207207 S/Sgt. Denis George "Lofty" Goddard MIDBritish Army Royal Artillery from:Bentworth, Hants My Father Denis George "Lofty" "Badgie" Goddard joined the Royal Artillery Boys Service in Woolwich in 1938. His early wartime service 1939-42 included being a very young staff sergeant training anti tank crews in Wales, most of whom ended up in North Africa.
Overseas wartime service from 1943-45 included Special Operations Executive (SOE) attachment as radio operator in various Greek Islands followed by special forces operations in the Balkans, Northern Italy and Southern France in the following units:-
Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Raiding Support Regiment (RSR), and Special Air Service (SAS)
He finished the back end of the war in a 25 pounder RA unit (the Ayeshire Yeomanry) in Northern Italy (Argenta gap etc.) and Southern Austria where he was part of the operation that handed back to the Soviet Red Army the White Russian Cossacks who fought for the Nazis.
Post WW2 Lofty continued as a professional soldier until 1972. Units included 33rd RA, 66th RA, 7th RHA, 17 RA. Postings included:- India 1945/6
, Palestine 1946/7, Malaya 1950/52, Singapore 1952/53, Dusseldorf 1954/56?
, Cyprus 1956?/60 then was UK based after that.
Lofty faded away in June 2007.
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