RIP Sir Thomas Macpherson
In the British Army, the Military Cross is rather hard to get. Its the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and men after the VC and the DSO. Comparatively, its the same as the U.S. the Silver Star Medal. If you can imagine a warrior brave enough to earn one of these, image one who earned two. Well, Sir Thomas earned three in addition to three Croix de Guerre (two Palms and Star), and several Papal and Italian medals during the Second World War.
Only 19 when he joined the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders (TA) unit in his home county, he later volunteered for the Commandos and soon found himself making all sorts of waves “somewhere behind German lines” in Greece, Africa, France and elsewhere.
On one occasion in North Africa in 1942, Sir Thomas and “three comrades embarked in the submarine Talisman and were landed in folbots (folding canoes) near Apollonia. For two successive nights the submarine failed to return to the arranged rendezvous and the men set out to walk to Tobruk. The party had no food, water, maps or adequate footwear and were dressed only in PT shorts.
After they split up, two of the group were captured by the Italians. Macpherson and a comrade reached the outskirts of Derna, where they sabotaged a telephone exchange. It proved to be a bad mistake; they were traced and picked up by an Italian patrol.
During his interrogation, one of the patrol brought in his unloaded Colt automatic and asked him to explain how it worked. Macpherson showed him by loading a spare magazine, which he was still carrying, and holding up his captors…”
He has passed away at age 94. His obit in the Telegraph is most interesting.
Pro rege et patria…