Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

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," fro ...

of 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 ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he led the first platoon to land at Horsa Bridge 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 The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, 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 c ...

and Horsa Bridge). 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 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

area.

Early life

Dennis Barraclough Fox was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. 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'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 Lie ...

, later to be known as Horsa Bridge. 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 (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

and evacuated to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Rhine crossing

He took part in Operation Varsity: the air assault landing over the

River Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Const ...

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, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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

Post World War II

Fox served in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Suez Canal Zone The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest of Egypt). The c ...

BAOR British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First World War, First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO, NATO's Northern Army Gr ...

and Cyprus again from 1956 to 1959. He was Military Assistant to the

Governor of Cyprus A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' may ...

Sir Hugh Foot, later

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

. In 1960 he was appointed MBE in the New Year Honours. His last regiment was the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) and he retired from the Army in September 1961. He later worked for the

Independent Television Network Independent Television Network Ltd (; ) also known as ITN Ltd or simply as ITN is a Sri Lankan state-governed television and radio broadcaster located in Wickramasinghepura, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. It is a Shrama Abhimani Award winner (Oct ...

. 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 Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. 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, academic, and author, most noted for his books on World War II and his biographies of U.S. presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a long ...

(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 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-Day'' (19 ...

(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