Major Frederic Balfour Scott MC (31 January 1922 – 15 April 2011) 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 who was awarded a

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 ...

for gallantry whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion, The

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) 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 ...

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 opposin ...

Early life

Frederic Balfour Scott was born at Monifieth,

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

and educated at Fettes College,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. In 1940 he enlisted in the Army as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in The Duke of Wellington's Regiment and was later commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and was posted to the 2nd Ox and Bucks (the 52nd).

Normandy 1944

Scott was a

platoon commander {{unreferenced, date=February 2013 A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or firs ...

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, 6 June 1944 and landed 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 ...

at approximately 21.00hrs. He took part in the advance on

Hérouvillette Hérouvillette () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population Places and monuments * Hérouvillette: Church of the "Nativité-de-Notre-Dame" (XIV). * Sainte-Honorine-la-Chardronnette: C ...

and

Escoville Escoville is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France, with a population of 803 people as of 2017. Population Geography Escoville is located 5 kilometers north of Troarn, 11 kilometers northeast of ...

and was with 2nd Ox and Bucks on Breville ridge until August. On 25 August 1944 the 2nd Ox and Bucks were tasked to capture Manneville-la-Raoult which was heavily defended by a German

Garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

. Scott's platoon came under attack by

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

fire and

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

s. An extract from the citation for his Military Cross reads: " During the action this officer's example, leadership and determination were largely responsible for the success of the action and were an inspiration to the men under him. " Lieutenant Frederick Balfour Scott Unit : No.21 Platoon, "C" Company, 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Service No. : 229829 Awards : Military Cross Lieutenant Scott commanded a platoon throughout the campaign in Normandy. He has taken out many patrols into enemy lines and his skill, personal courage and powers of leadership have been a source of constant inspiration to his men. In particular on 25 August 1944 Lieutenant Scott's platoon was to infiltrate towards a known enemy position. When his leading section came under Machine-Gun fire and grenades from an enemy post Lieutenant Scott immediately went forward firing his sten inflicting casualties on the enemy and drove them out. During the action this officer's example, leadership and determination were largely responsible for the success of the action and were an inspiration to the men under him. Back to 2nd Oxford and Bucks Back to Biographies Menu

North-West Europe 1944–45

He served with the 2nd Ox and Bucks in the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from December 1944 to February 1945. Scott took part in Operation Varsity: the air assault landing over the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

on 24 March 1945 and in the advance across

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

Post war

Following the Second World War he served in

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and was then demobilised from the Army. Scott later worked for

British American Tobacco British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the large ...

and was based in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

. After a period in

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

he returned 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 ...

and managed a marketing research company and lived near

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

. He later lived in Bognor Regis,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. He married Mildred Swettenham in 1947. He was widowed in 1979 Major Freddie Scott MC died on 15 April 2011.

References

Obituary
The Daily Telegraph 26 April 2011
Obituary
The Scotsman 30 April 2011
Obituary
Herald Scotland 7 May 2011 * The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (The 43rd/52nd Regiment of Foot) Philip Booth (1971) * The Pegasus Diaries John Howard and Penny Bates (2006) * Go To It! An Illustrated History of 6 Airborne Division Peter Harclerode (2000). {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Freddie British Army personnel of World War II Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers 1922 births 2011 deaths People educated at Fettes College Recipients of the Military Cross People from Monifieth Scottish military personnel Duke of Wellington's Regiment soldiers