Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The important 1953 ‘Malaya Emergency’ C.B.E., Second War immediate ‘Arnhem operations’ D.S.O., rare ‘Mohmand 1933’ M.C. group of twelve awarded to Brigadier Sir Mark ‘Honker’ Henniker, Royal Engineers - one of the founders of the 1st Airborne Division, and a member of ‘Boy’ Browning’s ‘Dungeon Party’. A true character, highly intelligent, and a man of action, he honed his skills on the North West Frontier, and successfully escaped with his men from the beaches of Dunkirk in a rowing boat!

As the first Chief Royal Engineer, 1st Airborne Division, Henniker was integral to the planning of the famous Bruneval Raid, February 1942, and the attempted destruction of the Heavy Water Production Plant at Telemark, Norway, in November of the same year. He once again helped plan the airborne element of the invasion of Sicily, and took part in the airborne landings of Operation Husky, flying in by glider as part of HQ 1st Airlanding Brigade in July 1943.

Despite being wounded by shrapnel and breaking his arm, the unit Henniker was with captured an Italian Coastal Battery and took over 90 Prisoners of War. Commandeering an airborne engineer with a motorcycle, Henniker made his way to the Ponte Grande to ensure that the enemy demolition charges had been removed. He then joined up with the landing force and made his way to assist in the relief of the 1st Parachute Brigade at Primosole Bridge. He ‘continued to fight, though swathed in bandages.’

His was not a ‘quiet’ war: Henniker then took part in the seaborne landings at Taranto, and was once again prominent in a boat (on this occasion a dingy in a partly-cleared minefield) when coming to the rescue of the survivors of H.M.S. Abdiel, the latter having hit a mine in Taranto Harbour on 10 September 1943.

The pinnacle of his career was to arrive when serving as C.R.E., 43rd (Wessex Division) during Operation Market Garden. Henniker was responsible for the planning and execution of Operation Berlin - the iconic night-time evacuation of the remnants of the beleaguered 1st Airborne Division under Roy Urquhart, trapped in German-occupied territory north of the Lower Rhine and just West of Arnhem. On the night of 25-26 September 1944, Henniker executed his intricate plan and secured the rescue of some 2,400 men across the Lower Rhine, in all manner of boats and rafts - all under heavy fire, and all personally directed by him throughout the night from his position on the river bank

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, C.B.E. (Military) Commander’s 2nd type, neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel; Distinguished Service Order, G.VI.R., silver-gilt and enamel, reverse officially dated ‘1945’, with integral top riband bar, reverse centre slightly loose; Military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed as issued; India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, Mohmand 1933 (Lieut. M. C. A. Henniker. M.C., R.E.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; General Service 1918-62, 2 clasps, Malaya, Near East, with M.I.D. oak leaf (Brig. M. C. A. Henniker. C.B.E. D.S.O. M.C. Staff.) second clasp loose as issued, with official corrections; Coronation 1953, unnamed as issued, breast awards mounted as originally worn, with enclosure for Near East M.I.D. emblem, cleaned, generally very fine unless otherwise already stated (12) £60,000-£80,000

C.B.E. London Gazette 30 October 1953. The original recommendation states:

‘Brigadier Henniker has Commanded with skill and energy 63 Gurkha Infantry Brigade. He has worked with great determination to bring to a successful conclusion his campaign against the Communist Terrorists in the States of Negri Sembilan and Malacca, the area for which he and his Brigade are responsible. In the latter he has very nearly achieved his object.

He never spares himself in travelling long distances over difficult roads regardless of any lurking dangers to see and visit the troops under his Command and his leadership and direction has resulted in many successes for the units under his Command.

He has shown balance and co-operation in his dealings with the Civil Administration and the Police and it has been by this close co-operation that so much has been achieved in his area.

He has led his Brigade carefully and confidently and has done much over and above the normal run of his duties to further the efforts of everyone in bringing the Emergency in Malaya to a successful conclusion.’

O.B.E. London Gazette 24 August 1944 (Italy). The original recommendation states:

‘Lt. Col. Henniker’s handling of the limited engineer resources of the division from the time of landing at Taranto until the arrival of 5 Corps, was outstanding. His foresight contributed to a degree to the opening up of communications by road and rail, to the functioning of the docks in Taranto and to the bringing into use of the aerodromes at Gioja and Bari.’

D.S.O. London Gazette 1 March 1945. The original recommendation states:

‘During the night 25/26 Sep the 1st Airborne Div were evacuated from the North Bank of the Nedder Rijn just West of Arnhem.

The entire arrangements for launching the boats, taping the routes and bringing back officers and men were the responsibility of Lt. Col Henniker. This officer planned the operation, using every conceivable type of boat and raft and personally directed the work throughout the night from the river bank - often under heavy and accurate mortar and MG fire. His example, and fine control, were throughout an inspiration to all and acted as a stimulus to the many feats of bravery performed by all ranks. I regard this officer’s splendid work as the main factor in the successful rescue of between 2000 and 3000 All Ranks of the 1st Airborne Div. His fine leadership and disregard of his own safety were in the best traditions of The Corps.’

M.C. London Gazette 3 July 1934:

‘For distinguished services rendered in the field in connection with military operations against the Upper Mohmands, period July - October 1933.’

M.I.D. London Gazette 31 May 1955 (Malaya) and 13 June 1957 (Near East)

Sir Mark Chandos Auberon ‘Honker’ Henniker, 8th Bt., was the son of Frederick Henniker and was born in Minehead, Somerset, in January 1906. He was educated at Marlborough College, The Royal Military Academy Woolwich, and King’s College, Cambridge.

Elephants on Parade!

Henniker was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1926, and served attached to the Bengal Sappers and Miners on the North West Frontier. During his time there he gained a reputation as a bit of a character, and ‘enjoyed being saluted by his elephants when an officer of the Raj. If he was wearing uniform, he saluted back; if in plain clothes, he merely raised his hat.’ Henniker was awarded the M.C. for his gallantry in operations against the Upper Mohmands between July and October 1933:

‘In 1933, when the Mohmands disturbed the uneasy peace of the Frontier by various hostile acts against their neighbours, Henniker’s unit was one of those chosen to restore the situation. His responsibility was to supervise the building of a road up the Karappa Pass from the Vale of Peshawar, a distance of some 20 miles. This gave him the experience of being shot at without having the least idea from where the bullets were coming.’ (The Daily Telegraph Book of Military Obituaries, edited by D. T. Davies refers)

Henniker returned to the U.K., advanced to Captain, and was posted as Adjutant of the 2nd Divisional Engineers in Aldershot in 1939. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was deployed as part of the B.E.F. in France, and commanded the 253rd Field Company, Royal Engineers. Henniker successfully returned his unit back to the UK, via Dunkirk, in May 1940. He is mentioned by Desmond Fitzgerald, who served with 23rd Field Company at Dunkirk, in his book thus:

‘During this period, Major ‘Honker’ Henniker RE, a great favourite of us junior officers turned up to be evacuated. He had a passion for horses and was reputed to have wept at mobilization when his string of horses was evacuated to Weedon. He was in great form and entertained us with his story of a close encounter with the Germans: “I decided that the moment had come to charge the enemy, so I gave the order to fix bayonets, drew my sword and shouted “charge”. Some instinct caused me to look over my shoulder. No one was charging but me.” ‘Honker’ eventually made it to major general, did very well in Southeast Asia under General Templer and became a prolific contributor to the long defunct Blackwoods magazine.’ (Many Parts, The Life and Travels of a Soldier, Engineer and Arbitrator in Africa and Beyond, by Desmond FitzGerald refers)

The Royal Engineers Museum records give Henniker’s return from Dunkirk to UK shores as being suitably dramatic:

‘He, with what was left of his company, escaped Dunkirk by rowing much of the way to England in two open boats.’

From the boats of Dunkirk, to the skies above Bruneval and beyond

Henniker advanced to Lieutenant Colonel, and in the autumn of 1941 became one of the founder members, and part of the skeleton Divisional Staff, of the fledgling 1st Airborne Division. Flanked by others such as ‘Boy’ Browning and Urquhart, he was originally employed as S.O. R.E. He subsequently advanced to Chief Royal Engineer (CRE), 1st Airborne Division, and was a member of the ‘Dungeon Party’. The latter was the term coined in later years by Browning for the original command staff and the accommodation in which they were initially set up - two floors below ground level in a building in King Charles Street, Whitehall. They subsequently moved to Ashley Gardens in London, and then to Syrencote House, near Netherhaven, Wiltshire, in December 1941. As C.R.E., Henniker devised the policies and plans for the use of airborne engineers within the airborne force. This included the planning for the engineering elements of Operation Biting: the Bruneval Raid. The famous raid led by Major John Frost on the coastal radar installation at Bruneval in northern France on 27-28 February 1942 included a 10-man section of Royal Engineers of the 1st Air Troop led by Lieutenant Dennis Vernon. Six of the sappers were detailed to dismantle the radar device, whilst the other four planted anti-tank mines to protect the overall strike force from counter attack.

The raid was a success and led to the expansion of the airborne forces, and Henniker’s continued involvement in planning for raids. The next being Operation Freshman: the attempted destruction of the Vemork Norsk Hydro hydrogen electrolysis (heavy water production) plant in Telemark, Norway, on 19 November 1942. Having completed Parachute Course No. 3 at RAF Ringway in December 1941, Henniker was able to fly on one of the test sorties for this raid - aiding the planning process.

The eventual decision was made for a small airborne force composed of sappers from the Royal Engineer units (9th Field Company (Airborne) Royal Engineers and 261st Field Park Company (Airborne) Royal Engineers) attached to 1st Airborne Division to land by glider, a short distance from the plant, demolish it with explosives and then escape over the Norwegian border into Sweden. The 1st Parachute Squadron RE (formerly 1st Air Troop RE) - the only parachute trained R.E. unit in existence - was otherwise engaged in North Africa at the time. The troops chosen were volunteer parachutists under the command of Lieutenants A. C. Allen and D. A. Methven.

Sicily by air, Taranto by sea - an ‘all-action’ performance

The operation was not a success due to poor weather and equipment failure; however, lessons were learned and the equipment issues were rectified for later operations, including Operation Market Garden. In April 1943, Henniker was posted to North Africa to help carry out the planning for Operation Husky - the Allied invasion of Sicily.

Henniker took part in the airborne landings of Operation Husky, flying in by glider as part of HQ 1st Airlanding Brigade, in July 1943. He was on one of the few gliders to land successfully, with 69 crash landing in the sea due to strong winds and early release from towing craft. Despite being wounded by shrapnel and breaking his arm, the unit Henniker was with captured an Italian Coastal Battery and took over 90 Prisoners of War. Commandeering an airborne engineer with a motorcycle, Henniker made his way to the Ponte Grande (the bridge over the River Anape just south of Syracuse, which was an objective for the airborne troops to seize and hold until the British 5th Infantry Division arrived from the beaches at Cassibile) to ensure that the enemy demolition charges had been removed. He then joined up with the landing force and made his way to assist in the relief of the 1st Parachute Brigade at Primosole Bridge. It was an ‘all-action’ performance:

‘During the Sicily landings in 1943 Henniker was unhurt when his glider crash-landed, but soon afterwards he was wounded in seven places, as well as sustaining a broken arm; he continued to fight, though swathed in bandages.’ (The Daily Telegraph Book of Military Obituaries, edited by D T. Davies, refers)

Henniker then went on to serve during the the Italian Campaign, and took part in 1st Airborne Division's capture of Taranto in September 1943. The latter, code-named Operation Slapstick, was the sea landing of British Airborne troops at Taranto by Royal Navy ships on 9 September 1943. The port was protected by a minefield, and the first half of the division successfully navigated this whilst landing. The remainder of the division were landed the following day, and whilst this process was taking place H.M.S. Abdiel (a minelayer) struck a mine and sank, whilst manoeuvring alongside the dock. Henniker, along with his adjutant, assisted with the rescue of men using a small dinghy. Casualties amounted to 58 killed and 154 wounded, as well as the loss of the division’s reserve ammunition supply and several artillery pieces.

Henniker was instrumental in the clearing of mines and the docks at Taranto, and establishing it as a fully functioning base port (O.B.E.). As a consequence of his consistent success, Henniker was posted out of the Airborne Forces and appointed C.R.E. for the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division in 1944 - a position he was to hold throughout the campaign in Western Europe until the end of the War.

1st Airborne trapped at Arnhem - Henniker, the ‘Old Boy’, to the rescue

Henniker was not long removed from his old airborne comrades, as the 43rd Division was to serve as part of Horrocks’s XXX Corps during Operation Market Garden. He became responsible for the planning and execution of Operation Berlin: the night-time evacuation of the remnants of the beleaguered 1st Airborne Division under Roy Urquhart, trapped in German-occupied territory north of the Lower Rhine and just West of Arnhem.

The 43rd Division arrived at Driel on 23 September 1944, and after a disastrous attempt to relieve Urquhart’s men the following night, Henniker was tasked with coming up with a plan. Swimmers got through and communicated it to Urquhart, and then they were on for the 25-26 September. Henniker, once again, led from the front:

‘The next step was to evacuate the remnants of the 1st Airborne using small boats across the Neder Rijn at night. Four sapper field companies were tasked for Operation Berlin: the Royal Engineer 260th and 553rd Field Companies and Royal Canadian Engineer 20th and 23rd Field Companies. The operation was to start at 22:00 on the 25th but the field companies had left many hours earlier and moved through German positions to the south bank of the Neder Rijn. In dismal weather and under constant German machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire, the boats shuttled back and forth across the wide swift river through the night. The evacuation went on until daylight came and the operation was forced to cease.’ (History of the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers refers)

The surviving glider pilots had laid white tape through the woods for Urquhart’s men to follow, leading from the Perimeter, the grounds of the Hartenstein Hotel, to the north bank of the Neder-Rijn where the Royal Canadian Engineers and British Royal Engineers were waiting with small boats to ferry them across the Rhine to a landing point north of Driel.

Henniker was awarded an Immediate D.S.O. for his gallantry in executing his plan for the rescue of the surviving remnants of the 1st Airborne Division from Arnhem. On the south bank of the Rhine there is a monument commemorating the role of the Canadian and British engineers who participated in Operation Berlin. The inscription on which is as follows:

‘It is 25th September 1944: The battle of Arnhem is still raging, but the position of the surrounded British and Polish troops on the northern Rhine bank has become untenable. Then the order for their evacuation across the river is given. In that rainy night hundreds of soldiers come in small parties to the river forelands, between the farmhouse and the Old Church - both clearly visible from here - and wait to be rescued. Under heavy German fire from the Westerbouwing, British (260 and 553 Fd Coys) and Canadian (20 and 23 Fd Coys) Engineers make dozens of trips in their small boats from this bank. In one night, supported by other units, they manage to rescue 2,400 airborne troops. At the time the rescued had hardly seen their savers, so they have never been able to thank them. This monument has been erected to express their gratitude (15 September 1989).’

Henniker continued to serve and ‘was involved in the battles of the Rhineland and the Ardennes and the final drive into the heart of Germany. The last few battles were as dangerous as any before them, for the German engineers from Bremen had mined all the culverts along the roads.

Henniker was in India during the last days of the Raj, then was posted to Malaya during the worst period of the Emergency. He was involved in the Suez operation and mentioned in despatches before retiring from the Army in 1958... a Deputy Lieutenant for Monmouthshire (later Gwent) in 1963. In 1958 he succeeded his cousin, Lieutenant Colonel Sir Robert Henniker, 7th Bt., in the family baronetcy [of Newton Hall, Essex]. “Honker” described his recreations in Who’s Who as “appropriate to age and rank.” A talented writer, he contributed to Blackwood’s Magazine. His other books were Red Shadow Over Malaya (1955), Life in the Army Today (1957) and An Image of War (1987).’ (The Daily Telegraph Book of Military Obituaries, edited by D. T. Davies, refers)

Post-War, Henniker served as Officer Commanding, 63rd Gurkha Infantry Brigade, in Malaya between 1952 and 1955. He advanced to Brigadier in 1955, and was appointed Commander Royal Engineers, 1st British Corps, Egypt in 1956. After retirement, Henniker served as Honorary Colonel, Parachute Engineer Regiment, from 1959 to 1968; and as Honorary Colonel, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers from 1964 to 1968. He died in October 1991, aged 85, and is buried in Saint Peter's Church, Llanwenarth Citra, Abergavenny.

Sold with a copy of Life in the Army To-Day, by Brigadier M. C. A. Henniker, Foreword by Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer.