Lieutenant-Colonel A.E.C. Bredin
2nd Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment

… it is high time these things were said—and said by some non-military expert—to give the lie to dishonest, biased and selfish opinions, widely held. We are still a great nation, with great responsibilities as well as great opportunities. We are also an affluent nation; and even sever per cent of the so-called gross national income spent on defence is hardly worthy of us. The world is in probably its worst-ever state. And yet, because of the strident clamour of the baser and greedier elements of the nation, we lose our sense of proportion; of purpose and our faith in ourselves, let alone in the Almighty

(Bredin, Daily Telegraph, 12 Dec 1966, 15)

Born on 6 January 1911 in Rangoon, Alexander Edward Craven Bredin, was commissioned into the Dorsetshire Regiment after attending Royal Military College, Sandhurst, where he gained the nickname “Speedy,” for arriving on parade just in time. He served in Palestine and India on the North West Frontier. The 1st Battalion, Dorsets, returned to England after the outbreak of war in 1939, and Bredin was subsequently posted to Gibraltar and then Malta.

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