Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Six: Sergeant G. Oliver, 2nd Parachute Battalion, Army Air Corps, late Essex Regiment and later Northamptonshire Regiment, who was captured and taken Prisoner of War during Operation Husky, the Airborne Assault on Sicily, and thrice attempted to escape, being re-captured on each occasion

1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45; U.N. Korea 1950-54, unnamed as issued; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Arabian Peninsula (6030014 Sgt G Oliver Northamptons) last marked ‘R’ for Replacement, mounted as worn; together with an Allied Ex-Prisoner of War Commemorative Medal, good very fine (7) £140-£180

George Oliver was born in London on 2 April 1922, and attested prior to 1941 into the Essex Regiment. He volunteered for Parachutist training in 1942, and transferred to join the newly formed Army Air Corps. He passed Course No. 35 at the Parachute Training School, Ringway, in November 1942, and was then posted to the 2nd Parachute Battalion, in North Africa. He took part in Operation Husky - the Airborne landings in Sicily - on 13-14 July 1943, where he was captured and made prisoner of war.

Sicily and Italy 1943 - 1st Airborne Division Operations
The first aircraft took off at 1901 hours on 13 July 1943. By 2200 hours a total of 113 paratroop aircraft and 16 tug-glider combinations were airborne and heading for Sicily. All went well until the aircraft neared the Sicilian coastline, when anti-aircraft fire from Allied naval vessels was encountered. Some aircraft were hit, while others took evasive action or returned to base. Those aircraft which reached the dropping zones met heavy enemy anti-aircraft fire and searchlights. In the event, only 39 aircraft dropped their 'sticks' of troops, and 12 others were unable to find the drop zones.
Eleven aircraft were shot down, eight of which had succeeded in dropping their 'sticks', and several suffered severe damage. Of the 16 gliders carrying the brigade's heavy equipment, six crashed into the sea and six crashed on landing. Four succeeded in reaching their landing zones, while seven others landed safely some distance away. By the time it had rallied and mustered on its drop zone, 1st Parachute Brigade numbered only 12 officers and 283 other ranks, out of a total of 1,856 all ranks. 2nd Parachute Battalion had been scattered in the drop, and by the time it rallied near the dropping zone it numbered only 170 of all ranks. Only A Company, commanded by Major Dickie Lonsdale, was able to muster most of its strength, and the Adjutant, Captain Victor Dover, and the Second in Command, Major Johnnie Lane, were both missing.

By 30 July 1st Airborne Division was once again concentrating at its base at Sousse in North Africa. During the following month many of the missing men of 1st Parachute Brigade made their appearance, all of them recounting how they had been dropped up to 30 miles from the dropping zone. The Adjutant of 2nd Parachute Battalion, Captain Victor Dover, and his stick had been dropped on Mount Etna and most of them had been captured. Dover and another man managed to avoid being caught, and for nearly a month had made their way back to British lines, at the same time trying to cause as much damage to the enemy as possible.’ (Para! Fifty Years of The Parachute Regiment, by P. Harclerode refers).

Oliver was captured on 14 July 1943 and was initially held at Stalag VIl-A, at Moosburg, from 23 July 1943. He was transferred to Stalag IV-B, at Muhiberg (Isar), a month later, and whilst there he seized the opportunity to escape on three separate occasions; though he was recaptured and re-admitted each time, being captured on 9 May, 15 September, and 19 September 1944. Stalag IV-B was liberated by the Soviet Red Army on 23 April 1945.

Oliver remained in the Army after the war, and leaving the Army Air Corps transferred to the Northamptonshire Regiment, with whom he served in the 1950s as part of the Peace-Keeping Force in Korea, and later, on active service in the Arabian Peninsula with the rank of Sergeant.

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