Arrows of Fortune

278 Pages·2013·4.78 MB·English

ARROWS
OF
FORTUNE
AJ. Deane-Drummond
•*<

ARROWS OF FORTUNE
ARROWS
OF FORTUNE
BY
ANTHONY DEANE-DRUMMOND
n
LEO COOPER
LONDON
To
Evie, Shirley, Angela, Anna and Celia,
and with the greatest respect and admiration
for all those soldiers and civilians
with whom I have worked
and played.
First published in Great Britain in 1992 by
LEO COOPER
190 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8JL
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street, Barnsley, S. Yorks S70 2AS
® Anthony Deane-Drummond 1992
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
ISBN 0 85052 323 0
Typeset by Yorkshire Web, Barnsley, South Yorkshire
in Plantin Roman 10 point
Printed in Great Britain by
Redwood Press Limited
Melksham, Wiltshire
CONTENTS
(cid:9)Acknowledgements vii
1 Introduction 1
2 Operation Colossus The Plan 11
3 Operation Colossus The Action 15
4 Manhunt 20
5 In Jan 26
6 Prisoners Of War 32
7 Escape From Sulmona 42
8 By Road And Rail 48
9 Solitary Confinement 55
10 Florence To Switzerland 62
11 Switzerland - June 1942 74
12 Taranto To Termoli 81
13 Arnhem Plans - September 1944 87
14 Arnhem - The Action 98
15 A Dutch Cupboard 108
16 Dutch Courage 115
17 Rhine Crossing 126
18 Two Months To Live 134
19 Gliding 139
20 The SAS 148
21 The Jungle Is Neutral 152
22 The Hunt For Ah Hoi 156
23 Oil In Oman 164
24 TheJebelAkhdar 173
25 JebelAkhdarl 183
26 JebelAkhdarll 197
27 JebelAkhdarlll 202
28 Assault Up The Jebel 208
29 Adding up the booty and the casualties, we return To U. K. 217
30 Rising Up In The Army 222
31 A Second Career Training In Industry 232
32 Entrepreneur In Somerset And Warwickshire 238
33 Houses For Ourselves 248
Bibliography
Appendix 1 Members of 'X' Troop, 11th SAS Battalion (No 2 252
Commando) who took part in Operation Colossus
Appendix 2 Letter to Director of Military Operations, 30 Oct, 253
1958
Appendix 3 Congratulatory Message from C-in-C Far East Land 254
Forces (Feb 1959)
Appendix 4 Letter from C-in-C Eastern Command (April, 1963) 255
Index 256
FOREWORD
by Major-General John Frost
From the start, which is a description of the first British Parachute operation
which had the object of blowing up an aqueduct in Southern Italy and ended
disastrously for the participants, to the end, we have a story of a man of the
utmost determination and courage.
After an amazing escape from the POW camp in Italy, we find him almost
immediately back again with a Parachute unit, where he is involved with
helping other British prisoners of war to escape. No sooner is this over than
he is back in the thick of things with the Battle of Arnhem, from which he
once again manages to make a fantastic escape from being a POW.
Despite fearsome medical setbacks, he is soon again involved with air
craft, to become a British Glider champion and to take command of 44
Parachute Brigade TA. His introduction to this was to be beguiled, by his
predecessor, into the "This is your Life" programme on the BBC. How
ever, it is as commader of the SAS, both in Malaya, where they become the
most successful unit in the army, and in Oman where they have to take a
major part in quelling a most dangerous rebellion, that he will be best
remembered. Later he is selected as deputy commander at Sandhurst and
finally to do a stint at the Ministry of Defence in the operations depart
ment, where he has to face all the frustrations which meet any active officer
in such surroundings. Despite his formidable record, this is his last appoint
ment in the army.
Undeterred, he launched into British industry in the shape of paper
making, but, preferring to do his own thing, he was soon in the country
again, very successfully supplying much-needed wood-burning stoves. One
might regard this as yet another example of a man who was continually turn
ing on the heat.
In all, this is a wonderful account of someone who constantly sets a really
fine example. I feel proud and honoured to be asked to write this foreword.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
About three-quarters of this book concerns my military service; the rest pro
vide Unking chapters and vignettes on gliding, the eight happy years I spent
in the paper industry and my subsequent efforts as an entrepreneur explor
ing many avenues from selling to doing up houses.
My own book Return Ticket, now out of print for many years, was my
main source for the wartime years. Raymond Foxhall's book, The Guinea
Pigs, also provided some extra background to Operation Colossus, as did the
Public Record Office at Kew. Much later on, the more I looked into what
happened before Arnhem, the murkier the story became. I am most grateful
for the assistance provided by Tony Hibbert who read the chapter and
offered useful suggestions. Likewise, Lewis Golden's excellent and well-
researched book, Echoes from Arnhem, and personal comment helped a great
deal. Richard Moberly (Major-General R. Moberly), Brian Urquhart, Major-
General R. Urquhart, Charles Mackenzie and Geoff Norton all wrote letters
from which I have drawn in the narrative. Geoff Norton's account of his
discussion with "Windy" (General Sir Richard) Gale was particularly useful
and made me look a lot further.
The gliding chapter may bring to life the poetry of soaring flight, the sheer
joy of using air currents to keep one aloft. My thanks go out to Rika Har-
wood and Wally Kahn for their many useful comments.
The chapters on the SAS try to explain a little about their fortitude, their
intelligence and self-discipline against a background of fighting peculiarly
nasty individuals in Malaya and later on a much better organized party of
500 rebels operating from their own Shangri La perched up at 7-8000 feet
in the Oman. I am most grateful for helpful comments and suggestions from
John (now Lieutenant-General Sir John) Watts and Malcolm Dennison.
Some people may think that my job in the paper industry was a far cry
from my time in the Army. It wasn't. I was fascinated, and the more I
became involved with the business world, the more I realized what needed
to be done. The best companies were very, very good, but unfortunately the
majority varied from below average to awful. With a few exceptions most
of the employees could be trained up to do their job well. The trouble lay
in management who had little idea how to manage. I am most grateful to
Neville Whitehurst (onetime Chairman of Bowaters) who read the chapter
and made useful suggestions.
My time as an entrepreneur stemmed directly from my experience in the
paper industry and also the Army. I hope the last few pages will give encour
agement to many and perhaps advice to a few.
Finally, my wife Evie has endured typing the whole book, first on a type
writer and latterly on an Amstrad Word Processor. I am most grateful for
her help and many excellent suggestions.