David Theodore Dobie, (21 October 1912 in Tynemouth,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

– 12 December 1971 in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

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) was a British Army officer who fought 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 opposi ...

. He had a leading role during the

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity f ...

( Operation Market–Garden) and was the architect of Operation Pegasus I, successfully evacuating a large group of men trapped in German-occupied territory who had been in hiding since the

Early military career

Dobie joined the British Army in 1936. When the Second World War began Dobie was a lieutenant in the 50th infantry division. In January 1940 the division was sent to

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. In June 1940 the British Army, with Dobie, was evacuated at Dunkirk.

Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942)

Next year Dobie was promoted to Major. He volunteered for the newly-formed airborne division. In September he was appointed company commander of B-Company of the 3rd Battalion. He was then sent to

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and participated in Operation Torch. For this action he was awarded his first

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) in April 1943. Dobie was sick when he returned to England.

Battle of Arnhem (Operation Market-Garden)

After his recovery Dobie joined the British 6th Airborne Division. Early 1944 he returned to the 1st Airborne Division and commanded the 1st Battalion of the 1st Brigade in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The 1st battalion was deployed during the

. After landing on the near Ede on 17 September 1944, it was ordered to advance through the Ede-Arnhem road and to occupy the high, northern part of Arnhem, in order to protect the 2nd and 3rd battalion with the Arnhemse Rijnbrug as objective. The 2nd battalion led by John Frost was the only one to reach the Rhine Bridge. German opposition was much tougher than expected, cutting him off from the rest of the division. On the way to Arnhem, Dobie's battalion met with fierce resistance at the Amsterdamseweg near Wolfheze. Dobie led his men off the road and tried to head towards the bridge in a circumferential motion. However, the British did not make much progress. The 1st battalion suffered heavy losses on 19 September during fighting in Arnhem, where they got stuck on the way to the Rijnbrug near the Elisabeths Gasthuis. Dobie was injured and captured by the Germans, but later managed to escape. He was taken to the Sint Elisabeth hospital. Dobie ran away when a German confiscated his watch and showed it to a nurse. He found shelter with a Dutch doctor who lived near the Sint Elisabethgasthuis. After two weeks, he was smuggled out of the city. He then independently attempted to cross the

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, but failed due to the strong German presence near the riverbank. He was then picked up by Elisabeth Spies while he was roaming the Ginkelse Heide. She brought him to Ede, where on 16 October he came into contact with Menno de Nooij, one of the leaders of the Edese resistance.

Operation Pegasus I

Through De Nooij, Dobie got back in touch with his immediate superior Gerald Lathbury, who was in hiding in Ede, and Derk Wildeboer, leader of the Domestic Armed Forces in the Ede region. After the battle, many British soldiers remained in occupied territory. Dobie was housed with resistance fighter at 18 Korenbloemstraat in Ede. Together with the Dutch resistance, Dobie developed a plan to get them behind Allied lines. Dobie himself was progressing. Via Maurik he was taken by bicycle to

Tiel Tiel () is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands. The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river to the South and the North, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the East. Tiel comprises the population centres Kapel- ...

by Joop Meier, a member of Johannes van Zanten's gang, where he found shelter with the Noordzij family. In the night of 19 October he was transferred by Frans de Vilder in a boat up the Waal. An oar broke in half, after which Dobie broke a bench in half and used that plank as an oar. After safely reaching the Allied lines, he consulted with Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey in Eindhoven, agreeing to a rescue. On the night of 22–23 October, one hundred and forty soldiers were successfully transferred across the Rhine. Dobie was awarded by Queen

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...

the highest Dutch honour as Knight 4th Class of the Military Order of William in March 1947 for his role during Operation Pegasus I.

Post-Second World War

After the war, Dobie started the company DT Dobie. It became the dealer for

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

in East Africa, later supplemented by the Nissan brand.

Personal life

Dobie had two daughters and a son with his wife Rex. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

on 12 December 1971.

References

External links

1st British Airborne Division officersRoll Call LIEUTENANT-COLONEL DAVID T DOBIE, DSO 21 OCTOBER 1912 – 12 DECEMBER 1971, www.paradata.org.uk, consulted on August 29, 2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobie, David 1912 births 1971 deaths Military personnel from Northumberland British Army personnel of World War II British Parachute Regiment officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Fourth Class of the Military Order of William Operation Market Garden British Army officers East Yorkshire Regiment officers People from Tynemouth Moorhouse–Rhodes family