Lieutenant-Colonel M H Argue MBE MC was born in Acomb, York on 1 March 1947, Michael Hugh Argue was educated at Penwortham County Secondary School in Preston, Lancashire. Originally a farm labourer and steel erector, Lt.Col Argue first joined 17 Training Regiment, Royal Artillery in 1965, serving his first six months in Munster. The following year he passed the Royal Marine Commando Course and served with 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery in places such as the UK, Aden, Bahrain, and Oman.

In 1968, Lt.Col Argue married his first of three wives, Glynis Butt, with whom he had a son and a daughter. The same year saw him joining the 22 SAS Regiment and served the following four years in the Middle East, Malaya, Belize, Cyprus, among other locations. In the early 1970s, Lt.Col Argue transferred into the Parachute Regiment and served with 2 PARA until a Grade 3 staff appointment in HQ Land Forces Cyprus between 1978 and 1980. He was “Mentioned in Dispatches” in 1981 for his service in Northern Ireland.

By 1981 he was Company Commander of B Coy of 3 PARA, which he commanded at Mount Longdon. His service there led to him being awarded the MC. After that he attended language training before being appointed as Assistant Defence Attache Damascus and was awarded the MBE in 1986.

After serving another 2 years, this time on loan service in Oman as Second-in-Command, Sultan of Oman’s Parachute Regiment, 1989 saw both his second marriage, this time to Marie Louise Sfeir, and his return to the British Airborne Forces as Commander of 15 PARA (SV). In 1991, he married his third wife, Jane Wise.

In 1997, Lt.Col Argue moved to Rabat, Morocco, as defence attache, and in 2001, he retired from the Army. Subsequently he lived in a Wiltshire village before passing away on 20 July, 2006. His wife, Jane Wise, survived him alongside two step-daughters in addition to Lt.Col Argue’s children from his first marriage.

His obituary in The Telegraph described him as “quiet, professional, single-minded, and very likeable.” Lt.Col Argue also had many varied interests, including being a member of the RSPB, and the Ramblers Association. He was also a talented linguist who spoke French, Malay, German, and Arabic, including being described during his lifetime as “one of the British Army’s best Arabists”. His hobbies also included Game Shooting, Hill Walking, and Cooking.

Written and researched by Raphael Tsang, with information from Airborne Assault Archive Box 2.C.3 27/1/42, and The Telegraph