Ronald Littledale
Ronald Littledale | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | "Ronnie" |
Born | June 1902 German-occupied France |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1922−1944 |
Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
Service number | 25378 |
Unit | King's Royal Rifle Corps |
Commands held | 2nd Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps |
Battles/wars | Arab revolt in Palestine World War II
|
Awards | Distinguished Service Order |
Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Bolton Littledale DSO (June 1902 – 1 September 1944) was a British Army officer who became a prisoner of war and successfully escaped from Colditz Castle during the Second World War but was killed in action on 1 September 1944.[1]
Early life
Ronald Littledale was born in June 1902 in Sandiway House, Hartford, Cheshire, England,[2] the only son of Captain John Bolton Littledale and his wife, Clara Stevenson.[3] He was educated at St. Aubyn's, Rotttingdean and then Eton College.[4][1]
Littledale then attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and, after passing out from there, was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC), a rifle regiment of the British Army, on 1 February 1923.[5] He served with both the 1st and 2nd Battalions, KRRC in Germany with the British Army of the Rhine, India, Palestine and Northern Ireland,[4] rising through the ranks during the 1920s and 1930s. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 February 1925,[6] and captain on 3 May 1936.[7] From 8 September 1936 he was appointed as a staff captain with the 2nd Infantry Brigade, part of the 1st Infantry Division, which was then serving in Palestine during the Arab revolt.[8] He relinquished this appointment on 9 December 1937.[9]
World War II
Littledale, promoted on 1 February 1940 to major,[10] served in World War II where he took part in the defence of Calais, as a Transport Officer with the 30th Infantry Brigade. On 26 May 1940 he was captured by a German patrol near the fort at the harbour mouth.[4]
Prisoner of War: Stalag XXI-D
With other captured officers he was marched across northern France for about 10 days then taken by train from near Luxembourg to Trier, Mainz and onward to Oflag VII-C Laufen in mid June 1940.
In March 1941 he was transferred to Stalag XXI-D, Poznań in Poland.
As a
Prisoner of War: Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle
The three were all sent to Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle, Littledale arriving there on 15 July 1942.[4][12]
Littledale left Switzerland on 25 January 1943, and with
They were taken to a
Return and death
Littledale returned to the UK shortly afterwards.
For his escape and actions whilst in captivity he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order on 4 May 1943.[16]
He was killed in action on 1 September 1944, commanding the 2nd Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps and is buried at Airaines Cemetery in France.[17]
Further reading
- The Colditz Story by Pat Reid
- Colditz – The Full Story by Pat Reid
- In the Presence of My Foes by Gris Davies-Scourfield
- Those Who Dared by GA Brown
References
- ^ a b c "Lot 717, 18 May 2011 | Dix Noonan Webb".
- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ Crisp, Frederick Arthur, ed. (1905). Visitation of England and Wales. Vol. 1–3. Stevenson family history
- ^ a b c d e Escape to Freedom. KRRC Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "No. 32792". The London Gazette. 2 February 1923. p. 807.
- ^ "No. 33017". The London Gazette. 3 February 1925. p. 778.
- ^ "No. 34295". The London Gazette. 19 June 1936. p. 3920.
- ^ "No. 34330". The London Gazette. 9 October 1936. p. 6433.
- ^ "No. 34470". The London Gazette. 4 January 1938. p. 34.
- ^ "No. 34783". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 January 1940. p. 648.
- ^ 'Colditz – The Full Story' by Pat Reid page 132
- ^ 'Colditz – The Full Story' by Pat Reid page 306
- ^ WO208/3288 Official Camp History O4C – Chapter X para 4
- ^ 'Those Who Dared' by G Brown page 120
- ^ 'Those Who Dared' by G Brown page 121
- ^ "No. 36000". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 May 1943. p. 1997.
- ^ "Casualty Details: Ronald Bolton Littledale". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 23 August 2009.