Toby Graham

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Dominick Graham
Born(1920-07-24)24 July 1920
Yeovil, Somerset, England
Died8 March 2013(2013-03-08) (aged 92)
Academic background
Alma materRoyal Military Academy, Woolwich
University of New Brunswick
University of London
ThesisBritish intervention in defence of the American Colonies 1748–1756 (1969)
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of New Brunswick
Main interestsBritish military history
Second World War
Military service
Service/branch
Second World War
Awards
Mentioned in despatches

Dominick Stuart "Toby" Graham,

Shelford Bidwell
.

A wartime graduate of the

Second World War. He was wounded twice, spent time as a prisoner of war in Italy, and was awarded the Military Cross in 1945. After the war he served with the British Army of the Rhine, and represented Great Britain in cross-country skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
.

After leaving the army in 1958, Graham moved to Canada, where he taught high school maths in Saint John, New Brunswick. He earned his Master's degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1965, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of London in 1969. He taught military history at the University of New Brunswick until his 1986 retirement, at which point he was named professor emeritus, and returned to England.

Early life

Dominick Stuart Graham was born in Yeovil, England,[1] on 24 July 1920, the son of Colonel Fergus Reginald Winsford Graham and Egeria Marion Spottiswood Baker.[2] His father was a soldier who had served in Northern Ireland, the Middle East and China.[3] His family nicknamed him "Toby" because when he was a baby they thought he looked like Toby the Dog in Punch and Judy. He was educated at Bradfield College,[4] and entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in January 1939.[3]

Military career

Graham's training was shortened by the outbreak of the

Second World War. He graduated from Woolwich on 4 November 1939, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery of the British Army.[5] In 1940 he was sent to Narvik during the Norwegian campaign to command an anti-aircraft battery, and was wounded during an air raid.[4] He was promoted to lieutenant on 4 May 1941.[6]

In July 1942, Graham was serving as a

Forward Observer (FOO) near Tobruk, Libya, during the Western Desert campaign,[3] when his vehicle was hit, and he was taken prisoner by the Germans, and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Italy.[3] His first escape attempt was through a sewer near Chieti, but was unsuccessful. He was then taken to a camp at Fontanellato, from which he again escaped. This time he made it as far as the railway station before he was recaptured. He was freed after the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943, and made his way back to Allied lines through Italy, evading German patrols, and eventually reaching a village near Ortona, where he was discovered by a Canadian patrol.[4]

Graham returned home to the School of Gunnery to bring his skills up to date,

mentioned in despatches on 22 March 1945,[7] and awarded the Military Cross on 19 April 1945.[8]

After the war Graham served as an instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and then as a staff officer with the 6th Armoured Division in the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). He commanded the British Army's first missile-equipped artillery battery.[4] He was promoted to the substantive rank of captain on 1 July 1946,[9] and major on 4 November 1952.[10] He married Valerie Mary Greig on 18 October 1947; they had two daughters, Anita Caroline and Patricia Robin.[2] He retired from the British Army on 20 December 1958.[11]

Skiing career

Graham represented Great Britain in

men's 50 kilometres.[1]

Academic career

After leaving the army, Graham moved to Canada, where he taught high school mathematics in Saint John, New Brunswick. He earned his master's degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1965, writing his master's thesis on "British intervention in defence of the American colonies, 1748–1756",[12] and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of London on the same topic in 1969.[13]

Graham taught military history at the University of New Brunswick until 1986, when his marriage broke up and he decided to retire and return to England.[14] He received the news of his appointment as emeritus while climbing K2 in the Himalayas. He married his childhood sweetheart, Mary Hawson in 1991, and they settled in Yorkshire, where he worked on her family estate and gardens. After she died he travelled by container ship to visit his daughter in New Zealand. The only other passenger aboard the ship was Ursula Behringer, and they were married in 2002.[2][4]

Graham is best known for his collaboration with British military historian

world wars. Their second, Tug of War (1986), was about the Italian campaign during the Second World War. Finally, they wrote Coalitions, Politicians and Generals (1993), in which they wrote about the command and staff systems in the British, French and German armies in the two world wars. Graham also wrote an autobiography, The Escapes and Evasions of 'An Obstinate Bastard' (2000).[4]

Graham died on 8 March 2013 at the age of 92.[4]

Bibliography

Notes

  1. ^ a b Gjerde, Arild; Jeroen Heijmans; Bill Mallon; Hilary Evans (27 March 2012). "Toby Graham Biography and Olympic Results". Olympics. Sports Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Lundy, Darryl (4 July 2011). "Dr. Dominick Stuart Graham". The Peerage. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  3. ^
    S2CID 152339350
    .
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Professor Dominick Graham". The Daily Telegraph. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  5. ^ "No. 34728". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 7 November 1939. p. 7560.
  6. ^ "No. 35211". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 4 July 1941. p. 3900.
  7. ^ a b "No. 36994". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 20 March 1945. p. 1551.
  8. ^ "No. 37040". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 17 April 1945. p. 2078.
  9. ^ "No. 37635". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 28 June 1946. p. 3367.
  10. ^ "No. 39685". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 31 October 1952. p. 5799.
  11. ^ "No. 41578". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 16 December 1958. p. 7761.
  12. ^ "British intervention in defence of the American colonies, 1748–1756". University of New Brunswick. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  13. ^ Graham, Dominick Stuart. British intervention in defence of the American colonies, 1748–1756 (Thesis). University of London. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Dominick Graham Collection". UNB Archives & Special Collections. University of New Brunswick. 1 October 2000. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
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