3rd United Kingdom Division

Lt-Col. C.L. Firbank

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Lieutenant-Colonel Cecil Firbank
2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment

Despite the great destruction wrought by the atomic bomb, infantry has in no way been reduced to the role of an occupation force in any future major conflict. With each new weapon that has appeared down through the history warfare that have been some who have claimed that the knight in armor or the soldier with a rifle is no longer of use. But wars will be fought by infantry men as long as we have wars.

(Quoted in Montreal Star, 16 Nov 1955, 3)

Born in British India on 1 August 1911, Ronald Clarence Macdonald was a field hockey player educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In 1931 took a commission with the Royal Warkwickshire Regiment, which his father had earlier commanded. He attended staff college and following instructional duties, was assigned to the 1/6th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment.

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Lt-Col. R.C. Macdonald

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Lieutenant-Colonel R.C. Macdonald
1/6th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
1st Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers
2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment

All our families are very much happier about our departure now that there is an armistice. We don’t know quite what we shall find when we get there, but we shall be busy enough competing with the cold, if nothing else.

(Quoted in Birmingham Gazette, 1 Aug 1953, 5)

Born in British India on 1 August 1911, Ronald Clarence Macdonald was a field hockey player educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In 1931 took a commission with the Royal Warkwickshire Regiment, which his father had earlier commanded. He attended staff college and following instructional duties, was assigned to the 1/6th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment.

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Lt-Col. J.F.M. Macdonald

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Lieutenant-Colonel J.F.M. Macdonald
1st Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers

His coolness and determination inspired the leading Coy to rally and resist the enemy counter attack with spirit; the enemy was finally firmly held. With considerable skill and power of decision, though he himself was under heavy mortar and sniper fire, this fine officer quickly re-act his fire plan

(D.S.O. citation, 30 November 1951)

Born on 7 November 1907 in Norfolk, John Frederick Matheson Macdonald was commissioned with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers after graduating from Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1927. Following staff postings, he served as second-in-command of the 6th Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers during the early phase of the Normandy campaign. He took command of the 1st Battalion, KOSB on 26 July 1944, a week after Lieutenant-Colonel G.D. Renny had been wounded and evacuated.

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Lt-Col. C.E. Welby-Everard

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Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Welby-Everard
2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment

But you have to get into that frame of mind where however tired you are, however exhausted you feel, you have just got to go on. Now that is a state of exhaustion that a great many of you, I am sure, have never experienced at all. I have only experienced it once, and that wasn’t really bad, but we shall really be up against the problem and we have just got to pull ourselves together. If you realise it beforehand it will be very much easier to compete with when the moment actually comes.

(Welby-Everand speech, war diary, June 1944)

Born on 9 August 1909 in Spalding, Lincolnshire, Christopher Earle Welby-Everard was a graduate of Corpus Christi College, Oxford and a Territorial Army officer. He was commissioned Lincolnshire Regiment in 1930 and served during Arab revolt in Palestine in 1936. He became battalion adjutant prior to war in September 1939, and afterwards completed staff college at Camberley. Following staff officer duties, in March 1944 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and took command of the 2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment.

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Lt-Col. J. Drummond

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Lieutenant-Colonel John Drummond
2nd Battalion, Royal Ulster Regiment

The award of the Distinguished Service Order to Lt-Colonel Drummond was a fitting conclusion to such an enterprise. Since he had taken command, the Battalion’s chain of successes had been unbroken, and now the campaign had been wound up in really superb style. This last operation had been at once the most spectacular and the most difficult that the Battalion had undertaken, and, without doubt, the completeness of the triumph was due largely to his bold plan and resolute leadership.

(D.S.O. citation, 14 Feb 1945)

Born on 17 February 1910 in County Tipperary, Ireland, John Drummond was commissioned with the Royal Ulster Rifles in 1931 and had prewar service in Hong Kong and Egypt. He was adjutant for the 2nd Battalion in the Battle of France, and after the Dunkirk evacuation became GSO 3 for X Corps. He was subsequently posted to the 1st Battalion, RUR as second-in-command. As part of 6th Airlanding Brigade in the 6th Airborne Division, the unit landed in France during the D-Day invasion.

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Lt-Col. I.C. Harris

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Lieutenant-Colonel “Tommy” Harris
2nd Battalion, Royal Ulster Regiment

Lieutenant-Colonel Harris has commanded his battalion since D Day, His leadership, example, and coolness under fire have been a source of inspiration to his battalion. In the battles for Cambes, Caen, and Troarn, he was invariably to be found in the forefront of the battle encouraging his men in spite of the heavy fire through which the battalion had always to advance.

(D.S.O. citation, 14 Feb 1945)

Born on 7 July 1910 in County Tipperary, Ireland, Ian Cecil Harris was commissioned with the Royal Ulster Rifles in 1930 after attending Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He served with the 2nd Battalion in Sudan, and the 1st Battalion in Palestine, Egypt and Hong Kong. In the late 1930s, he was posted to Shanghai and then served in India on the North West Frontier. By 1941, he had complete staff college at Camberley and became brigade major for the 129th Infantry Brigade.

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Lt-Col. R.H. Bellamy

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Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Bellamy
1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment

But his nickname among the men was ‘Claude’ because we thought he looked like Claude Dampier, the comedian. Mind you, Bellamy was no comedian. He was a tough, stern man, but fair, and a good Commanding Officer.

(Quoted in Thomas J. Bates, Search for Sidney, 34)

Born on 8 December 1910 in Westhampnett, Sussex, Robert Hugh Bellamy attended Sherborne School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, after which he was commissioned with Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry in 1930. He fought with the 2nd Battalion during the battle of France and was mentioned in dispatches. By September 1943, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in command of the 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment.

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Lt-Col. D.L.A. Gibbs

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Lieutenant-Colonel D.L.A. Gibbs
1/6th Battalion, Queen’s Royal Regiment
2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment

I think this was one of the biggest shocks one sustained up to that period of the war. I had seen soldiers die and soldiers wounded; I had been at Dunkirk. I had amongst many, both military and civilian refugees, been the target of German dive-bombing, but, somehow, nothing had affected me so personally up till then as those one or two deaths in September 1942 at Deir-el-Munassib, perhaps, partly, because it was my ‘command,’ and the deaths within it were part of me.

(Quoted in Bryn Hammond, El Alamein, 2012, 145)

Born on 5 October 1905 in Abingdon, Berkshire, Denis Lucius Alban Gibbs was commissioned with the Queen’s Royal Regiment in 1926 after graduating from Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Following prewar overseas service in India and Sudan, he attended staff college and participated in the Dunkirk evacuation. In January 1942, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in command of 1/6th Battalion, Queen’s Royal Regiment.

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Lt-Col. H.O.S. Herdon & Maj. R.G. Kreyer

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Lieutenant-Colonel Hoss Herdon
&
Major R.G. Kreyer2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment

He was a well thought of chap. Hoss Herdon they called him, that was his name I think or his initials, I don’t know … I understand he’d been killed by machine gun fire … I think all the officers were very well respected. No question about that, I think. I think this was proof of maybe a regular battalion … more respect for their officers than the one that was sort of called up into active service.

(Russell King, IWM, 21 Sep 1998) https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80017285

Born in British India on 16 November 1905, Hugh Owen Seymour Herdon was the son of an Indian Army general and commissioned officer with Royal Warwickshire Regiment since 1925. He was promoted to captain in 1936 and then major in 1940. By 1941, he was a general staff officer with the War Office. He assumed command of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment in September 1943.

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Lt-Col. W.A. Waller

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Lieutenant-Colonel “Swazi” Waller
1st Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment

He was gifted with extreme personal bravery, which proved a great inspiration to all the battalion. To see him walking about, as he frequently did, amongst the leading troops and forward positions, completely indifferent to the heaviest enemy fire, was a great morale-boost to all. In addition, whatever the circumstances and however great the demands of the situation, he was always carefully shaved and immaculately turned out.

(Lt. Eddie Jones quoted in Tony Colvin, The Noise of Battle, 440)

Born on 28 August 1909 in British India, William Augustine Waller enlisted with the Worchester Regiment before being admitted to Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned in the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (West Riding) in 1930 and served with the 2nd Battalion in India and fought on the North West Frontier. His nickname came from an Indian Army tune “Swazi wallah.” After seven years overseas, Waller returned to England in 1939 and joined the 1st Battalion as a company commander. He was badly wounded during the evacuation from Dunkirk and earned the Military Cross for “utter disregard for danger.”

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