David Wood (British Army officer)

David Wood
Born	23 February 1923 Corsham, Wiltshire
Died	12 March 2009
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Colonel
Unit	Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Battles/wars	Operation Deadstick
Awards	Member of the Order of the British Empire

Colonel David Wood MBE (23 February 1923 – 12 March 2009) was the last surviving officer of the coup de main operation by gliderborne troops on D Day, 6 June 1944, which was tasked with capturing two vital bridges before the main assault on the Normandy beaches.

Early life

David Wood was born in Corsham, Wiltshire and educated at Monkton Combe. He was commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and joined the 2nd (airlanding) Battalion (the 52nd) in 1942. The battalion formed part of 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division in 1943.

Pegasus Bridge

He was a D Company platoon commander in the coup de main operation on D Day led by Major John Howard. The objective was to seize Benouville Bridge, now known as Pegasus Bridge, over the Caen canal and Ranville Bridge, now known as Horsa Bridge, over the River Orne. The original plan was for Wood to lead the first platoon across Pegasus Bridge. Shortly before D Day however, Howard changed the order of landing. On D Day Wood and his No 24 platoon were in the second glider to land at Pegasus Bridge; touching down at 00.17 hours, which was one minute after the first glider. Wood's platoon's objective was to clear trenches, machine-gun nests and the anti-tank gun pit along the east bank of Pegasus Bridge. He was shot in the leg whilst leading his platoon and was evacuated to a divisional aid post in Ranville and eventually back to England. By 00.26 hours on D Day both bridges had been secured. The capture of the bridges was portrayed in the film The Longest Day (1962).

Post World War Two

Following the Second World War he served in Greece, the Suez Canal Zone, BAOR, Cyprus, Malaya, Northern Ireland and Aden. He was second-in-command of the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) in Penang, during the insurgency in Brunei and the Confrontation with Indonesia. He was mentioned in despatches Brunei, 1962. He was Military Assistant to the C-in-C British Army of the Rhine. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry became the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) on 7 November 1958 and the 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets on 1 January 1966. He retired from the Army in 1978.

Later life

He was president of the Exeter branch of the Normandy Veterans Association. In June 2004, at the 60th anniversary of the Normandy landings, he was awarded the French Legion d' honneur, the highest order of France. He lived in Cullompton, Devon.

Wood died in March 2009 aged 86.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ Last surviving officer from daring World War II Pegasus Bridge operation dies aged 86

References

• Ambrose, Stephen. (1984). Pegasus Bridge - D-Day: The Daring British Airborne Raid. Simon & Schuster: London. ISBN 0-7434-5068-X.
• Howard, John and Bates, Penny. (2006). The Pegasus Diaries: The Private Papers of Major John Howard, DSO. Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84415-446-3.
• Ryan, Cornelius. (1959). The Longest Day. Simon & Schuster: London.
• Colonel David Wood: Pegasus bridge D-Day veteran, The Times, 27 March 2009. Retrieved on 30 March 2009.
•  ? (2007). Gliderborne: The story of the 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd) in World War II. ISBN: ?
• Colonel David Wood—Colonel David Wood, who has died aged 86, commanded one of the glider-borne platoons which crash-landed into France in the opening minutes of D-Day. , The Daily Telegraph, 28 April 2009.
• Barber, Neil. (2009). The Pegasus and Orne Bridges.

Persondata
Name	Wood, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	23 February 1923
Place of birth	Corsham, Wiltshire
Date of death	12 March 2009
Place of death