William Arthur Winter DCM (17 September 19134 December 2004) was a British soldier in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

(RAMC) who received the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

while serving in Burma during the Second World War.

Early life

Winter was born to Robert Winter and Ethel Arthurene Wilton on 17 September 1913 in

Chaubatia Chaubattia is a settlement in Almora district, in the state of Uttarakhand, northern India. It is located roughly south of the cantonment town of Ranikhet. Chabattia is above sea level, within sight of the western peaks of the Himalayas. Its na ...

Uttaranchal Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, India. He married Bettie South (Phyllis Hall) in December 1941 when he was 28, shortly after he was posted to the Far East during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and did then not see Bettie for over four years until the war ended in 1945.

Service

Winter joined the Army in 1936, first serving in Malta. During the Second World War Winter experienced his first action in Norway in 1940. In December 1944 Winter was an acting

Warrant Officer class 1 Warrant may refer to: * Warrant (law), a form of specific authorization ** Arrest warrant, authorizing the arrest and detention of an individual ** Search warrant, a court order issued that authorizes law enforcement to conduct a search for eviden ...

holding an appointment as

Regimental sergeant major Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by warrant officers class 1 (WO1) in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, including Australi ...

in the RAMC. During the crossing of the

Chindwin River , , image = Homalin aerial.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The Chindwin at Homalin. The smaller, meandering Uyu River can be seen joining the Chindwin. , map = Irrawaddyrivermap.jpg , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption ...

Winter was responsible for ensuring medical supplies for 2nd Infantry Division were moved across the river and for the evacuation of casualties. Winter's citation for the Distinguished Conduct Medal states that he "swam across the Irrawaddy under machine gun fire to organise the collection of casualties". The citation notes that during the enemy's engagement which lasted over 72 hours Winter "ceaselessly toured the forward advanced dressing stations" in conditions that were described as "intense shell fire" ensuring the evacuation of many casualties. It is said that the treatment Winter gave to the casualties and the superb condition they arrived at hospital saved countless lives. Winter continued to serve in the RAMC after the war and in 1952 was commissioned and immediately promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the non medical branch of the RAMC. Winter retired from the army in 1967 with the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Later life

After returning from the war, Winter had two children and completed numerous tours across seas taking his family with him before finally settling down to live in

Ash Vale Ash Vale is a village in the borough of Guildford in Surrey, England and the larger, northern settlement of the civil parish of Ash. It is 7 miles (11 km) from Guildford but is closer to the Hampshire towns of Aldershot and Farnborough, the ...

, Surrey where he was chairman of the parish council between 1983 and 1987. After retirement, Winter became the Royal Army Medical Corps' first regimental secretary.

Notable relative

Winter's father Robert Winter also won the DCM when he was a Company Sergeant Major in the

Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Robert then went on to win the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

and after the war became a commissioner in the

Nigerian Police The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement and the lead security agency in Nigeria. Designated by the 1999 constitution as the national police of Nigeria with exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country, as at 2016 it has a s ...

. It is believed that Robert and William are the only British father and son both to have been awarded the DCM, although an instance of a Canadian father and son, Henry and Charles Bryce, achieving this is known.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter, Bill 1913 births 2004 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Royal Army Medical Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers