Major General Anthony Deane-Drummond

Honoring the heroics of "one of those Englishmen who delighted in facing fearful odds..."

(Major General Anthony Deane-Drummond)

On 22nd June 1940, Sir Winston Churchill’s Chief of Staff, General Hastings Ismay, issued a call for volunteers to join what is now recognized as one of the most celebrated institutions in the British Army – The revered and venerated British Parachute Regiment.

Among those who answered Ismay’s call was then Lieutenant Anthony Deane-Drummond who, having survived the Battle of France, felt that “it was time to do something more active” in the service of his Nation.

Selected for what later became the 1st Parachute Battalion, Deane-Drummond was specially chosen to partake in the unit’s first airborne mission – Operation Colossus.

(Paratroopers of what later became the 1st Parachute Battalion photographed prior to Operation Colossus - Before 1 Para came into existence, it was known as the 11th Special Air Service Battalion, and, before that, it was designated No. 2 Commando)

Although he and his force succeeded in destroying their objective – a crucial aqueduct situated in the heart of Southern Italy – their success was cruelly short-lived, for, it was not long thereafter that both he and almost all of his men were hunted down and captured.

(The Tragino Aqueduct, near Naples, Italy, that then Lieutenant Anthony Deane-Drummond and his force destroyed on February 11th, 1941)

For 10 months, he languished in a prisoner of war camp, from where he ultimately succeeded in escaping back to England.

Promoted to the rank of Major following long stints of active combat duty in mainland Europe and North Africa, he then went on to participate in the fateful operation to secure a bridgehead over the River Rhine – Operation Market Garden.

(Then Major Anthony Deane-Drummond in North Africa, September 1943)

During the fighting to reach Arnhem Bridge, he spearheaded an attack that, whilst bold in its aim and approach, resulted in him being captured once again.

Taken to a house that was being used as a temporary “cage” for British prisoners, it was there where he discovered a small wall cupboard which, remarkably, he used as a place to conceal himself while his captors busied themselves interrogating his comrades.

After 13 arduous days and nights spent holed up in his makeshift hideout, he then escaped from the house and, thanks to the assistance he received from brave locals and the Dutch resistance, was able to make his way back to the safety of Allied lines.

At the war’s end, he chose to remain in the Armed Forces where, as a Lieutenant Colonel, he commanded 22 SAS, first, battling Communist guerrillas in the jungles of Malaya, and then, Omani rebels in the mountains of Al Jabal Al Akhdar.

(Troopers of 22 SAS atop the mountains of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Oman, in January 1959)

Bestowed two Military Crosses and the Distinguished Service Order for his heroics, he concluded his career as a Major General in 1971, before then turning his talents to the world of industry, in which he prospered as an entrepreneur through until his passing aged 95 on this day in 2012.

Fittingly remembered as “one of those Englishmen who delighted in facing fearful odds”, to this day, Major General Anthony Deane-Drummond is not just deservedly held in the highest regard for his “faith, vigor, and optimism” but, he is also one great British hero who is rightfully honored for having embodied all the morals and values the Army he served holds so dear:

Unwavering courage and discipline; unparalleled loyalty and integrity; unrivaled selfless commitment and, an unprecedented respect for others. 

(Retired Major General Anthony Deane-Drummond with Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (left), then Prince Charles of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (back), and more than 5,000 veterans at the 2004 60th anniversary commemorating the fateful Battle of Arnhem)