Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John Niel Randle, VC (22 December 1917 – 6 May 1944) 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 and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

(VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces. His was one of three

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 ...

VCs awarded for action in India, the other two being awarded to

John Pennington Harman Lance Corporal John Pennington Harman VC (20 July 1914 – 9 April 1944) was a British Army soldier and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be a ...

(also at the

Battle of Kohima The Battle of Kohima proved the turning point of the Imperial Japan, Japanese Operation U-Go, U-Go offensive into British Raj, India in 1944 during the World War II, Second World War. The battle took place in three stages from 4 April to 22 June ...

) and

Abdul Hafiz ʻAbd al-Ḥafīẓ (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الحفيظ) is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥafīẓ'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give ri ...

at the

Battle of Imphal ) , partof = the Operation U-Go during the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II , image = Imphalgurkhas.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = Gurkhas advancing with Grant tanks ...

Early life

John Niel Randle was born in

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 ...

,Imperial War Museum Exhibit data
the son of Edith Joan, daughter of William Chaffey Whitby, and Dr. Herbert Niel Randle, Librarian of the India Office Library, who was also Professor of Philosophy at Queen's College,

Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tr ...

and a writer on Indian philosophy. Randle was educated at the

Dragon School ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

, and

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

. At Oxford he qualified in law. His best friend there,

Leonard Cheshire Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and group captain during the Second World War, and a philanthropist. Among the honours Cheshire received as ...

, was awarded the VC in the Second World War. Randle married Mavis Ellen Manser of

Holywell Holywell may refer to: * Holywell, Flintshire, Wales * Holywell, Swords, Ireland * Holywell, Bedfordshire, England * Holywell, Cambridgeshire, England * Holywell, Cornwall, England * Holywell, Dorset, England * Holywell, Eastbourne, East Susse ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

,Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty 2601973
/ref> sister of

Leslie Thomas Manser Leslie Thomas Manser, VC (11 May 1922 – 31 May 1942) was a British bomber pilot and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, which was awarded posthumously following an attack on the German city of Cologne. Early life Leslie Thomas Manser was born ...

who was awarded the VC posthumously in 1942 after a bombing raid on Cologne.

Military career

Randle was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

in May 1940. At the age of 26, he was promoted to temporary

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment. Captain Randle was commander of 'B' Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment. On 4 May 1944 during the

northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

, he was ordered to attack the Japanese flank on General Purpose Transport (GPT) Ridge during the relief and clearance of Kohima. The citation from the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' reads:

The medal

His Victoria Cross is on loan to the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

by his son John. It is displayed alongside that of his friend

Legacy

Randle was portrayed by

Tom Hiddleston Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is an English actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starting with ''Thor'' in 2011 and most recently in the Disney+ series ''Loki'' in 2021 ...

in the 2006 television

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

Victoria Cross Heroes ''Victoria Cross Heroes'' is a three-part television UK docudrama recipients first broadcast by Channel 5 in 2006 that tells the stories of some of the recipients of the Victoria Cross. Production The series was commissioned to celebrate the ...

'', which included archive footage, dramatisations of his actions and an interview with his son and grandson. A memorial to Captain Randle is in St Peter's Church, Petersham.

References

External links

*
British Military History Biographies R
{{DEFAULTSORT:Randle, John Niel 1917 births 1944 deaths Military personnel of British India People from Varanasi People educated at The Dragon School People educated at Marlborough College Royal Norfolk Regiment officers British Army personnel killed in World War II British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Burials at Kohima War Cemetery People of British India