Terence Otway

The Lieutenant-colonel Terence Brandram Hastings Otway (June 15th 1914 - July 23rd 2006) is a Officier Britannique. He is especially known for his role in the attack of the German battery of Merville in the night of the June 6th, 1944 at the time of the Débarquement of Normandy.

Youth

Otway was born with the Cairo then arrived very early in England while his/her father fought in France. Of end 1918 with the autumn 1921 it lived in Rushbrooke in Ireland. Its family returned to England and it integrated the school into Thame then the college. In 1923, it was reached of whooping-cough and in front of the deterioration of its general state, it was decided to let it leave for Dover where it finished its secondary studies in 1932.

Beginning of military career

In January 1933, Otway integrated the military royal Académie of Sandhurst and obtained the rank of Sergent while being classified 18th on 200; what enabled him to be useful in the Armée with the Indies. But he chose the 2nd battalion of the Royal Ulster Rifles based with Gravesend. During the summer 1935, it had to undergo an operation of the middle ear at the naval hospital of Chatham. With the autumn 1935, Otway was affected with the 1st battalion with HongKong. In August 1937 it was promoted lieutenant and joined his battalion with Shanghai which lost 20 men following the bombardments for 4 months of the Japanese army. In December 1937, the battalion was affected with Rawalpindi which then formed part of the India then to Razani. Otway was named officer of transmissions.

Beginning of Second world war

During a 3 months leave, he married in August 1939 Stella Whitehead, girl of a former colonial police officer in Malaysia. In December 1940, Otway was promoted commander. During the summer 1942, he was liaison officer to the Ministry for the war with London. In June 1943, it reinstated the Royal Ulster Rifles as a captain. The battalion belonged to the 6 {{E}} airborne division British.

Normandy

In August 1943, it is affected as ordering with the 9th battalion parachutist then it is promoted Lieutenant-colonel in March 1944. It has the role of jumping in the night of the June 6th, 1944 to neutralize the battery of Merville () on the side is zone of unloading of the Anglo-Canadian troops of Sword Beach. Although it met many problems since the majority of its men were lost in the marshes of Varaville, and that it had not been able to recover its heavy material, it decided the attack with only 150 men on a manpower of 750. It had to wipe 2 counter-attacks of several hours of a regiment of the 21e Panzerdivision .
Two days later, at the time of a mission of inspection, it was reached by a glare of shell, following a friendly shooting, and was transferred to the hospital with Cardiff where it was stated inapt to turn over in first line: it was affected with the ministry for the war in London. Otway was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in October 1944 for its heroic action of Merville: on this occasion he declared that its “total indifference for the danger had been a source of inspiration for all its men”.

Service in Asia

Post-war period

From 1949 to 1965, Otway worked in the trade, the insurances then in the press as chairman of the Sunday newspaper Empire News which drew to 5 million specimens. Then it launched out in the trade of the toy but it encountered difficulties because of an amendment of the VAT. It turned a time to the field of the leisure then finished its activity with the Chamber of commerce of London until in 1979.

Reprocess

During its retirement, it was implied in the social actions for the soldiers and of their family: it acted under the term of “Colonel X”. Thus in 1991, it obtained government the compensation for 3 soldiers seriously wounded on mission for Canada. In 1995, it worked for the release of a parachutist imprisoned for murder lasting of the disorders in Northern Ireland.

Distinction

When it met in 1993 the German commander of the battery of Merville, it admitted not to have had the notch necessary to refuse to tighten the helping hand but it says afterwards that it could not forget his men killed by the enemy whereas they were hung in the trees. It whistled picnickers installed on the battery, become a memorial, while declaring: “ I do not support only people who eat and drink where my men died ”.

The Francevillais decided to honor the June 7th 1997 Otway by a bust revealed by him, in the presence of Raymond Triboulet, resisting and former minister and for the mayor of the commune Olivier Paz. The bust is the work of Vivien Mallock. In 2001, Otway accepted the Légion of honor and a street bears from now on the name of Colonel Otway to Merville not far from the battery.

External bonds

The 6th Airborne Division in Normandy
Battery of Merville

Source

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