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 ...

Clarence "Lofty" Peacock, DCM, MM (18 November 1910 – 8 April 1958) was a British soldier who served in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

during

World War II 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 ...

, for which he was awarded Norway's highest gallantry

decoration Decoration may refer to: * Decorative arts * A house painter and decorator's craft * An act or object intended to increase the beauty of a person, room, etc. * An award that is a token of recognition to the recipient intended for wearing Other ...

the Norwegian War Cross with Sword.

Military service

Early service

Peacock served first in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

, leaving the Army after six years' service. After a few years, he rejoined the Army in 1936, this time in the

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

(1st Battalion at

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

). He was stationed in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, where he distinguished himself as a

lance-corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

in December 1938 when his unit was attacked on the road between

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

and

Tulkarm Tulkarm, Tulkarem or Tull Keram ( ar, طولكرم, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities of N ...

. His section was ambushed at close range with rifle fire, but Peacock largely suppressed the attack with well-placed fire from his

Bren gun The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also use ...

, despite a wound to his head. For his coolness and bravery in action, he was awarded the Military Medal, which was presented by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a United Kingdom, British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of th ...

during a parade at Catterick to mark the Green Howards' 250th anniversary.

World War II

After the German attack on Norway in April 1940, Peacock, now a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

, was sent to Norway with his unit. He distinguished himself in a fighting retreat against the invading forces at Otta in

Gudbrandsdalen Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending towar ...

on 28 April 1940, in circumstances which emphasised his courage, bravery and service readiness. For this action, Peacock was awarded the War Cross with Sword by the Norwegian Minister in London on 20 March 1942. After Norway, Peacock's war service took place around the world. In the war's last days Peacock again distinguished himself again in battle at

Büchen Büchen (, ) is a municipality in the district of Lauenburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is seat of the ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") Büchen. Büchen is situated on the Elbe-Lübeck Canal, approx. 13 km northeast of Lauenburg ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

on 1 May 1945, about 45 km east of Hamburg. During this action against effective German resistance, Company Sergeant Major Peacock's

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

took heavy casualties, including all the officers except an inexperienced

2nd lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

and Peacock was left in effective charge. He personally led the attack on Buchen, including an attack on an enemy machine-gun post, and arranged the evacuation of casualties despite heavy and accurate enemy fire. Peacock's assessment and leadership helped to ensure the attack's success and he was rewarded for his part with 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 ...

After World War II

After the war he served in Malaya,

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. On his return from Malaya, he became

(RSM) of the Depot at Richmond and during the following three years in this post, he gained a position of great respect. In 1954, he requested a posting as RSM of the 2nd Battalion in Cyprus. The two battalions were subsequently merged and Peacock became 1st Battalion's RSM and went with them to Hong Kong. Illness necessitated Peacock's return to England in December 1956, and after a lengthy treatment he became RSM of HQ Northern Command at York on the Long Service List. Peacock's last duty with his Regiment was to take part with the representative party at the funeral of the Norwegian King Haakon in October 1957.

Retirement and death

Clarence Peacock died in Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital Millbank on Tuesday 8 April 1958. His coffin was carried by eight

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

s of the Green Howards and he was buried in Richmond with full

military honours A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...

. The esteem in which he was widely held is indicated by the large number of military and civilian attendees at his funeral and the display of his medals at the Regimental Museum in Richmond. Peacock was father to four sons, two of whom, Joe and Walter, also joined the Green Howards.

Honours and awards

Peacock's service exploits are part of the exhibition in the Green Howards' Regimental Museum in

Richmond, North Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...

; all other individuals thus displayed were recipients of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. * Norwegian War Cross with Sword (1942) *

(1945, Germany) *

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 ...

(1938, Palestine) * General Service Medal with service clasps for

, Malaya and

* 1939-1945 Star *

Africa Star The Africa Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943 during the Second World War. Three clasp ...

Italy Star The Italy Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British Commonwealth forces who served in the Italian Campaign from 1943 to 1945, during the Second World War. The Second World War Stars On ...

France and Germany Star The France and Germany Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British Commonwealth forces who served in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands or Germany and adjacent sea areas between ...

* Defence Medal *

War Medal 1939–1945 The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days ...

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded a ...

Long Service and Good Conduct Medal Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is a service medal awarded to personnel in various branches of the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the territories that are or were at some point a part of the British Empire or Commonwealth of Nations. ...

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

three times (including one in Cyprus)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peacock, Clarence 1910 births 1958 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Recipients of the Military Medal Coldstream Guards soldiers Green Howards soldiers British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency