Arthur Blurton "Bob" Plant, MC (28 July 1915 – 18 April 2011) 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," fro ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

who was awarded the Military Cross for his actions at Tufo in 1944, during the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...

Early life

Plant was born in

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

on 28 July 1915. He was educated at

Burton Grammar School Abbot Beyne School is a comprehensive school in Burton upon Trent in east Staffordshire, England. It was created after the Burton Grammar School was abolished and initially educated the remaining pupils from Burton Grammar School and Burton Gi ...

Military service

Plant joined the

in September 1939, and twelve months later received a commission in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. After serving in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, he took part in the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

with 91st Field Regiment RA, and was awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

for his assistance of the U.S. 133rd Infantry in

Scapoli Scapoli is a town and ''comune'' located in province of Isernia, which is part of the region of Molise, southern Italy. As of 2011 it had a population of 758. Geography Located in the western area of the province, near the region of Lazio, it bor ...

, southern Italy. Plant was awarded the

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

for his actions at Tufo on 21 January 1944, during the

. Holding the high ground in the rocky region by the

Garigliano The Garigliano () is a river in central Italy. It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari (also known as the Rapido) and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano" (which in Italian means something like "Gari from the Liri" ...

river, as British troops tried to break through the German southern flank to clear the way for the Allied landings at Anzio (

Operation Shingle The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II that commenced January 22, 1944. The battle began with the Allies of World War II, Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle, an ...

), Plant's company was outnumbered and their positions twice overrun by German forces, with Plant eventually wounded and captured. When the German medic treating his wounds was killed by a British shell, Plant took the opportunity to escape and made his way through his own regiment's bombardment to rejoin his company, where he praised them for their "terrifying" barrage.

Later life

Following his recovery, Plant was demobilised from the army and worked as a sales director for

Mander Brothers Mander Brothers was a major employer in the city of Wolverhampton, in the English Midlands, a progressive company founded in 1773. In the 19th century the firm became the number one manufacturers of varnishes, paints and later printing inks in th ...

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

. He died, aged 95, on 18 April 2011.Death of war hero and ‘true gentleman’ Arthur Plant
''Express & Star'', 26 April 2011.

References

1915 births 2011 deaths Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross Legionnaires of the Legion of Merit People from Burton upon Trent Military personnel from Wolverhampton Military personnel from Staffordshire {{UK-army-bio-stub