officers

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The service number of each person is (when known) given after the date of commissioning. Most officers had only a wartime career, but when no indication is given about a Territorial Army commission or an emergency commission, the officer involved served as a Regular Army officer, with in most cases an active army career before and after the war. For explanations & abbreviations you can look at the help page.

O
O'Callaghan, Eric Charles Married 1st (1943) Gladys Wilden, who died in 1949; one daughter. Married 2nd (1950) Dorothy Rogers (marriage dissolved); one daughter. Married 3rd (marriage dissolved). Married 4th (1989) Caroline Grimwood; one son, one daughter.	05.01.1923 Alverstoke, Hampshire - 23.05.2003 New Forest district, Hampshire	2nd Lt. 05.09.1942 [243580] WS/Lt. 05.03.1943 Lt. 23.03.1946, seniority 05.07.1945 A/Capt. 23.02.1944-22.05.1944 T/Capt. 23.05.1944-09.06.1945, 06.11.1945-31.05.1947 WS/Capt. 01.06.1947 Capt. 04.01.1950 A/Maj. 01.03.1947-31.05.1947 T/Maj. 01.06.1947-20.11.1949, 01.12.1955-04.01.1957 Maj. 05.01.1957 Lt.Col. 03.03.1965 Col. 30.06.1969 (retd 20.12.1974) MBE 07.01.1949 Palestine 1947-48 MC 21.10.1943 Sicily 07.1943 MID 20.09.1945 Arnhem 09.1944 MID 07.01.1949 ?	Education: Gosport Central Grammar School. served in the ranks for 1 year 206 days in the Hampshire Regiment 05.09.1942 commissioned, Corps of Royal Engineers [emergency commission to 22.03.1946] (07.1943) 3 Platoon, 9th (Airborne) Field Company RE (N Africa, Sicily, Italy) (09.1944) Officer Commanding, 2 Platoon, 9th (Airborne) Field Company RE (Arnhem [wounded, captured]) 09.1944 - 04.1945? POW in German captivity (Oflag IX A/H, Spangenberg) 10.1945 - 1947 1st Airborne Squadron RE (Palestine) 23.03.1946 permanent commission 1947 - (1948) Officer Commanding, 1st (Airborne) Squadron RE (Palestine) 1949 Royal School of Military Engineering, Chatham 1950 US Army Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, Virginia 14.08.1953 - 24.11.1955 Staff Captain, War Office 26.11.1957 - 10.02.1958 Staff Officer Royal Engineers 3rd grade, HQ Northern Command 11.02.1958 - 08.12.1958 Staff Officer Royal Engineers 2nd grade, ... (British Army of the Rhine) returned to Sandhurst as a company commander before moving to Cyprus for a UN tour of duty 08.01.1962 - 25.02.1965 General Staff Officer 2nd grade (GSO2), HQ ... Division command his own regiment; returned to the Royal School of Military Engineering as Chief Instructor at the Plant, Road and Airfields Wing before being posted to Germany as Commander RE with the 4th Division in the rank of colonel ? - 1974 Commandant, Army Apprentices' College at Chepstow, Gwent Investment management company, since 1974.
O'Grady, [Francis] Arthur Edgar Son of Edgar Stanvil O'Grady (1888-1952), and Marguerite Francoise Marie Hecquet (1883-1948). Married Sylvia ... (07.04.1922 - 06.2000); one daughter, one son.	03.10.1915 Asansol, West Bengal, India - 30.05.1994 Great Bookham, Surrey Northern  district, Surrey	2nd Lt. 05.12.1942 [255022] WS/Lt. 05.06.1943 T/Capt. 27.09.1944 (reld 1946 [release letter dated 16.05.1946]) Hkn 19.03.1948 Norway [diploma dated 20.09.1946] *	05.12.1942     commissioned, Royal Regiment of Artillery [emergency commission]       45th Infantry Division (UK) 06.1944 - 12.1945 No. 1 Forward Observation Unit RA (Airborne) 06.1944 - 12.1944 Adjutant [attached 1st Airborne Division HQ] (Arnhem [evacuated]) 12.1944 - 12.1945 Area Welfare Officer (Norway) 12.1945 - (02.1946) Staff Captain "A", 49th Infantry Divisional Artillery Brigade
* Recommendation for the award of the King Haakon VII Liberty Medal to T/Capt. A.E. O'Grady: "Captain O'Grady was Adjutant of his unit from its formation in June 1944 until December 1944. During this period the heavy work involved in forming, mobilising, training and taking part himself in the Arnhem action and in completely reorganising the Unit after Arnhem, fell largely on the shoulders of this officer. Captain O'Grady proved himself fully equal to the task and despatched his duties with the highest distinction. At all times his efficiency, cheerfulness and tireless efforts often in the face of adverse conditions, have been not only an example but an inspiration to others. Since landing in Norway this officer has shown further outstanding service as Welfare Officer and it is largely due to his initiative and unrelenting efforts that the welfare of his troops has been looked after so well." [Originally recommended for MBE (Military Division), but downgraded to this medal.] Further a commendation was written on 06.01.1944 by Maj.Gen. S. Leroy Irwin, commanding 5th US Infantry Division, praising O'Grady's work as a liaison officer to the 11th US Infantry Regiment. A general letter of recommendation was written on 26.02.1947 by his former Commanding Officer Maj. D.R. Wight-Boycott of No. 1 Forward Observation Unit RA. Another letter of recommendation was written on 28.02.1946 by Brig. E.S. Lindsay, commanding 49th Infantry Division's Artillery Brigade.
Ogilvie, James Graeme Son of James Tough Ogilvie (1877-), and Mary Isobel Ogilvie. Married (1940, Tonbridge, Kent) Sadie Mary Kempster, of Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent; one son.	12.04.1918 Rubislaw district, Aberdeen, Scotland - 26.09.1944 (KIA) [age 26] [Rhenen General Cemetery, 27.C.12]	2nd Lt. 27.07.1940 [140041] WS/Lt. 27.01.1942 T/Capt. 12.02.1943-26.09.1944	Education: Loretto School (09.1931-04.1936; VIth Form, Rugby Football XV, Boxing, Swimming, Corporal Officer Training Corps). Worked for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, 1936-1939.       served in the ranks, London Scottish, then trained at Mill Hill & Farnborough 27.07.1940     commissioned, The Gordon Highlanders [emergency commission] 1940 - 1940 seconded to a training battalion of The Black Watch 1940 - 1941 4th Battalion The Gordon Highlanders 01.11.1941     transferred, Royal Regiment of Artillery 17.09.1942     transferred, Glider Pilot Regiment - Army Air Corps (09.1944)     Officer Commanding, D Squadron (No. 1 Wing), The Glider Pilot Regiment (Arnhem [killed in action]; drowned while swimming the river Rhine) [In September 1944 he went over to Arnhem in command of a force of fifty Glider Pilots. No help could be got through, and on the 25th they were ordered to retreat. In briefing his men for this, Captain Ogilvie told them that if things got too bad he would call on all strong swimmers to swim the Rhine with him. On reaching the river bank they were exposed to very heavy fire while awaiting their turn in the small boats, and finally he led the way to a small promontory and they entered the water. In the strong current Ogilvie was separated from the pilot who was swimming with him and failed to get across. He was posted as missing, but ten months later word came that his body had been taken from the river the next day by members of the Dutch Resistance Group, and at great risk to themselves had been buried by night in the civilian cemetery of the village of Rhenen, fifteen miles from Arnhem.]
Olliff, Donald Edwin	24.11.1919 Bath, Somerset - 02.2001 North Cotswolds, Gloucestershire	Lt. 08.01.1944 [306048] WS/Capt. 08.01.1945 MB	08.01.1944 commissioned, Royal Army Medical Corps [emergency commission] (09.1944) Section Officer, 133rd Parachute Field Ambulance (Arnhem)
Oliver, Royston William Raymond "Roy"	21.02.1914 Lambeth district, Greater London - 21.09.1981 [buried at Seaside, Oregon, USA]	Lt. 10.08.1940 [143210] [emergency commission] T/Capt. 28.12.1940-..., 20.08.1943-... WS/Capt. 03.06.1944 T/Maj. 03.06.1944 WS/Maj. ? Lt. 08.06.1946, seniority 18.05.1939 [permanent commission] Capt. 08.06.1946, seniority 18.05.1944 (retd 16.06.1948) T/Lt.Col. ? Hon. Lt.Col. 16.06.1948 (retd) Maj. RARO 01.01.1949 SSM 31.05.1945 Arnhem 09.1944 MID 22.03.1945 NW Europe	10.08.1940 commissioned, Royal Tank Regiment [emergency commission to 08.06.1946] (1944) No. 5 Public Relations Service (09.1944) Deputy Assistant Director of Public Relations, Second Army [seconded as Army Public Relations Officer, 1st Airborne Division (Arnhem)] 08.06.1946 permanent [short service?] commission ? - 16.06.1948 retired from the 15th/19th Royal Hussars 16.06.1948 - 20.02.1964 Regular Army Reserve of Officers - Royal Armoured Corps - 15th/19th Royal Hussars [age limit]
O'Malley *, Hamilton Joseph Keyes "Hammy" Son (with three sisters and one brother) of Lt.Col. Middleton Joseph Keyes O'Malley (1882-1933), and Jane Byrnes Malley (1888-1964). Married 1st (15.02.1941, St Paul's RC Church, Haywards Heath, Sussex; divorced 1946) Lady Iris Victoria Beatrice Grace Mountbatten (13.01.1920 - 01.09.1982), only child of Alexander Albert Mountbatten, 1st and last Marquess of Carisbrooke, GCB, GCVO (1886-1960), and Irene Francis Adza Mountbatten (1890-1956). Married 2nd (25.01.1947, Richmond, Yorkshire; divorced 1970) Eleanor Marie "Sadie" de Penteny O'Kelly (09.05.1922 - 02.2001), third daughter of Lt.Col. Edgar John de Pentheny O'Kelly, DSO, of Hambledon House, Childe Okeford, Dorset; four sons, one daughter. Married 3rd (12.1970, Chelsea, London) Elizabeth Mary "Betty" Saunders (27.07.1922 - 27.02.1995), bullfighter. * Changed surname 10.02.1941 from O'Malley-Keyes to O'Malley.	18.10.1910 Aldershot, Hartley Wintney district, Hampshire - 31.03.1989 Benalmadena, Malaga, Andalucia, Spain	2nd Lt. 03.02.1933 [44556] Lt. 03.02.1936 A/Capt. 02.09.1939-01.12.1939 T/Capt. 02.12.1939-15.04.1940, 22.10.1940-02.02.1941 Capt. 03.02.1941 A/Maj. 09.06.1941-08.09.1941 T/Maj. 09.09.1941-04.11.1942, 05.03.1943-22.11.1943 Maj. 01.07.1946 (retd 02.09.1949; receiving a gratuity)	Education: Downside (1920-1922); Oratory School.  04.12.1929 - 02.02.1933 Supplementary List - Army Reserve of Officers 03.02.1933     commissioned, Irish Guards 1933 - 1937 1st Battalion Irish Guards 06.10.1937 - 09.09.1939 Supervising Officer for Physical Training (Class GG to 31.07.1938), London District 1939 - ? 2nd Battalion Irish Guards (London) ? - ? Training Battalion Irish Guards 03.02.1941 - ? 1st Battalion Irish Guards (Sanderstead) (05.03.1941 Officer Commanding HQ Company) ? - 17.09.1944 attached, Glider Pilot Regiment (Normandy, Arnhem; wounded, captured) 17.09.1944 - 05.1945 POW (No. 6178) in German captivity (hospital Lochem 17.09.1944-01.10.1944; Oberursel 01.10.1944-03.10.1944; Wetzlar 03.10.1944-05.10.1944; Stalag Luft I (Barth) 05.10.1944-05.1945) 02.09.1949 - 07.12.1960 Regular Army Reserve of Officers [exceeded age limit]
O'Sullivan, John Charles Son (with two sisters and one brother) of Charles Joseph O'Sullivan (1878-1950), and Mary Eva Lovatt Frazer (1889-1958). Married Marie Patricia Roche (06.12.1921 - 19.01.2010); one son, three daughters.	19.07.1914 Aldershot, Farnham district, Hampshire - 17.12.1988 Jersey, Channel Islands	2nd Lt. 31.01.1935 [64579] Lt. 31.01.1938 A/Capt. 22.04.1940-21.07.1940 T/Capt. 22.07.1940-08.07.1942 WS/Capt. 09.07.1942 Capt. 31.01.1943 A/Maj. 09.04.1942-08.07.1942 T/Maj. 09.07.1942-03.10.1942, 05.02.1943-30.03.1943 MID 13.01.1944 Middle East Palestine 1936-39 Medal & Clasp	31.01.1935     commissioned, The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) [emergency commission] (09.1944)     Second-in-Command, S Company, 1st Parachute Battalion (Arnhem [captured]) 09.1944 - 04.1945 POW (No. 525) in German captivity (Oflag VII-B, Eichstätt, Bayern & Oflag XIIB, Hadamar) 08.01.1946 - (04.1946) General Staff Officer 3rd grade (GSO3), HQ Eastern Command
Oxenford, Alan Arthur Ruthven Son of Ferdinand Oxenford (1869-1923), and Carolyn Reeves Todd (1876-1932). Married ((03?).1943, Droxford district, Hamsphire) Anne Gillespie Lanyon (17.08.1917 - 12.1974), of Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire; one son. Anne OXenford remarried (1950) Robert S.A. Jenkyns.	30.10.1912 Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey - 08.10.1944 (DOW) [age 31] [Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, 24.A.11]	2nd Lt. 29.06.1940 [138945] WS/Lt. 29.12.1941 T/Capt. 1944?	Education: Christ's Hospital (1923-1929). 29.06.1940     commissioned, The Durham Light Infantry [emergency commission] 05.06.1942     transferred, Glider Pilot Regiment - Army Air Corps (09.1944)     Officer Commanding, 25 Flight (E Squadron, No. 2 Wing), The Glider Pilot Regiment (Arnhem [captured]) 09.1944 - 08.10.1944 POW in German captivity [died of wounds] (another POW card)

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