Denis Edward Arnold MC (16 July 1918 - 14 January 2015) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer of the Second World War who won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

in 1944 for an opportunistic attack on a Japanese force while serving with the

Chindits The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate form ...

in Burma. Arnold served in the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated ...

and the 7th Nigeria Regiment,

Royal West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognition ...

. While in Burma, Arnold received a letter from his mother containing a

pledge card Pledge may refer to: Promises * a solemn promise * Abstinence pledge, a commitment to practice abstinence, usually teetotalism or chastity * The Pledge (New Hampshire), a promise about taxes by New Hampshire politicians * Pledge of Allegian ...

that he would abstain from alcohol. He and his comrades found this very amusing since there was none to be found in the jungle. On returning to England with a bottle of whisky that he was saving for a celebration, Arnold was told by a customs officer that he must pay duty on the spirit. He smashed the bottle in disgust. After leaving the army, Arnold rejoined his former employers the Blue Circle Group, eventually becoming overseas operations director.Major Denis Arnold - obituary.
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', 26 February 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.

References

External links

*http://www.chindits.info/Awards/MCArnold.htm 1918 births 2015 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Welch Fusiliers officers Royal West African Frontier Force officers Military personnel from London {{British-Army-bio-stub