Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Gordon Ward Lane Fox (formerly Jackson), (14 October 1899 – 31 July 1989) was a British Army officer and prominent Yorkshire landowner.

[11] Once 43 Recce had been reinforced and reorganised, it took its place in the fighting line, seeing its first action on 4 August, following up the retreating Germans and gaining vital information for 43 Wessex Division's attack on Mont Pinçon.

[12] 43rd Wessex took Mont Pinçon after bitter fighting[13][14] and on 10 August 43 Recce advanced boldly again, seizing bridges and slipping between pockets of German resistance.

A bold plan (Operation Market Garden) was conceived whereby airborne troops seized bridges to allow fast-moving ground forces to 'bounce' the river crossings up to and including the Rhine at Arnhem.

The parachute and glider drop went in on 17 September and the ground advance was led by the Guards Armoured Division, with 43rd Wessex given the vital task of following up and keeping the precarious single road open behind them.

All they could do was make a desperate attempt to cross the Rhine by boat, and when that failed to assist the evacuation of the survivors of 1st Airborne during the night of 25 September 1944.

Throughout the Normandy battle his constant presence with the forward troops his traditional high standards of honour and his indifference to personal danger had endeared him to all ranks".