Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Alastair "Jock" Stevenson Pearson, (1 June 1915 – 29 March 1996) was a baker, farmer and one of the most highly regarded soldiers of the Parachute Regiment and 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 served in 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 ...

Early life

Pearson was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, on 1 June 1915. He was educated at

Kelvinside Academy Kelvinside Academy is a private day school in Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1878. It has a capacity of over 600 pupils and spans two years of Nursery, six years of Junior School (primary school), a transition year of Senior Preparatory, and six ...

. After leaving school, he worked as a baker and enlisted in the Territorial Army. He joined the 6th Battalion of the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First World War, First and World War II, Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 t ...

, based in

Yorkhill Yorkhill () is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated north of the River Clyde in the West End of the city. It is known for its famous hospitals and remains the location of the West Glasgow Ambulatory Care Hospital. The Kel ...

, and part of the 157th Infantry Brigade,

52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowlan ...

, which was fully mobilised in 1939.

Second World War

Pearson was attached to the

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Ref ...

and served briefly in France during January 1940. On 8 June 1940, after the end of

Operation Dynamo Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, he returned to France with the 6th Highland Light Infantry. He fought in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

with the Second British Expeditionary Force. He was evacuated on 17 June as part of

Operation Aerial Operation Aerial was the evacuation of Allied military forces and civilians from ports in western France. The operation took place from 15 to 25 June 1940 during the Second World War. The embarkation followed the Allied military collapse in th ...

. On its return to the United Kingdom, the

was assigned to defend the coast. In 1942 Pearson volunteered to join the British Army's

airborne forces Airborne forces are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units are also known as paratroopers. The main ...

and on 1 August he joined the Parachute Regiment, part of the Army Air Corps. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

and served as second-in-command of 2nd Battalion, part of

1st Parachute Brigade The 1st Parachute Brigade, or the Red Devils, was an airborne forces brigade formed by the British Army during the Second World War. As its name indicates, the unit was the first parachute infantry brigade formation in the British Army. Formed ...

. Within a fortnight, Pearson was transferred to 1st Battalion by the commander, Eric Down. Pearson was promptly demoted by Down after a riotous night on the town. He was then promoted to the rank of major for the second time before becoming second-in-command of 1st Battalion under James Hill. In October 1942, the 1st Parachute Brigade was sent to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

to participate in

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

. Pearson assumed command of 1st Battalion when Hill was badly wounded on 23 November. For his actions while under heavy fire, Pearson 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 ...

. At the age of twenty-seven, Pearson was promoted to lieutenant colonel and given command of the 1st Parachute Battalion. Pearson was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

for his actions in late January and early February 1943. He was awarded a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

to his DSO for actions during the Battle of Tamera in March. Pearson was awarded a second Bar to his DSO for his contribution to the

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 Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis forces (Kingdom of Italy ...

. In July 1943, the 1st Parachute Brigade was assigned to capture Primosole Bridge in Sicily, ahead of

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the ...

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was a field army of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed as the Western Army on 10 September 1941, in Egypt, before being renamed the Army of the Nile and then the Eighth Army on 26 September. It was cr ...

. Due to high winds, intense flak, and poor flying, less than 20% of the 1,900 men of the brigade landed on target. However, the bridge was captured and Pearson organized a defence. German forces counter-attacked the following day and the paratroopers were forced to withdraw. Pearson helped to recapture the bridge by guiding a battalion of the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and ...

, part of 151st Brigade, in an attack on the flank of the German infantry holding the bridge. After the Sicilian campaign, Pearson recuperated from an attack of malaria. During the summer of 1944, the commander of the new

6th Airborne Division The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who m ...

, Major General Richard Gale gave Pearson command of the division's 8th Parachute Battalion, which was assigned to the 3rd Parachute Brigade. Pearson immediately began preparing the battalion for the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

. On the night of 5 June 1944, the battalion departed England for France. Upon landing, as part of

Operation Tonga Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings during the Second World War. The paratro ...

(the British airborne drops on

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 ...

), Pearson was shot in the hand but continued to command. The 8th Parachute Battalion went on to destroy several bridges over the

River Dives The Dives (; also ''Dive'') is a 105 km long river in the Pays d'Auge, Normandy, France. It flows into the English Channel in Cabourg. The source of the Dives is near Exmes, in the Orne department. The Dives flows generally north through t ...

and then take up defensive positions in the Bavent Wood, east of

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 ...

. Pearson was awarded a third Bar to his DSO in February 1945 for his contributions during the Battle of Normandy. On his return to England in September 1944, Pearson surrendered command of the 8th Parachute Battalion due to ill health. He married the widow of Reginald Morgan Weld Smith (who was killed in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

), Joan Niven.

Later life

Following the end of the war, Pearson resigned his commission to return to his bakery in Glasgow. In 1947, he rejoined the Territorial Army and commanded the

15th (Scottish Volunteer) Parachute Battalion The 15th (Scottish Volunteer) Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, originally raised as 15th (King's) Parachute Battalion by the British Army in World War II. The 15th Parachute Battalion was formed ...

. Later, he gave up the bakery to turn to farming. In 1951, he was made a Deputy Lord-Lieutenant for Glasgow. In 1953 he was promoted to colonel and, in 1967, he was promoted to

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

and became Commandant of the

Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence and the Bri ...

in Scotland. In June 1956, Pearson was appointed aide-de-camp to the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, a ceremonial post he held until 1961. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1953 Coronation Honours The 1953 Coronation Honours were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours on the occasion of her coronation on 2 June 1953. The honours were published in '' The London Gazette'' on 1 June 1953.New Zealand list: The rec ...

, and a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

on 12 June 1958. He was appointed Deputy

Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire. Before the twentieth century, the county was spelled Dumbartonshire. *John Elphinstone, 11th Lord Elphinstone (17 March 1794 – 19 August 1799) *John Elphinstone, ...

in 1975, and Lord Lieutenant in 1979.

Honours and awards

*4 May 1943 – The

Major (acting Lieutenant-Colonel) Alastair Stevenson Pearsonis (62792) Army Air Corps (Glasgow, W.2): *18 May 1943 –

to the

: Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Alastair Stevenson Pearson DSO (62792) Army Air Corps. (Glasgow, W.2): *23 September 1943

: Captain (temporary Major) Alastair Stevenson Pearson D.S.O. (62792), Army Air Corps (Glasgow 19): *23 December 1943 Second Bar to the Distinguished Service Order: Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Alastair Stevenson Pearson, D.S.O., M.C. (62792), Army Air Corps (Glasgow, W.2): *1 February 1945 – Third Bar to the Distinguished Service Order. Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Alastair Stevenson Pearson, D.S.O., M.C. (62792), Army Air Corps (Devizes): *3 September 1948 – Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Stevenson Pearson is (62792) is awarded

Efficiency Medal The Efficiency Medal was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men after twelve years of efficient service on the active list of the Militia (United Kingdom), Militia or the Army Reserve (Unit ...

Television appearances

Pearson was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in October 1961 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...

at the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

Theatre.

Footnotes

References

* * *

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945Imperial War Museum Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Jock 1915 births 1996 deaths People educated at Kelvinside Academy Military personnel from Glasgow British Army personnel of World War II Highland Light Infantry officers British Parachute Regiment officers Deputy lieutenants of Dunbartonshire Lord-lieutenants of Dunbartonshire Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Distinguished Service Order South Lancashire Regiment officers Army Cadet Force officers British bakers Scottish farmers British Army brigadiers