Major-General Anthony John Deane-Drummond, CB, DSO, MC & Bar (23 June 1917 – 4 December 2012) was an officer of the Royal Signals in the British Army, whose career was mostly spent with airborne forces.
Deane–Drummond DSO, OBE, MC, Anthony Deane–Drummond was educated at Marlborough College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.
[1][2] During the Second World War, Deane–Drummond served in Europe and in North Africa;[1] he volunteered for Commando duty, and was assigned as second–in–command[3] of the force which participated in Operation Colossus, an airborne raid on southern Italy in February 1941.
[5] He became separated from his unit whilst trying to link up with 1st Parachute Brigade, who were surrounded at the north end of Arnhem Bridge, and along with three other soldiers spent three days trapped in a small room at the back of a German–occupied house.
On managing to leave this building, they split up to cross the river; Deane–Drummond successfully swam to the south bank of the Rhine, but was almost immediately taken prisoner.
[5] After leaving his hiding place, Deane–Drummond made contact with the Resistance, and waited two weeks until he was brought back to British lines as part of Operation Pegasus.
[5] The capabilities demonstrated on this extremely arduous operation averted the Army's plans to disband the SAS, which would otherwise have occurred on its return from Malaya.