Major Dennis Barraclough Fox MBE (1920-1993) was an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

of the

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 ...

. 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 led the first platoon to land at

Horsa Bridge Horsa Bridge, also known as Ranville Bridge, over the Orne river, was, along with Pegasus Bridge, captured during Operation Tonga by gliderborne troops of the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd) in a ''coup de main'' o ...

in the gliderborne 2nd Battalion,

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

(the 52nd) coup de main operation, during the opening minutes of D-Day, 6 June 1944, which captured the Caen canal and Orne river bridges (

Pegasus Bridge Pegasus Bridge, originally called the Bénouville Bridge after the neighbouring village, is a road crossing over the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy. The original bridge, built in 1934, is now a war memorial and is the cent ...

and

). These bridges were considered to be critical to securing the eastern flank of the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

area.

Early life

Dennis Barraclough Fox was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Fox was commissioned into the

in April 1941 and was posted to the 7th Ox and Bucks. He transferred to the 2nd Ox and Bucks (the 52nd) in February 1942. Originally from B Company, he joined

Major John Howard Major Reginald John Howard DSO (8 December 1912 – 5 May 1999) was a British Army officer who led a glider-borne assault that captured the Caen canal and Orne river bridges on 6 June 1944, as part of the D-Day landings during the Second W ...

's D Company as a platoon commander in April 1944.

Horsa bridge

On D-Day, 6 June 1944, Fox's No 17 platoon was one of three platoons tasked with capturing the bridge over the Orne River at

Ranville Ranville () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Ranville was the first French village liberated on D-Day. The village was liberated by the British 13th Parachute Battalion, commanded by Lieute ...

, later to be known as

. Fox's platoon was the first platoon to arrive at the bridge, landing less than 100 yards from the bridge at 00.20hrs on 6 June, and secured the bridge and surrounding area before Lieutenant Tod Sweeney's platoon arrived several minutes later. When Fox was asked by Sweeney how things were, he replied, " Well, so far the exercise is going fine, but I can't find any bloody umpires." Fox's platoon was then ordered by Major John Howard to assist in defending the area around both bridges by forming fighting patrols and moving to the nearby village of Benouville. Fox was later wounded in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and evacuated to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Rhine crossing

He took part in

Operation Varsity Operation Varsity (24 March 1945) was a successful airborne forces operation launched by Allied troops that took place toward the end of World War II. Involving more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft, it was the largest ai ...

: the air assault landing over the River Rhine on 24 March 1945. His glider was hit by enemy fire and crash landed. He was again wounded and evacuated to England. Fox was a member of the advance party of 2nd Ox and Bucks which was sent to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in August 1945 to prepare for an airborne assault in the Far East.

Post World War II

Fox served in Palestine,

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 ge ...

, Suez Canal Zone,

BAOR There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...

and Cyprus again from 1956 to 1959. He was Military Assistant to the Governor of Cyprus Sir Hugh Foot, later

Lord Caradon Hugh Mackintosh Foot, Baron Caradon (8 October 1907 – 5 September 1990) was a British colonial administrator and diplomat who was Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and the last governor of British Cyprus. E ...

. In 1960 he was appointed MBE in the New Year Honours. His last regiment was the

1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) The 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) was an infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1958 to 1966. The regiment served in the Cyprus Emergency, Brunei Revolt, Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation and West Berlin. The regiment forme ...

and he retired from the Army in September 1961. He later worked for the

Independent Television Network Independent Television Network Ltd ( si, ස්වාධීන රූපවාහිනී මාධ්‍ය ජාලය; ta, சுயாதீன தொலைக்காட்சி ஊடக வளையமைப்பு) also known a ...

. Fox was involved in the production of the 1962 film '' The Longest Day''. Major Dennis Fox MBE died in

Hawstead Hawstead is a small village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located south of Bury St. Edmunds between the B1066 and A134 roads, in a fork formed by the River Lark and a small tributary. The ...

, Suffolk. 1. D-Day The Battle for Normandy Antony Beevor (2014) page 53 . 2. Beevor page 53.

References

*''Pegasus Bridge'' by

Stephen Ambrose Stephen Edward Ambrose (January 10, 1936 – October 13, 2002) was an American historian, most noted for his biographies of U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a longtime professor of history at the University of New O ...

(1984) *''The Pegasus and Orne Bridges'' by Neil Barber (2009) *''Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge'' by Carl Shilleto (2010) *''Pegasus Diaries'' by John Howard and Penny Bates (2006) *''Gliderborne: The Story of the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd) in World War II'' (2007) *''The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (The 43rd/52nd Regiment of Foot)'' by Philip Booth (1971) *''One Night in June'' by Kevin Shannon and Stephen Wright (1994) *''The Longest Day'' by

Cornelius Ryan Cornelius Ryan (5 June 1920 – 23 November 1974) was an Irish-American journalist and author known mainly for writing popular military history. He was especially known for his histories of World War II events: '' The Longest Day: 6 June 1944 D- ...

(1959) *''D-Day: The Battle for Normandy'' by Antony Beevor (2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Dennis 1920 births 1993 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War II British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency South African emigrants to the United Kingdom Military personnel from Johannesburg