant-Colonel R.A. Bramwell-Davis was wounded in action on 14 April 1945, Noble took command. He led the battalion during the final weeks of fighting until Bramwell-Davis returned from hospital a month later.

After a thirty-year army career, Noble retired at the rank of brigadier in Royal Army Ordnance Corps. He died in in 1995 in Galashiels, Selkirkshire.