Oliver Gyles Longley CBE MC (30 September 1918 - 28 May 2015) 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 Gur ...

officer of the Second World War who won the

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 ...

in 1943 for his actions in Italy while commanding a squadron of 44th Reconnaissance Regiment near

Battipaglia Battipaglia () is a municipality ('' comune'') in the province of Salerno, Campania, south-western Italy. Famed as a production place of buffalo mozzarella, Battipaglia is the economic hub of the Sele plain. History Formerly part of the an ...

. Longley had a number of narrow escapes during his military service, including stepping on a mine that failed to explode.Gyles Longley, Reconnaissance officer - obituary.
'' The Telegraph'', 15 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015. Longley was born in the London district of Streatham, the son of an officer in the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

who in the First World War was also awarded the Military Cross. He was educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

in Kent. After

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milit ...

in 1946, Longley returned to his pre-war employers Gestetner. In 1965, he became managing director of Gestetner France, and in 1976 he was made a director of Gestetner Holdings Ltd with responsibility for Continental Europe, Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Memoirs

*''To Hell with That! or the Life of Oliver Gyles Longley, C.B.E., M.C.'' Grimsay Press, 2012.

References

1918 births 2015 deaths Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross People from Streatham People educated at Tonbridge School Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British businesspeople Military personnel from London Reconnaissance Corps officers {{British-Army-bio-stub