John Pott (British Army officer)

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John Pott
Born(1919-07-14)14 July 1919
Khartoum, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Died23 April 2005(2005-04-23) (aged 85)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
RankMajor
UnitKing's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
Parachute Regiment
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsMember of the Order of the British Empire
Military Cross

Ivor Novello Award winning indie rock band Athlete
.

Early life

John Pott was born on 14 July 1919 in

British India.[1]

Major John Pott at College

Second World War

In India Pott met Anna Frost and they married in 1941. On the day of their marriage, Pott was called to the frontline and they did not see each other for eighteen months. He had been promoted to lieutenant on 1 January 1941.[3] His battalion was sent to the Middle Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre, and he served—and was wounded—in the Western Desert campaign in 1942. Later in the year the battalion was being shipped to Cyprus and their transport was torpedoed.

Italy

In 1943 Pott joined the Parachute Regiment. Posted to 156 Battalion as an acting major and given command of A Company, he took part in the Allied invasion of Italy. The day after leading his company into action for the first time, he was ordered to capture two German-held farmhouses. To take the first position, he had to lead his men up a narrow ravine which was swept by fire from German positions, and then cross flat, open ground to the farm house itself. The company took the objective, but Potts now had only 15 men with him. Despite this, he elected to press the attack on the second farmhouse. The attack was held up at a sunken lane, but he managed to gather up some other members of the company, and successfully took the second objective as well. He was recommended for the Military Cross by the brigade commander, John Hackett, his citation concluded:[4]

The inspiring leadership of this officer and the firm example of his personal courage which he gave his men, was largely responsible for the successful conclusion of an important little engagement.

The award of Pott's MC was

gazetted on 13 January 1944.[5]

Arnhem

On Monday 18 September 156 Battalion

John Frost, who was commanding the small force defending it.[10] This determination was further reinforced by Hackett, who impressed upon Pott and 156 Battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Richard des Voeux, the urgent need to reinforce the bridge.[11] To make up for the missing platoon, A Company were reinforced with a platoon of Glider Pilots.[11]

C Company led the advance towards a small hill known as the Koepel, and made good progress through abandoned German positions. Pott then led A Company around C Company's left flank, towards a road along which German infantry and armour were dug in.[7] The Glider Pilots, became separated from the rest of the company and soon the two surviving platoons were decimated by heavy machine gun fire.[10] Pott led a charge across the open road, but only a handful of men were able to cross safely, and Pott led them into the cover of the woods.[12] At least three of the men were badly wounded, and Pott was forced to leave them behind before he pressed on towards the objective. One of the men, Sergeant George Sheldrake, recalls that Pott then prayed for the men, "for a couple of minutes maybe, although there was some mortar and machine gun fire... It is something I shall never forget."[12]

To Pott's surprise, he was able to lead his men onto their first objective – Liechtenbeek Hill – and managed to dig in with his small force before the first counterattack. The men waited until the Germans were extremely close before opening fire, and the Germans withdrew. When they made a second counterattack, Pott's men, now very short of ammunition, tried to charge into the flank of their assault, but Pott was hit and wounded.

POW camp until the end of the war.[1]

Later life

After the war, Pott's career in the army included time in India, Italy, Cyprus during the

Trucial Oman (now the United Arab Emirates) and Germany. He had a strong attachment to the Sudan and after he retired from the army he worked there again with the Christian relief agency Tearfund
. Pott was known throughout his life as a deeply committed Christian.

Pott and his wife lived for many years in a cottage in the

Spey Valley
and raised four sons. He died on 23 April 2005.

Black Swan song and documentary

Sixty-five years after the Battle of Arnhem, Pott's story became more widely known because of a song written about him by his grandson,

Livestream
in partnership with the Royal British Legion.

David and Joel Pott near Oosterbeek, Netherlands

Journeying Home: Thoughts on Dying Well

In his book Journeying Home: Thoughts on Dying Well Pott's son David, describes in detail the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Pott and his wife.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Obituaries: Major John Pott". The Daily Telegraph. 5 July 2005. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  2. ^ "No. 34642". The London Gazette. 4 July 1939. pp. 4567–4568.
  3. ^ "No. 35077". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 February 1941. p. 955.
  4. ^ Recommendations for honours and awards (army)—Pott, Robert Leslett John [sic], DocumentsOnline, The National Archives (fee usually required to download pdf of original citation). Retrieved on 22 June 2010.
  5. ^ "No. 36327". The London Gazette. 11 January 1944. p. 255.
  6. ^ Middlebrook, p. 249
  7. ^ a b c d Waddy, p. 112
  8. ^ Middlebrook, p. 252
  9. ^ Middlebrook, p. 254
  10. ^ a b Middlebrook, p. 256
  11. ^ a b Middlebrook, p. 255
  12. ^ a b c d Middlebrook, p. 257
  13. ^ "Athlete's Black Swan Song by Mark Locke". Promo News. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 22 February 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  14. ISBN 978-1-907289-07-1
    .

Bibliography

External links

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