Long Range Desert Group

Trooper Biography Section
Updated: 02/08/10
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Lawrence Hamilton "Tony" Browne was born in England in July 1908, he emigrated to New Zealand while an under-graduate at Cambridge. He originally joining the Civil Service and then spend 12 years with the N.Z. Broadcasting Organization before enlisting in the New Zealand Military Forces at Wellington in September 1939. Attached to the N.Z.A.S.C. he embarked for Egypt early in the following year, where, at Cairo, in July 1940, he volunteered for the Long Range Patrol (L.R.P.) in formation with the rank of Corporal.

His amateur interest in astronomy and a flair for mathematics made him an ideal candidate for the studies in desert navigation, an art in which he swiftly excelled, under the instructions of Wm. B. Kennedy Shaw.

In September of 1940 while under the command of Capt. Clayton and setting up a series of supply dumps he made precise maps of all the areas traveled. He was with the unit in December of that year when it’s name was change to the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG). In Jan. 1941 he was used as a translator when T Patrol was at Ft. Lamy negotiating with the Free French, who were going to join them on the raid on the Murzuk fort.

At Murzuk, the Italian held fort and nearby airfield, with three resident aircraft, was pretty much laid to waste. The LRDG suffering two fatalities (French Col. d’Ornano & Sergeant Hewson) and three wounded, including Browne, who was hit in the foot - the Italians suffered ten killed and 15 wounded.

Click pic to see full size view.

Ten days after the above action on Jan 31^st 1941 the unit, still under the command of Capt. Clayton, was attacked by the Italian Auto-Saharan at Gebel Sherif. Capt. Clayton and two others were captured, two were killed and four others were missing (Moore, Easton, Tighe & Winchester). Browne was again wounded a second time but escaped with the balance of the patrol. His coolness was instrumental in saving his vehicle and crew when subjected to a determined low-flying bombing and M.G. attack by an enemy aircraft.

Browne’s winning exploits in the actions at Murzuk and Gebel Sherif in Libya in January 1941 were part of the LRDG’s first serious attempt at penetrating behind enemy lines in force, and were the highlights of an extraordinary non-stop five week long journey totaling 4500 miles.

The award for his actions at Murzuk reads:

"D.C.M. London Gazette 8 July 1941. The original recommendation states:
‘This N.C.O. displayed exceptional gallantry and resource during the raid on Murzuk on 11 January 1941. He commanded his vehicle most efficiently and maintained his Lewis gun in action with coolness and telling effect on the enemy. His example did much to keep the patrol steady at a critical time when enemy fire was causing casualties. Although wounded in the foot he remained at his post."

Following further patrols, including a 600 mile excursion to Jalo Oasis in March 1941 and his first outing as patrol leader during a 1600 mile excursion to navigate the first supply convoy from Wadi Halfa by the Sudanese Defense Force to Kufra that May, Browne was commissioned to 2^nd Lieutenant.

It was also at this time, in another patrol, he received a snake bite, in which he was bitten twice and after suffering hours of agony, he completed recovered. He also aided Wm. Kennedy Shaw in conducting training courses in desert navigation for officers and men of the 8^th Army.

Browne was back on patrol - making a census of enemy traffic movements on the Nafilia to Ageila route - that September and October, while in the following month he led a LRDG unit charged with planting a faked-map near Jalo (a.k.a. "Operation Bishop"), ‘making sure it got into enemy hands’. More importantly, he was closely involved in the November 1941 offensive.

Lloyd Owen takes up the story:
‘Tony Browne and one of the New Zealand Patrols joined up with John Olivey and his Rhodesians. They were unmolested on the road between Barce and Benghazi , and took up position about thirty yards apart, with their bonnets facing away from the road, and at about fifty yards from it. This was the most efficient way to bring all guns to bear on enemy transport, and at the same time it enabled them to make a really quick getaway if this should be necessary. Several vehicles were dealt with in one place before they moved six or seven miles nearer Benghazi . This time they destroyed a further two lorries, together with their trailers, and also an oil-tanker. Killing the occupants. Next this enterprising party moved a bit farther away, and were all ready to try to derail a train when they were called back to Siwa to refuel and to get fresh orders. John Olivey was very upset that he had been unable to achieve a lifelong ambition of blowing up a train!’

It is safe to assume that Browne’s leadership and navigational skills were also used by other fellow desert raiders, the S.A.S. David Stirling, founder of the S.A.S., wrote after the War that ‘The LRDG had a much larger part in the forming and growth of the early S.A.S. I always state, when asked, that the LRDG and not the S.A.S. were the true "Masters of the Desert". Although we had a different role, it was the LRDG and men like Tony Brown who taught us about the Desert.’

Prior to El Alamein in October 1942, Browne was employed for several months on the Operational Staff at GHQ, Middle East, ‘to attend to LRDG matters’, and charged with training the Indian Long Range Squadron. It was at this time he navigated a Hudson Bomber to Kufra which was needed to transport Alastair Timpson & Thomas Wann of G1 patrol, injured in a jeep accident, in route to the Barce raid. Soon after the commencement of Montgomery’s offensive he was back in action in the field, transporting I.S.L.D. personal to Bir Tala. Attacked by Italian aircraft the operation resulted in several casualties, himself among them, they returned to Kufra on Nov. 30^th after completing their mission in spite of losing both the Captain’s command vehicle and the Wireless truck.

He had sufficiently recovered from these wounds to assist in navigating the 2nd N.Z. Division in its December push.

Lloyd-Owen continues:
"On the coast the knowledge that the LRDG had gained about the lie of the land ahead of the Eighth Army was‘ in tremendous demand, and the first of these very successful patrols was when Tony Browne led the 2nd New Zealand Division and the 4th Light Armored Brigade to outflank the El Agheila position which Rommel was still holding at the end of December 1942."

Soon after this Tony was ordered to report on the "going" in three wadis to the west of Sirte, and it was here that he was injured when his truck was blown up on a mine, and a South African officer with him was killed. Paddy MacLauchlan, who was out with Tony learning the ropes, took over command when the latter had to be evacuated. He was very quick to learn, but found himself in action and very nearly captured by enemy armored cars within a few days. He had mistaken them for friendly troops. This New Zealand Patrol had left Kufra in early December, and before they returned to base had covered over 2500 miles.’

For his action he received an M.C. The original recommendation states:

‘For most distinguished services during the operation that resulted in the turning of the Agheila position. Captain Browne carried out the initial reconnaissance of country several hundred miles behind the enemy lines, the information he obtained being invaluable in making plans for the approach marches. During the operation he personally navigated and led the New Zealand Division column from Haseiat to Merduma and then on to Nofila. While carrying out a further reconnaissance before the next advance he was wounded when blown up on an unmarked minefield near Wadi Tamet. Captain Browne displayed excellent judgment and the greatest enterprise at all times.’

Upon being discharged from the hospital in early 1943 he was appointed the LRDG Intelligence Officer (replacing Wm. Kennedy Shaw). As it transpired he saw no further action in North Africa due to the imminent Allied victory in that theater on war. He was however involved in the unit’s subsequent operations in Albania, Yugoslavia and the Dalmatian Islands. He received a promotion to Major in 1945. He remained employed as an Intelligence Office with the L.R.D.G. until the end of hostilities and joined the British Administration in Libya in 1946, in which capacity he remained employed until the independent Kingdom of Libya was established in 1951. He next joining Mobil Oil of Canada , which had obtained one of the original oil concessions in Libya, and he was serving as Manager of the company’s northern operations in Cyrenaica until his retirement in 1965, the year in which he was gazetted for his O.B.E.

He died in September 1970 from cancer.

His medals and diary were recently sold at auction for 18000 Pounds Sterling

Walter known as "Wally" to the other LRDG Troopers, was born in New Zealand on October 19^th 1918. Until I can prove otherwise I believed he lived in Putaruru, N.Z. with his mother Ruth. He was five foot six inches tall had a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. His weight is not listed.

From his military records it looks like he served a period of time in some sort of New Zealand military service in country for 2 years. He was employed by Ward Taxis service in Rotorua, N.Z. as a taxi driver. On May 21^st 1940 he enlisted in the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry and enter Burnham Camp for training on October 3^rd 1940.

With his training completed he was shipped off to Egypt with the 2 NZEF on Jan 30^th 1941. Arriving in Egypt on Feb 5^th 1941.

Soon after on Feb 26^th he started at the base cooking school and passed as a 2^nd class cook by March 17^th and by May 7^th passed the 1^st class cook requirements.

He was admitted to the camp hospital on two different occasions, once on May 14^th for 5 days and again on June 16^th for another 5 days. The records do not indicate the reason for his hospital stays. But it is possible that he was injured while cooking.

On December 6^th 1941 he was one of the few chosen to join the LRDG. There much is not heard about him during his time with the LRDG but he did what every other LRDG trooper did. The "Road Watch" was one of their least favorite activities. And since he trained as a cook I am sure that he did his fair share of that when on patrol.

Walter was promoted to Lance Corporal on May 1^st 1943 and again to Corporal on June 2^nd 1943. And since the Germans and Italians were defeated in the North Africa, the LRDG unit was sent to "Cedars of Lebanon" for Mountain Warfare Training on July 7^th 1943 and Walter went with them.

After eight week rigorous training they left via Haifa on Sept 21^st 1943 for the Dodecanese Islands. It was here that the LRDG patrols were used to ill effect as ground and invasion forces, without proper reconnaissance before they were committed.

I believe (but do not have absolute proof) that he was still attached to A Squadron ( T-2 patrol) when they attacked the island of Levita. The unit was commanded by Capt. John Olivey. To see the story of "The Assault on Levita" click here.

It was confirmed that he was a POW to military authorities on Dec. 15^th 1943, at that time he was in Stalag 344. He was moved to Stalag 355 on Sept 14^th 1944. And not much was hear from him until the "capture" postcard showed up in "Rotorua" addressed to Mr. T. M. Mercer where he was at Stalag 357.

He remained in Stalag 357 until his release at the end of hostilities. He was then transported to England on May 12^th 1945, where he remained until his departure back to New Zealand on July 3^rd 1945. Finally arriving back to his home country on Aug. 4^th 1945. He was finally discharged on Nov. 7^th 1945.

Lloyd was born on March 10, 1915, he was one of three children born to Josuha & Lottie Doel at Whangarei, New Zealand. He had one younger brother, Josh, and a sister Bonnie. His parents had a small dairy farm about two miles from Kawakawa, where they also grew and sold vegetables.

Lloyd was 25 years old when he enlisted in the army, on Nov. 27^th 1940. He had been working as a freezer worker for AFFCO when he entered Papakura Military Camp, Auckland, on 16 April 1941, for training in the New Zealand Territorial Army. He was transferred from the Territorial Army to the 2^nd Infantry Training Battalion on May 7^th 1941. After four months training, his unit departed New Zealand on Sept 13^th 1941 for Egypt. His ship arrived in Egypt on October 19^th , 1941.

He attended Cooking school at Geneifa on Dec. 17^th,1941 and qualified as Cook Class I in Jan. 18, 1942. He was posted to the New Zealand Northern Infantry Corps as a cook and was entitled to "extra duty pay". He served there until July 2^nd ,1942 when he was posted to "Special Patrol Duties" (not the LRDG). While serving with this unnamed unit he was wounded on July 22^nd and admitted to a hospital on July 25^th. He remained in the hospital or recuperation center until he was finally again fit for duty on Sept. 15^th 1942. There is not much detail on his service from Sept until his next posting which was in June of 1943, when he was posted to the LRDG on the 17^th.

Since the war in North Africa ended in May of that year he went with the other LRDG troopers for training at the "Cedars of Lebanon" for skiing instructions and underwent vigorous mountain training. In September the LRDG along with other Special Forces were attached to Force 292, soon after renamed "Raiding Forces". These miscellaneous units were moved to various islands in the Dodecanese chain which had been controlled by the Italians and after their surrender British units moved to prevent the Germans from taking them over. Unfortunately the Germans had other ideas and retook the islands one by one.

Lloyd was on Levitha (Levita) with LRDG A Squadron , commanded by Captain Olivey and 47 other LRDG troopers, attacking the island. The attack was difficult to form as there was little accurate information available on the enemies strength or disposition. Their objective was the high central ground of the island (Mount Vardia)which overlooked the port of Levitha and from there it was proposed to deny the rest of the island to the enemy.

On the night of October 23^rd 1943, Lloyd and the other troopers were put ashore by two motor launches, their landing was unopposed. But the motor launches engaged shore targets and alerted the enemy. "At the first streaks of daylight, three or four seaplanes began to take off from the Levita harbor. The New Zealanders, who overlooked the harbor from the ridge, opened fire, and for a moment it seemed that Trooper Lloyd Doel had put one seaplane out of action with his Bren gun, but it moved out of range and took off after some delay." When the seaplanes came overhead to strafe them they returned fire but to little effect. The LRDG came under continued air attack and heavy ground fire suffering may casualties. And at the end of the day only seven of the LRDG patrol were able to escape. Lloyd was one of the many captured.

He was posted as "missing in action" on Oct 25^th 1943 but then was reclassified as a "prisoner of war" when notified by the German government. He along with the other POW’s was transported by boat to either Yugoslavia or Greece and then by train to Stalag 344 (located in Lamsdorf, Poland) then later he was transferred to Stalag VIIA (located in Moosburg, Germany) and finally to Stalag VIIIC (located in Sagan, Poland). He was held there until late January 1945 when the whole camp was to be marched west as the Russian’s were closing in. (See http://www.pegasus-one.org/pow/robert_warren.htm - for a history by Lance-Corporal Robert Bennett Warren who tells of the Camp and the "death march"). Lloyd was on the march with the others in the camp.

They arrived near Hanover, Germany, after marching an average 15 miles a day (about 600 miles) in early April, they were finally released to the advancing allied armies. Lloyd along with many of the other POW’s had to be admitted for hospitalization as they were all in terrible condition and they were transported to England as soon as possible.

Now the good part of the story. While Lloyd was held as a POW, a family who farmed next to his parent’s in Kawakawa, New Zealand, wrote to their first-cousins in Wales, UK. They advised the William’s family that a "local lad" was held as a POW and asked if they could try to contact him through the Red Cross. Consequently, this Welsh family had one of their daughters write to Lloyd. Their correspondence continued throughout the war. Lloyd arrived in the UK in April 1945 and married Nursing Sister Isobel Williams on August 28^th, 1945.

He returned home to live and work on the family dairy farm with his war-bride they had three children, John, born Jan. 10, 1948, David, born Aug. 1, 1949 and a daughter Helen, born Feb. 10, 1951.

Unlike today, there was no such things counseling for trauma and suffering. Like many old soldiers, Lloyd very rarely spoke of the war to his family, of being a POW or the death-march. He would occasionally recall a humorous incident but was a closed-book on the atrocities and suffering. Often he would walk away saying "forget, forget...forget!"

After the war he became very involved in the New Zealand RSA and was the very proud recipient of the RSA Gold Star in 1973. He was elected President of the NZ LRDG Association in 1989.

In 1987 he received compensation from the New Zealand Government for having been held in a sub-camp of Auschwitz during WWII, "for this illegal incarceration and in recognition of the special suffering you endured as a prisoner of war.

Doel - Medals Front Blue.JPG (41038 bytes)

1939 - 1945 Star
African Star
1939 - 1945 War Medal
New Zealand War Service Medal

Ashley Greenwood, OBE, MC, QC, former Attorney-General of Fiji and Gibraltar

John Edward Haselden, Lt. Col. MC & Bar #147079 U.K.

John was Born at Ramleh, near Alexandria, Egypt on August 10^th, 1903 of a British father and an Italian mother. John’s father had been born in Egypt and his grandfather, who had left Liverpool at the time of the Lancashire cotton famine, occasioned by the disruption of cotton supplies from America due to the civil war, married, in 1863, Emma Saunders, a daughter of the British Consul General at Alexandria, Sir Sidney Smith Saunders. John was educated at King’s School, Canterbury, England, married his Polish/Italian wife, Nadia Ida Marie Szymonski-Lubicz, in Alexandria, Egypt and had one son Gerald born in Egypt on April 15^th, 1932. On March 2^nd 1936 Nadia died in a car accident at Beni Ahmed near Minya, Upper Egypt and in April his son Gerald was sent to live with John’s sister in England.

Before the war John worked for Anderson, Clayton & Company, the Houston-based US cotton-house, founded in 1904, and was a managing partner of their Upper-Egypt Agency at El-Minya. He spoke fluent Arabic, French and Italian. Shortly after the outbreak of war John, with the blessing of Anderson, Clayton & Company (a decision they were to regret see below) John joined the British Forces.

When hostilities with Italy started, he was originally posted the Libyan Arab Force and worked for G(R), July 13^th 1940, the branch of the General Staff Middle East which dealt with raiding forces, the organization for rescuing prisoners of war known as 'Advanced HQ', 'A' Force and similar services. He then became Western Desert Liaison Officer at HQ Eighth Army. The WDLO's duty was to control the Arab population of the occupied territory until Civil Affairs could get going and to obtain intelligence from friendly Arabs.

His usual means of delivery behind enemy lines was by the 'Libyan Taxi Service' - the Long Range Desert Group - who held him in high esteem. 'Haselden… was the outstanding personality of the dozen odd men who worked with the tribes in Cyrenaica behind the Axis lines,' wrote Bill Kennedy-Shaw, the LRDG's intelligence officer, 'Untiring, strong, courageous, never without some new scheme for outwitting the enemy, yet with a slow and easy-going way of setting about a job which was far more successful with the Arabs than the usual European insistence on precision and punctuality which they neither like nor understand.'

He spent much of his time behind enemy lines, completely without fear, as either an Arab or an Italian. Although he was actually never a member of the LRDG he spent many hours with a number of the Patrols either going to or coming from one of his missions.

He received a MC for his actions in Oct. of 1941 the Citations reads:

"Capt. Haselden was landed from a submarine behind the enemy's lines on Oct. 10^th 1941 to reconnoiter for a possible operation in conjunction with local Arabs. In order to decrease the risk to the boat crew, this officer swam ashore in the dark and, after reconnoitering, signaled that it was safe for the boat to come ashore. He remained in enemy territory until picked up by one of our patrols at a given rendezvous on 19 October (R-Patrol under Capt. Jake Easonsmith). During this period, in which he was in constant danger of being arrested and shot, he collected valuable information both regarding the local Arabs and the movement of enemy troops. The success of the reconnaissance was largely due to the high degree of courage, determination and clear-thinking possessed by this officer".

The very following month he again shows up with T.2 Patrol under Capt. A. D. Hunter, on Nov. 7^th, who was to take him along with three other officers and two Arabs to the Slonta area were he did reconnaissance's prior to "Operation Flipper". In which he played a key role in the attempt to kill or capture Rommel.

He was dropped off in the desert with the two Arabs and made his way to the coast where he signaled the 'all clear' to two waiting submarines. Men of 11 Scottish Commando led by Lt. Col. Keyes, who was killed in the action [and awarded a posthumous VC], came ashore but bad weather and other problems conspired to turn the operation into a fiasco. Most of the raiding party were killed or captured.

Capt. Haselden again made his way through miles of enemy territory to his appointed rendezvous with the Long Range Desert Group. On his journey back he succeeded in disrupting vital enemy communications. He escaped despite a fierce encounter between the LRDG patrol, which was due to collect him, and Italian forces.

"I consider that Capt. Haselden's fearless action is worthy of the highest praise. Such success as was achieved in the operation was largely due to information which Capt. Haselden had gained during his reconnaissance. I cannot recommend too highly Capt. Haselden's outstanding endurance, his cool and calculated bravery, and his unswerving devotion to duty". Recommended by 'Controller SOE' with G(R) [SOE] GHQ MEF and signed/endorsed by General Auchinleck, CinC, Nov 26 1941 MC, London Gazette, Feb 12 1942. (ICMA)

For his actions in Operation Flipper he received a Bar to his MC.

He again shows up in Jan 3^rd 1942 with an Eighth Army letter to the OC LRDG ordering the attachment of a LRDG patrol to XIII Corps. On Feb 9^th 1942 G.2 Patrol LRDG under command of Capt. Alastair Timpson left Siwa to take an Axis traffic census. They were accompanied by Capt. Haselden who had with him two Arabs, one the former Mudir of Slonta, who was to assist in assessing the reliability of Arabs in Cyrenaica, and the other a guide. On Feb. 13^th 1942 he took four men to observe Axis vehicles using the northern route and reported that one in five were captured British vehicles which seemed to be in much better condition than enemy vehicles. He thought the local Arabs were friendly and helpful. And by following up reports from Arabs they were able to round up 44 British stragglers in the course of the patrol.

The final chapter in Lt. Col. Haselden’s life started in Aug. 21^st 1942 when the orders for the attack on Tobruk (Operation Agreement) were issued. Although not well know this plan originated back in October 1940 when only action against the Italians were involved and was subsequently shelved when the British captured Tobruk. It was resurrected after Rommel retook the city in May of 1942.

"The aim of the raid on Tobruk was to destroy oil storage tanks, ammunition dumps, repair facilities and harbor defenses and installations. The ground force (Force B) was led by Lt. Col. Haselden, which was to consist of one squadron of 1st SS [Special Service] Regiment, under Maj. Campbell, disguised as British POW’s, with their weapons hidden. Y.1 patrol LRDG under Capt. David Lloyd Owen, which was to lead the unit across the desert. Special Detachment of G(R) under Capt. Buck [consisting of German speaking Palestinians, sometimes known as 'SIG', [Special Interrogation Group] in German uniforms, some Gunners and Signalers and a Medical Officer. Having entered the port, the force was to attack anti-aircraft and coastal defense batteries at the SE end of Tobruk harbor from the land ward side and to create a bridgehead for Force 'C' [mainly Argyll’s]. "

The approach march of 700 miles from Kufra was undetected, they gained entry to the port area as planned and the immediate objectives were achieved but the 18 motor torpedo boats carrying Force 'C' lost touch with each other in the dark and few troops came ashore. Force 'A', mainly Royal Marines embarked in two destroyers, also encountered major difficulties thanks mainly to the adverse weather and navigational problems; all who landed were either killed or captured and both destroyers were lost. About an hour before dawn, Lt. Col. Haselden had a number of wounded loaded onto a truck and he and some other men jumped into a W/T lorry and the two vehicles headed off "down the hill through the enemy". His object was to get the wounded away and then to complete the second part of his task which included the capture of guns along the Southern shore and to then turn his attention to the oil storage tanks but he was killed shortly thereafter" at the age of 39.

For more complete details about the Tobruk raid read "Tobruk Commando" by Gordon Landsborough and "Massacre at Tobruk" by Peter C. Smith. For details of "Operation Flipper" read "Get Rommel" by Michael Asher or http://lost-oasis.org/rommel.html

Photos and most of the information obtained from Gerald Haselden

Harry was one of those LRDG members that kept the trucks running. He was born March 17^th 1921 in Grimsby, England. His father's name was also Harry. At the time of his enlistment on July 24^th,1940 his trade was listed as a laborer. He was five foot nine inches tall had a fair complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. His weight was listed at 132 pounds.

From what few military records that I have seen he was trained as a "Fitter, Motor .Vehicle." and was classified as a Class III on Dec 1^st,1942. I can not quite figure out when he joined the LRDG but he received a Yellow Fever vaccination on Feb 7^th 1943. And on Feb. 11^th , 1943 he was reclassified a Class II Fitter, Motor Vehicle. I assume he was shipped to or was in Egypt shortly thereafter.

At some point in time he joined the LRDG and was posted to the Light Repair Service Unit. Since the battle for North Africa was drawing to a close by April the LRDG was ordered back to Alexandria for refit and find out was to become of the unit.

As the unit was to be retrained and moved to the Cedars of Lebanon for Mountain Warfare School. The desert trucks were not taken with them but there were both British Military trucks and jeeps still used by the unit that had to be kept in running order. In June of 1943 his rank was listed as a "Craftsman".

After the disaster in the Dodecanese Islands where the LRDG lost more men than the previous three years, it was eventually moved to the Italian Adriatic Coast for continued operations in Albania and Yugoslavia.

Harry was there with LSR 16 which was based in Rodi, Italy. On July 28^th,1944 he was ordered to go to Bari and "collect stores", by Captain Braithwait, Officer in Charge of L.R.S. attached to the LRDG.

Harry continued with the LRDG - LRS until the end of the war and the unit was disbanded.

Upon his discharge on July 2^nd 1946 his officer remarked that "Harry is a very good man who has a good knowledge of his job as a M.T. Fitter. Kind, willing and intelligent. Can be relied upon to work on his own initiative without supervision."

I have no information about Harry's postwar activities. I did however meet his son a few years ago who provided the photos and war information. Harry has passed away but I do not have the date.

David was born in Hampton, Middlesex, England October 10^th , 1917. His father was a Captain in the Royal Navy. After Winchester College and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Queen’s Royal Regiment in 1938. His unit was shipped to Palestine were he saw service during the Arab revolt.

With the outbreak of hostilities and the movement of the Italian Army toward Mersa Matruh, the Queen’s was sent to Egypt in December 1940, where Lloyd Owen saw action as a company commander at Sidi Barani and Tobruk.

But by late spring of 1941, Lloyd Owen, much to his chagrin, found himself posted back in Cairo as an instructor at the Middle East officer cadet training unit. Lloyd Owen had heard about the Long Range Desert Group from a officer friend in the Guards.

He applied and was interviewed by Major Bagnold. He impressed Bagnold sufficiently to be taken on and given command of a Yeomanry Patrol.

A man of normally immaculate appearance, he began to blend in with his informal and decidedly scruffy comrades. Lloyd Owen’s relaxed and friendly style of leadership relied on persuasion, personal example and the recognition of shared hardships. He won the loyalty and respect of his men by his daring, sheer stamina and first rate tactical skills.

He was awarded an MC for his part in a joint raid on Tobruk, code named "Agreement" in September 1942. Shortly after the raid, when his unit had returned to Kufra, he was severely wounded in an air raid with a cannon shell to his back and left arm. He recovered enough to rejoin the unit for the final stages of the North African campaign.

When the unit was involved in the Dodecanes Islands and the new commander Jake Easonsmith was killed, David Lloyd Owen was appointed to command. He led the unit successfully in raids on Corfu, the Dalmatian Islands and in Yugoslavia from the LRDG command post in Bari Italy. He was injured when in Albania (after a successful parachute jump) he fell into a 30 foot ravine, and badly damaged his spine. A medical officer parachuted in an treated him in the field and although, continually in pain, he managed to direct a number of successful operations in the mountains. For his leadership in the Balkans he was awarded the DSO and mentioned in dispatches.

Following the war he married in 1947 and following a period of service with the War Office’s military operations staff, in 1948-49 he was appointed military assistant to the high commissioner in Malaya, at the height of the emergency. For his work there he was awarded an OBE and again mentioned in dispatches. From 1957 to 1959 he commanded his own regiment, the 1^st Battalion the Queen’s Royal Regiment, in Germany, before joining the staff at Sandhurst. During the Radfan campaign of the early 1960s, he commanded the 24 Infantry Group in Kenya and Aden. In 1968-69 he was general officer commanding, Near East Land Forces, and from 1969 until his retirement with the rank of major-general in 1972, president of the Regular Commissions Board.

In his retirement, he made his home in Norfolk, he was chairman of the Wildflowers Association of Great Britain, and a charitable trust for the disabled and those with learning difficulties. He was also chairman of the LRDG Association for more than 50 years. He published two memoirs, "The Desert My Dwelling Place" (1957) and "Providence Their Guide" (1980).

In his later years the effects of his earlier wounds and injuries caused him to be confined much of the time in a wheel chair. He died on April 5, 2001 and was survived by his wife of 54 years and three sons.

Mark was born on June 18^th 1920 in West Calder, Scotland , the youngest of eleven children. By 1924, the family immigrated to New York , settling in Brooklyn . In 1929 he returned with his parents and one brother to Scotland , the rest of the siblings remained in the United States .

He grew to be a handsome 6 foot 2 inch young man, blessed with a fine tenor singing voice. On Jan. 18^th 1937, lying about his age (he was 16 ½), he enlisted in the 2^nd Battalion Scots Guards. Trained as an Infantryman, Military Policeman and a Driver, he served in England from January 1937 until November 1938.

In November 1938, he was posted to Egypt and was attached to 8^th Army Headquarters serving as a Driver/Batman and a Corporal at the Officers Mess.

He was sometimes later recruited to the LRDG and it was for his actions with them that he was awarded the Military Medal.

On Nov. 20^th1942, assigned to G-1 Patrol under Captain Alastair Timpson, who had by this time recovered from injuries received on the journey outbound to Barce in Sept, his Patrol left Kufra to relieve G-2 on Road Watch in the Nofilia area. They had five trucks and two jeeps and consisted of Timpson (OC) and Hon. Bernard Bruce (SIC) with 20 other ranks. On the way to their station, they were attacked by a larger force and three of the trucks and a jeep along with ten of his troop were captured. They still had their W/T truck so continued on to relieve G-2.

On the night of Dec. 12^th1942, Welsh and the patrol commander (Capt. Timpson) were dropped off several miles from the coast road to carry out the road watch. Arriving near the road, the only space unoccupied by the enemy was a steep-sided wadi, which flattened out near the road where there were a few small mounds sparsely covered with thorn bushes. This is where they positioned themselves for the night and the long day ahead. At daybreak, German vehicles pulled off the road within 100 yards of their position, making camp. They parked their cooker lorry next to the hideout and they could hear the menu for lunch – macaroni, goulash and gherkins – and could smell it cooking, but were unable to move to eat their own tins of bully beef. Their position seemed hopeless, but they continued recording the dense traffic traveling along the coast road (3500 westbound vehicles were recorded).

The daylight hours passed slowly but they were not discovered. As darkness arrived, Capt. Timpson decided to leave the position before midnight to prevent the next watch from coming to the area. As the moon was rising, they gathered their equipment, rose quickly and walked off slowly in a nonchalant way. Unfortunately, they were challenged, and unable to give the correct password they were fired upon repeatedly and chased. In the ensuing action, they became separated. Timpson went back to where he had last saw Welsh, looking for him and quietly calling his name. Unable to find him, he headed back to the rendezvous; and was picked up by the next team waiting in the jeep who had heard all the shooting.

Meanwhile, managing to evade his pursuers, Welsh had waited for Timpson for about an hour. He then decided to head back, worried that the Germans had got Timpson and concerned to remember details of the previous day’s traffic, as Timpson had the notebook. Unfortunately, passing through several more enemy camps, he was again fired upon and hunted, successfully eluding the enemy. His patrol eventually picked up his footsteps and following them, he was found almost back at the old camp site having walked twenty miles from the rendezvous. (read "G Patrol" by Michael Crichton-Stuart and "In Rommel's Backyard" by Alastair Timpson).

He continued to serve with the unit throughout the North African Campaign; when that theater of war ended, he went with the unit to train at the Cedars of Lebanon, for mountain climbing, ski school and then on to jump school.

In Sept. 3^rd1943, Italy decided they had enough fighting and surrendered, this was announced to the world on Sept. 8^th and on Sept. 11^th Germany moved troops into Italy and all areas under Italian control. One of these areas was the Dodecanese Islands , a group of 14 islands, located in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Turkey . The British wanted these islands and moved troops (LRDG, SBS, and other units) into them before the Germans could get there. However that did not deter the Germans, as they wanted them also and sent an invading force to take them back.

On the evening of Sept 18^th, B Squadron of the LRDG was landed on Astipalaea (Stampalia). On Sept. 24^th three patrols were removed to Leros, leaving M-2 Patrol, under Capt. Ken Lazarus, with 16 O.R. (other ranks; Mark was one of the O.R.) remained on the island to report on enemy aircraft and shipping. On Oct. 12^th Capt. Lazarus was ask if he (and his patrol) would liked to be relieved. His reply was “I would rather be bored on this island than bored on yours”. Lazarus had divided his patrol into three locations; he had five troopers with him manning a wireless post at Assitia. On Oct. 22^nd at 6:15 AM German Paratrooper dropped into the center of the island and by 2:00 PM had complete control. Capt. Lazarus and four men managed to escape to Turkey, unfortunately, the rest along with Mark were captured. (Thanks to Anthony Rogers–Author of Churchill’s Folly for most of the information in the above two paragraphs – click here).

The LRDG lost more men; killed, wounded or captured in this short campaign than the preceding three years in the desert. Mark along with all the other captured from the surrounding islands was transported via boat to Yugoslavia or Greece and then by train to Stalag 344 (located in Lamsdorf , Poland ). From information taken from his army service record, he was successful in making his escape on April 12^th 1945, and eventually was able to rejoin his unit on April 23^rd1945, after spending 18 months as a POW.

African Star with 8 Army Clasp	1939 - 1945 Star	1939 - 1945 Defense Medal
1939 - 1945 War Medal	Italy Star	Military Medal