OBITUARIES The Regiment extends sincere condolences to the families of all those named below: BARCLAY William J J Lt Col MM
Of Woking on 11th December 2009 aged 87. He enlisted in the RAFVR in 1939 but was unable to fly so he transferred into the Army in 1941. His training at ITC 12 in Canterbury included acting as an AA Bren Gunner during a Baedeker Raid and he shot down a Dornier bomber. His wartime service included time with 8th Battalion The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) in UK and, when this converted to artillery, he transferred to the Airborne and was at Arnhem with 21 Independent Company where he saw intensive action and was awarded the Military Medal.
He transferred to The South Staffordshire Regiment in 1945 and joined the 1st Battalion in Dehra Dun. He was with the Battalion for its final tour in India and joined the 2nd Battalion in Sudbury Camp, near Uttoxeter. Throughout most of the 1950s, he served with The Malay Regiment in the Malayan Emergency and was involved in many actions throughout the campaign and was Mentioned in Despatches. He left the Army in 1963 but rejoined in 1965 serving for another seven years - mainly in Zambia. He moved to South Africa and worked in the security industry before retiring to Woking.
BENSON Harry Peter Neville CBE MC
Of Redhill on 23 July 2010 aged 93. Born in Sydney on 10 February 1917, he was educated at the Shore School before attending Cheltenham College. He was subsequently commissioned into The South Staffordshire Regiment. In 1944, the 1st Battalion (1 SSR) flew to Burma as part of 77 (Indian) Infantry Brigade. The Chindits, as the force became known, were long-range penetration troops whose objective was to support the American-Chinese advance down the Hukawng Valley by establishing fortified bases (named after British cities or streets) with airstrips south of Myitkyina. From these, raiding columns were sent out to cut the lines of communication serving the Japanese Army. In March, 1 SSR landed at “Broadway” and marched westward taking control of the main road and rail communications at Henu, near Mawlu, in the Mogaung-Indaw Valley. The base became known as “White City” because of all the parachutes hanging from the trees. On 17 March, Benson was commanding a platoon
of 1 SSR at Henu: they had been under heavy fire all day and were taking severe casualties. When a mortar bomb fell on his position, killing one man and wounding another, he was blown out of his trench and wounded. Moving among his men, and still giving orders, he was hit by a bullet and again wounded. Nevertheless, he refused to withdraw, and his steadiness and courage were largely responsible for the fact that the position was held. On 17 April, when a hill near Henu was taken by the Japanese, communications were smashed and Benson was unable to contact his Company Commander to get orders. He gathered together all the spare men, led them in a counter-attack and recaptured the position. When his Commanding Officer arrived on the hill, he found Benson moving coolly between his Section positions while under fire, consolidating the defences.
On 4 June, when his Company was held up by the enemy, he quickly moved his platoon to the flank covered by his Bren guns, crept to within 10 yards of the enemy and then led a bayonet assault. This routed them, leaving four of them dead, and enabled the Battalion to move forward. Benson was wounded again on 15 June whilst leading his Platoon against an enemy strongpoint which was holding
ELLIOTT Bernard Sgt 4978183 MM
Of Sharpthorne, West Sussex, on 9 July 2009 aged 90. He enlisted into The Sherwood Foresters in September 1939 and served in the 14th Battalion. In November 1942, Sgt Elliott was Platoon Sergeant of a Scout Platoon engaged in mopping up operations in support of the tanks of the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry. Sgt Elliott assumed command of his Platoon when his Platoon Commander was wounded and he remained in action until only his carrier remained. The tanks withdrew and Sgt Elliott stayed behind attacking several enemy
FERRAND George Alfred Cpl MM
On 17 March 2009 aged 89. He joined the Army aged 14 as a Band Boy and served in 1st Battalion The South Staffordshire Regiment in Aldershot, Palestine, the Western Desert and in
110 October 2010
up the forward Company. Having knocked out two machine guns and killed several Japanese, he refused to leave his Platoon until it had safely rejoined the remainder of the Company. He was awarded an MC. The achievements of the Battalion were gained at heavy cost. Of some 800 men who landed in the jungle, more than two-thirds were killed or wounded in the ferocious fighting or evacuated as a result of disease.
After the war, Peter Benson worked for the accountants Moore Stephens and qualified as a chartered accountant before moving to John Mowlem as Finance Director. In 1951, he went to the furniture makers Waring and Gillow as Finance Director; he became managing director three years later. He served on the board of APV Holdings from 1957 to 1982 as Finance Director and subsequently as Managing Director and Chairman. He was chairman of Davy Corporation for three years before his final retirement in 1985; for many years, he was a non-executive director of Rolls-Royce Motors and Vickers. A colleague remembers him as the “wisest of men, always brief and very much to the point”. He was respected and loved by a great number of friends from the business and golfing worlds. He was appointed CBE in 1982..
posts. He destroyed a number of them and took several prisoners. He then withdrew his carrier and used if for the evacuation of several wounded. For his resourcefulness in the absence of orders, his splendid work, courage and daring determination and devotion to duty he was awarded the Military Medal. He attended OCTU in Jerusalem where he was injured in an accident but he was, nevertheless, commissioned into The Essex Regiment in 1943. After demobilisation, he joined the War Office as a civil servant and eventually became Command Secretary in Gibraltar, Benghazi and London.
India and then on the second Chindit Expedition in 1944; he was awarded the Military Medal at “White City” Block near Henu. He celebrated his 80th Birthday with a visit to the Regimental Museum on 27 August 1999 and looked through the photographs of his old unit.
The Mercian Eagle
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