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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