Denis Sheldon McGregor Eadie MC (12 February 1917 - 28 March 2015) was a British Army officer of the Second World War who was awarded the Military Cross by Field Marshal

Lord Wavell Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded ...

for his conduct during the relief of Kohima.Major Denis Eadie - obituary.
''The Telegraph'', 10 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.Obituary: Denis Sheldon McGregor Eadie MC.
Alison Shaw, '' The Scotsman'', 29 April 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.

Early life

Eadie was born on 12 February 1917 Bridge of Weir in Scotland. He was the great-grandson of Peter Eadie, who founded the family firm, Eadie Bros & Co. Ltd. The company specialised in the manufacture of ring travellers for the textile industry. Educated in Scotland he then followed his older brother Russell to St Piran's

prep school Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools *Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools *College-preparatory school, ...

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

and Oundle School in Peterborough. For university Eadie went up to Trinity College, Cambridge. There he studied mechanical sciences and won a rowing blue stroking the Cambridge crew during the 1938 University Boat Race.

Military service

With Britain's declaration of war on Nazi Germany on 3 September 1939 Eadie was commissioned into 506 Field Company Royal Engineers, within the Scottish Lowland Division. Eadie attended the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

, where he trained as a motor contact officer. Upon graduating he was posted to Sixth Brigade HQ and sailed for France in April 1940 to join the British Expeditionary Force. His sailing came the day after his proposal of marriage to Isobel Woodsend. During the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

Eadie was

Mentioned in Dispatches 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 ...

before being evacuated from Dunkirk. He remained on service in the UK until 1942 and his deployment to Burma. While on home service Eadie married Woodsend at

Paisley Abbey Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, based on a for ...

in December 1940. In Burma, Eadie participated in the 1942 Arakan Campaign and was training on the west coast of India when he was sent to participate in the Battle of Kohima. On 2 May 1944 Eadie and his men were ordered to take a

six-pounder 6-pounder gun or 6-pdr, usually denotes a gun firing a projectile weighing approximately . Guns of this type include: * QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss, a 57 mm naval gun of the 1880s; a similar weapon was designed by Driggs-Schroeder for the US Nav ...

anti-tank gun up to the Kohima garrison. Manhandling the gun past the Japanese, they then pulled it up to a 90 ft ramp. During the operation at the ramp, hauling the gun using a wire cable, one soldier was killed and another wounded. The troop sergeant was injured when he was run over by the gun. Eadie carried the casualties up the ramp, getting them under cover. For his bravery during the battle Eadie was awarded the Military Cross, presented in the field. The citation read: "Captain Eadie throughout the whole of the operation displayed a high standard of leadership and organising ability while under fire. The success of the operation was entirely due to his example and his rapid appreciation of the situation." Eadie was made a temporary major and given command after the death of his commanding officer. He saw further service in the Far East with the liberation of

Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...

and

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

, arriving on Victory in Europe Day. Six years to the day after his 3 September 1939 enlistment, he was stationed at

Mingaladon Airport Yangon International Airport ( ) is the primary and busiest international airport of Myanmar. The airport is located in Mingaladon, north of central Yangon. All ten Myanmar carriers and about 30 international airlines operate at Yangon Interna ...

. He was assigned to a Bangkok flight which returned with the first British

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

. He returned to the UK two months later but was not released from service until December 1947. Eadie remained on the Territorial Army Reserve Officers List. He was removed from the list on 12 February 1967, upon reaching the upper age limit. He was awarded the honorary rank of major.

Later life

After completing his military service, Eadie returned to the family firm in Scotland. He worked there until he retired on his 65th birthday in 1982. He maintained a keen interest in sport. He coached underprivileged boys in boxing, and was a

Royal and Ancient Golf Club The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation kn ...

member, Prestwick Golf Club captain and Leander Rowing Club member. He also enjoyed fishing and shooting. Eadie served as chairman of ISO Standards committees relating to textiles, the West of Scotland TSB (in addition to being a member of the bank's board), as a Paisley Hammerman Deacon, and as a

Grocer's Company The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London and ranks second in order of precedence. The Grocers' Company was established in 1345 for merchants occupied in the trade of grocer and is one of the Gr ...

member. Eadie also carried out volunteer work and supported charities. These included the Paisley & Glasgow Society, Paisley's Accord Hospice,

and St. Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. He was widowed in 1983 with the passing of his wife Isobel. In 1991 he married again, to Gillian Apold (née Maclean). She survived him, along with two sons, two daughters, a stepson and a stepdaughter.

References

External links

Pathè - Meet the Cambridge Crew (1938)

Imdb - Denis Eadie

IWM - Wavell's Tour, Visit to Imphal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eadie, Denis 1917 births 2015 deaths People from Renfrewshire Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross Cambridge University Boat Club rowers