Brigadier "Speedy" Hill

Brigadier "Speedy" Hill, who died on Thursday aged 95, won an MC and three DSOs as a commander of airborne forces during the Second World War.
In 1942 Hill took command of the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, which was dropped at Souk El Arba, deep behind enemy lines in Tunisia. His orders were to secure the plain so that it could be used as a landing strip and then to take Beja, the road and rail centre 40 miles to the north east, in order to persuade the French garrison to fight on the Allied side.
To impress the French commander with the size of his unit, Hill marched the battalion through the town twice, first wearing helmets and then changing to berets. The Germans, hearing reports that a considerable British force had occupied Beja, responded by bombing the town.
On learning that a mixed force of Germans and Italians, equipped with a few tanks, was located at a feature called Gue, Hill put in a night attack. But a grenade in a sapper's sandbag exploded, setting off others, and there were heavy casualties when the element of surprise was lost.
Two companies carried out an immediate assault while Hill, with a small group, approached three light tanks. He put the barrel of his revolver through the observation port of the first tank and fired a single round. The Italian crew surrendered at once. He banged his thumbstick on the turret of the second tank, with the same result.
But when he used the method on the third tank, the German crew emerged, firing their weapons and throwing grenades. They were dealt with in short order, though Hill took three bullets in the chest. He was rushed to Beja, where Captain Robb of the 16th Parachute Field Ambulance operated on him and saved his life.
The citation for Hill's first DSO paid tribute to the brilliant handling of his force and his complete disregard of personal danger. The French recognised his gallantry with the award of the Légion d'Honneur.
Stanley James Ledger Hill, the son of Major-General Walter Hill, was born at Bath on March 14 1911. Young James went to Marlborough, where he was head of the OTC, and then won the Sword of Honour and became captain of athletics at Sandhurst.
Nicknamed "Speedy" because of the long strides he took as a tall man, he was commissioned into the Royal Fusiliers, with whom he served with the 2nd Battalion, and ran the regimental athletic and boxing teams.
In 1936 he left the Army to get married, and for the next three years worked in the family ferry company. On the outbreak of war Hill rejoined his regiment, and left for France in command of 2RF's advance party. He led a platoon on the Maginot Line for two months before being posted to AHQ as a staff captain.
In May 1940, Hill was a member of Field Marshal Viscount Gort's command post, playing a leading part in the civilian evacuation of Brussels and La Panne beach during the final phase of the withdrawal. He returned to Dover in the last destroyer to leave Dunkirk, and was awarded an MC.
Following promotion to major and a posting to Northern Ireland as DAAG, Hill was dispatched to Dublin to plan the evacuation of British nationals in the event of enemy landings. He booked into the Gresham Hotel, where several Germans were staying at the time.
Hill was one of the first to join the Parachute Regiment and after being wounded in Tunisia in 1942, he was evacuated to England. Although forbidden to take exercise in hospital, he used to climb out of his window at night to stroll around the gardens. Seven weeks later, he declared himself fit and, in December, he converted the 10th Battalion, Essex Regiment, to the 9th Parachute Battalion.
In April the following year, Hill took command of 3rd Parachute Brigade, consisting of the 8th and 9th Parachute Battalions and the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, which he commanded on D-Day as part of the 6th Airborne Division.
Given the task of destroying the battery at Merville and blowing bridges over the River Dives to prevent the enemy bringing in reinforcements from the east, he completed the briefing of his officers with the warning: "Gentlemen, in spite of your excellent training and orders, do not be daunted if chaos reigns. It undoubtedly will."
Things began to go wrong straight away. Many of the beacons for marking the dropping zones were lost, and several of the aircraft were hit or experienced technical problems. Hill landed in the River Dives near Cabourg, some three miles from the dropping zone, and it took him several hours to reach dry land.
The terrain was criss-crossed with deep irrigation ditches in which some of his men, weighed down by equipment, drowned.
Since he did not trust radio, he kept in touch by driving around on a motorcycle, periodically being found directing traffic at crossroads by his advancing men. Near Sallenelles, Hill and a group of men of the 9th Parachute Battalion were accidentally bombed by Allied aircraft; 17 men were killed.
Hill was injured but, after giving morphia to the wounded, he reported to his divisional commander, who confirmed that the battery at Merville had been captured after a ferocious fight, and that Hill's brigade had achieved all its objectives.
Hill underwent surgery that afternoon, but refused to be evacuated and set up his headquarters at La Mesnil. Under his leadership, three weak parachute battalions held the key strategic ridge from Chateau St Côme to the outskirts of Troarn against repeated attacks from the German 346th Division.
On June 10 the 5th Battalion, Black Watch, was put under Hill's command. Two days later, when the 9th Parachute Battalion called for urgent reinforcements, Hill led a company of Canadian parachutists in a daring counter-attack.
The 12th Parachute Battalion, took Bréville, the pivotal position from which 346th Division launched their attacks on the ridge, albeit at great cost. Hill said afterwards that the enemy had sustained considerable losses of men and equipment and a great defensive victory had been won. He was awarded a Bar to his DSO.
The 3rd Parachute Brigade returned to England in September but three months later it was back on the front line, covering the crossings of the River Meuse. In the difficult conditions of the Ardennes and in organising offensive patrolling across the River Maas, Hill's enthusiasm was a constant inspiration to his men.
In March 1945 Hill commanded the brigade in Operation Varsity, the battle of the Rhine Crossing, before pushing on to Wismar on the Baltic, arriving on May 2, hours before the Russians.
He was wounded in action three times. He was awarded a second Bar to his DSO, and the American Silver Star.
Hill was appointed military governor of Copenhagen in May and was awarded the King Haakon VII Liberty Cross for his services. He commanded and demobilised the 1st Parachute Brigade before retiring from the Army in July in the rank of brigadier.
He was closely involved in the formation of the Parachute Regiment Association and, in 1947, he raised and commanded the 4th Parachute Brigade (TA).
The next year, Hill joined the board of Associated Coal & Wharf Companies and was president of the Powell Duffryn Group of companies in Canada from 1952 to 1958. He was managing director and chairman of Cory Brothers from 1958 to 1970.
In 1961, Hill became a director of Powell Duffryn and was vice-chairman of the company from 1970 to 1976. Among a number of other directorships, he was a director of Lloyds Bank from 1972 to 1979.
He was for many years a trustee of the Airborne Forces Security Fund and a member of the regimental council of the Parachute Regiment. In June 2004, he attended the 60th Anniversary of the Normandy landings.
A life-size bronze statue of him with his thumbstick, sited at Le Mesnil crossroads, the central point of the 3rd Parachute Brigade's defensive position on D-Day, was unveiled by the Prince of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief of the Parachute Regiment.
James Hill married first, in 1937, Denys Gunter-Jones, with whom he had a daughter and, in 1986, Joan Haywood.
At Chichester in his final years he enjoyed pursuing his lifelong hobby of birdwatching.

Wing Commander "Bunny" Currant

Wing Commander "Bunny" Currant, who has died aged 95, was twice awarded the DFC during the Battle of Britain when he was one of the RAF's most successful fighter pilots, being credited with destroying at least thirteen enemy aircraft.
Currant achieved his first success on August 15 1940, the day the Luftwaffe mounted its biggest raid against the north of England. In a co-ordinated attack, large formations of bombers attacked from Norway and Denmark and were intercepted by the few RAF fighter squadrons based in the north east. Currant and his fellow pilots of No 605 Squadron scrambled in their Hurricanes and engaged the bombers off Newcastle. Currant shot down two Heinkel bombers and probably destroyed a third. The Luftwaffe's losses were so high during this raid that they never returned in force to the north.
No 605 was transferred to Croydon and fought throughout the most intense phase of the battle. On September 8 Currant damaged three bombers and shot one down over the airfield in full view of his groundcrew. He shared in the destruction of two more the following day. September 15 was the climax of the fighting and during a morning scramble, Currant shot down two Dornier bombers and damaged three others before his Hurricane was severely damaged, but he managed to crash land. He was airborne again in the afternoon and shot down a Messerschmitt fighter.
By the end of September he had accounted for two more fighters and was awarded the DFC "for his great skill and courage in air combats in the defence of London". He celebrated the award by shooting down two more enemy fighters. The Battle of Britain officially ended on October 31, by which time Currant had added another to his ever-mounting score.
In December he destroyed a Messerschmitt Bf 109 over Dover and in the New Year was awarded a Bar to his DFC.
Currant left No 605 in January for a rest tour; the squadron diarist commented: "Bunny Currant had without doubt been one of the most successful pilots in the history of the squadron and whose leadership, wit and outstanding fighting spirit would be very sorely missed."
The son of a Luton hatter, Christopher Frederick Currant was born on December 14 1911 and educated at Rydal School. He joined the RAF in 1936 and trained as a pilot, when he gained the nickname "Bunny" which remained with him for the rest of his life.
After serving with No 46 and No 151 Squadrons flying bi-plane Gauntlet fighters, Currant converted to the Hurricane and joined No 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron in April 1940, when he was commissioned. He survived a mid-air collision before the squadron moved to Hawkinge in Kent to provide support for the beleaguered British Expeditionary Force.
Operating on his first patrol over France on May 22, he attacked three bombers over Arras. The engine of his Hurricane stopped and he prepared to bale out. He stepped on to the wing but realised that the aircraft was still able to fly, so climbed back into the cockpit and crash-landed in a field, breaking his nose. He made his way to Calais and eventually boarded a ship to return to England where he rejoined No 605 still carrying his parachute.
After the Battle of Britain Currant served as chief flying instructor of a unit training fighter pilots. On August 14 1941 he began his second tour of operations in command of No 501 Squadron equipped with the Spitfire. Flying from Ibsley in the New Forest, he led many sorties escorting bombers over France and against shipping. On one occasion three German fighters attacked him and his aircraft was shot up. The instrument panel was destroyed and a bullet struck the back of his head but Currant managed to escape at low level. In great pain he landed at a forward airfield, but his aircraft turned over on to its back due to the undercarriage tyres having been shot through. He was trapped in the petrol-soaked cockpit but was soon rescued from the wreckage. After a month in hospital, he returned to flying with fragments of shrapnel still in his head.
During September 1941 Currant played himself in the film First of the Few, which starred David Niven and Leslie Howard. Currant was cast as the squadron commander "Hunter Leader" and flew his Spitfire in the aerial sequences. In one shot he was shown firing his guns at a Heinkel bomber. The film was described as: "The epic of the Spitfire with pilots of Fighter Command." It was considered a great success.
Currant flew many sweeps over France during the spring of 1942 and in July he was promoted to wing commander to take charge of the three Spitfire squadrons that formed the Ibsley Wing. On July 7, he was awarded the DSO, being described as "a most courageous pilot and a brilliant leader". In August 1942, Currant moved to Zeals in Wiltshire to form and command No 122 Wing equipped with Spitfires, which came under the control of the new 2nd Tactical Air Force.
In April 1943 Currant added a Belgian Croix de Guerre to his British decorations. He led his wing during the D-Day landings in June 1944 before departing for a lecture tour in America. On his return, he crossed to France to join No 84 Group Control Centre working in the tactical air operations centre co-ordinating ground attack operations in support of the Army. He was twice mentioned in dispatches.
Currant remained in the RAF after the war and after attending the Staff College spent three years in Washington on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After two years as the wing commander administration at the fighter airfield at Wattisham, and a year at the Ministry of Supply dealing with guided missiles, he left for Norway, where he joined the staff of the Royal Norwegian Air Force Staff College. At the end of his two-year appointment, the Norwegians asked him to remain for a further two years. On his departure in 1959, the Norwegian government awarded him the Order of St Olaf.
Currant retired from the RAF as a wing commander and joined Hunting Engineering in 1960, undertaking research and development work on weapons for the RAF. He finally retired in 1976.
A very modest man, Currant gave great support to local Air Training Corps squadrons and to the RAF Association. He also was a strong supporter of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust. A keen sportsman, in addition to refereeing hockey matches, he umpired at a number of Wimbledon tennis championships. Currant was also a passionate golfer and claimed that he started to make his most significant improvement after he was 70.
The remains of a Hurricane that he flew during his time on No 605 were found in India some 50 years later and restored to flying condition. It will fly in salute at his memorial service.
"Bunny" Currant died on March 12. He married, in August 1942, Cynthia Brown, who survives him with their three sons and a daughter.