- Richard Geoffrey Pine-Coffin
Infobox Military Person
name=Richard Geoffrey Pine-Coffin
caption=
born=2 December 1908
died=28 February 1974
placeofbirth=Devon shire
placeofdeath=Royal Naval Hospital Haslar
placeofburial=
placeofburial_label=
nickname='Wooden Box'
allegiance=
branch=British Army
serviceyears=
rank=Colonel
unit=
commands=3rd Parachute Battalion,1st Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom) ,6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom) , 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion5th Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom) ,6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)
battles=World War II
*North African Campaign
*Operation Tonga
*Battle of the Bulge
*Operation Varsity
awards=Distinguished Service Order & BarMilitary Cross
relations=
laterwork=Regimental colonel and commander ofDepot The Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces ,Colonel Richard Geoffrey Pine-Coffin DSO & Bar, MC (
2 December 1908 -28 February 1974 ) was a parachute officer of theBritish Army duringWorld War II . He commanded the 3rd Parachute Battalion in North Africa and the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion in Normandy, Belgium, and Germany. His troops, who considered his surname to be unusual, referred to him as "Wooden Box".Early life
He was born on the Pine-Coffin family estate in
Devon shire, the son of John Edward Pine-Coffin and Louise Pine-Coffin. His family had a long tradition of serving in the British armed forces; his father, a brevet major in theBritish Army , served with themounted infantry in theSecond Boer War (gaining theDistinguished Service Order ) [LondonGazette|issue=27307|startpage=2776|date=23 April 1901 |accessdate=2008-01-08] [LondonGazette|issue=27359|startpage=6320|endpage=6322|date=27 September 1901 |accessdate=2008-01-08] and died in 1919, [cite web|url=http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=349625|title=Commonwealth War Graves Commission — casualty details, J E Pine-Coffin|publisher=Commonwealth War Graves Commission |accessdate=2008-01-08] whilst his uncle, Lieutenant Tristram James Pine-Coffin served inWorld War I and died in northwesternRussia in 1919. [cite web|url=http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=471978|title=Commonwealth War Graves Commission — casualty details, T J Pine-Coffin|publisher=Commonwealth War Graves Commission |accessdate=2008-01-08]During World War II, R. G. Pine Coffin's brother,
E. C. Pine-Coffin , served in Malaya as a lieutenant-colonel in theBritish Indian Army [LondonGazette|issue=37723|startpage=4586|date=13 September 1946 |accessdate=2008-01-08] and was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942. R. G. himself had been commissioned into his local infantry regiment, theDevonshire Regiment , as asecond lieutenant in 1928. He was promotedLieutenant in 1931 [LondonGazette|issue=33753|startpage=5968|date=15 September 1931 |accessdate=2008-01-08] andCaptain in 1938. [LondonGazette|issue=34538|supp=yes|startpage=5028|endpage=5031|date=5 August 1938 |accessdate=2008-01-08] He was promotedMajor (War Substantive) shortly after the beginning of theSecond World War .World War II
North Africa
After the
2nd Parachute Battalion was formed on30 September 1941 , Pine-Coffin was attached from the Devons to the battalion. He subsequently moved to the3rd Parachute Battalion in 1942 as second-in-command. He later became its commanding officer after becoming a temporary lieutenant-colonel.After the Allied landings against Axis-occupied northwestern
Africa in November, 1942, the 1st Parachute Brigade was ordered toAlgeria and the 3rd Battalion was sent ahead, landing inAlgiers viaGibraltar . The battalion's first operation came on the morning of12 November , when it was dropped over a strategically important arfield near Bóne by the US 64th Troop Carrier Group. They had landed just minutes before German paratroopers were able to carry out a similar operation, which was aborted after the presence of British paratroopers was realised. The only German opposition to the 3rd Battalion came from Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers, which had little impact. The airfield was reinforced later in the day by commandos and Spitfires. Pine-Coffin's battalion was withdrawn days later.The 3rd Battalion served in North Africa until the end of the campaign in 1943, notably at
Bou Arada and Tamera. Pine-Coffin's actions during the campaign resulted in him being awarded theMilitary Cross . [LondonGazette|issue=36180|supp=yes|startpage=4216|endpage=4217|date=21 September 1943 |accessdate=2008-01-08]Pine-Coffin's tenure as the 3rd Battalions' commanding officer ended when he was called back to Britain, at a time when the battalion was preparing to take part in the Allied airborne assault on Sicily. He was appointed commanding officer of the
7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion (formerly 10th Battalion,The Somerset Light Infantry ), which formed part of the 5th Parachute Brigade, 6th Airborne Division.Normandy
With the 7th Battalion, Pine-Coffin played an important role in the 6th Airborne Division's airborne assault around the
River Orne in the early hours of6 June ,1944 . His battalion was tasked with reinforcing Major John Howard's 181-strongcoup de main force, which had seized the Pegasus and Horsa Bridges. The successful defence of these bridges was vital to 6th Airborne Division's objective of securing the Allied eastern flank. The bridges were to be held until relieved later on in the day following the Allied amphibious landings.Pine-Coffin dropped with his battalion at 00:50; they began to arrive at the bridges at about 01:40, taking up positions in Bénouville and
Le Port , west of Caen Canal. With 7th Battalion's arrival, Pine-Coffin succeeded Major Howard to command of the bridges' defence. The 5th Parachute Brigade's position was precarious; 7th Battalion had been scattered and could only muster about 40% of its strength, while the 12th Battalion was in a similar situation atRanville , east of the Orne. Pine-Coffin's battalion came under sustained attack by the 716th Infantry Division and elements of the 21st Panzer Division but they, with difficulty, held their positions. The first relief for the beleaguered troops came at about 13:30, when elements of Lord Lovat's 1st Special Service Brigade arrived fromSword Beach and crossed the bridges to reinforce the Ranville positions. The 7th Battalion's own relief would not begin until the arrival of the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Royal Warwickshire Regiment at 21:15.The 7th Battalion was moved to positions east of the Orne when their withdrawal from the bridges was completed. After a German assault by the 346th Infantry Division was driven off on
10 June , Pine-Coffin was ordered to plan for an operation to take theLe Mariquet woods, which the remnants of the German attacking force had retreated into. Just two of the 7th battalion's companies were present, but they were, with support from tanks, successful in taking the woods, and captured up to 100 soldiers. The 7th Battalion would continue to be engaged in bloody defensive battles in the area until the Allied breakout and advance to theSeine in August. Despite concerns by Pine-Coffin that his battalion was greatly fatigued, the 7th Battalion maintained its involvement in the intense Allied advance. Finally, in mid-September, the 6th Airborne Division was withdrawn back to Britain to recuperate and reorganise.Pine-Coffin was one of many soldiers awarded medals for their service in Normandy; he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) [LondonGazette|issue=36679|supp=yes|startpage=4043|endpage=4044|date=29 August 1944 |accessdate=2008-01-08] for his command of the Caen Canal bridge's defence on6 June .Belgium and Germany
After Germany launched its Ardennes Offensive in December, the 6th Airborne Division was rushed to
Belgium to reinforce the Allied defence. Pine-Coffin's battalion and most of the division had only limited involvement (compared to US forces) and, after Germany's offensive was defeated in January, were withdrawn to the Netherlands and thence to Britain in February, 1945.The 7th Battalion next saw active service in the Allied airborne assault over the Rhine on
24 March ,1945 . Pine-Coffin was awarded a Bar to his DSO [LondonGazette|issue=37138|supp=yes|startpage=3231|date=19 June 1945 |accessdate=2008-01-08] for the important role he played in the success of the operation, which was the 7th Battalion's last parachute jump of the war. His battalion's objective was to seize and hold positions nearHamminkeln , to act as a covering force for the rest of 5th Brigade in its advance on the main objectives. The battalion was the last of its brigade to make the drop, doing so whilst subject to fierce German attack fromflak and other ground forces.During heavy fighting to take the battalion's objectives, Pine-Coffin sustained serious wounds to his face; he refused to leave for treatment and continued to move around his battalion's positions encouraging his men. He was (according to the citation for the bar to his DSO) instrumental in rallying his battalion to hold out against German counter-attacks, which played a pivotal role in the successful completion of the Brigade's main objectives. The 7th Battalion was subsequently withdrawn to 5th Brigade's main positions. The battalion ended its war with the rest of the division at the Baltic port of
Wismar , in May 1945.Later life
In August 1945 he was promoted to substantive major; [LondonGazette|issue=37245|supp=yes|startpage=4378|date=
28 August 1945 |accessdate=2008-01-08] he continued to command the 7th Battalion as a temporary lieutenant-colonel, serving in theFar East and Palestine, until he left them in 1947] . He wasMentioned in Despatches for service inBurma in 1946. [LondonGazette|issue=37730|supp=yes|startpage=4691|endpage=4698|date=17 September 1946 |accessdate=2008-01-08] He was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant-colonel on3 July 1948 [LondonGazette|issue=38421|supp=yes|startpage=5287|date=1 October 1948 |accessdate=2008-01-08] and took command of the 1st Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment in Malaya. Pine-Coffin commanded the battalion through the early stages of theMalayan Emergency and oversaw its move toColchester ,England in February 1951. He received a further Mention in Despatches for his Malayan service. [LondonGazette|issue=38782|supp=yes|startpage=5906|endpage=5907|date=13 December 1949 |accessdate=2008-01-08]He left the Devons soon after, [LondonGazette|issue=39274|supp=yes|startpage=3610|date=
29 June 1951 |accessdate=2008-01-08] returning to the Parachute Regiment as its regimental colonel and commander ofDepot The Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces , a post he held from 1952 to 1955. He then became commandant of theArmy MT School and garrison commander atBordon . He retired on20 December 1958 onretired pay and was granted the honorary rank of colonel with reserve liability (which expired in 1963). [LondonGazette|issue=41578|supp=yes|startpage=7762|date=16 December 1958 |accessdate=2008-01-08] [LondonGazette|issue=43173|supp=yes|startpage=9903|date=29 November 1963 |accessdate=2008-01-08] He died on28 February 1974 , in theRoyal Naval Hospital Haslar , survived by his son Peter. ["Deaths", The Times,5 March 1974 , p28]Pine-Coffin's World War II diaries were the basis for the 2003 book "The Tale of Two Bridges", adapted by
Barbara Maddox and self-published by his son,Peter Pine-Coffin .Notes
References
* [http://huddersfield1.co.uk/huddersfield/billsstory/billsstory9.htm Bill Sykes - One Man's War (page relating to Pine-Coffin)] . Accessed
13 October , 2005
* [http://www.pegasusarchive.org/normandy/geoffrey_pine_coffin.htm Biography] . Accessed24 October , 2006
* [http://www.geocities.com/pentagon/barracks/5630/co3para.html Commanding officers of the Parachute Regiment] . Accessed13 October , 2005
* [http://www.ornebridgehead.org/rep7thWD6thJune.htm Diary entry for 6 June] . Accessed13 October , 2005
* [http://www.ornebridgehead.org/unit_5parabgd.htm History of the 5th Parachute Brigade] . Accessed13 October , 2005
* [http://www.army.mod.uk/para/history/index.htm History of the Parachute Regiment (official website)] . Accessed13 October , 2005
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