Lieutenant Alan J Radford

Alan Radford was born in 1921, in West Ham, Greater London. The son of James Truth Radford, and of Dorothy Maud Radford, of South Woodford, Essex.

He enlisted into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (7598568) in early 1939. He was one of the first of the 60 to 70 men to volunteer for Airborne Forces and joined No 2 Commando at Cambrai Barracks, Perham Down, near Tidworth in Hampshire, when it was ordered to take up the duties of a parachute unit in June 1940. These men would form ‘C’ and ‘D’ Troops of the new unit. Alan was one of the 'Originals' before becoming an officer.

He carried out his basic parachute training at RAF Ringway in July and August 1940. He was still with the unit when it was re-titled the 11th Special Air Service Battalion (Parachute Wing). When the unit was to be converted to the 1st Parachute Battalion, of the proposed 1st Parachute Brigade, in August/September 1941, he applied to become an officer.

Alan was posted to 161 Officer Cadet Training Unit on the 19 June 1942, and then entered the Royal Military College Sandhurst on the 15 July 1942, where he was awarded the Sword of Honour. He then went to the Officer Cadet Training Unit at Aldershot on the 5 August 1942 and was granted an emergency commission, as a Second Lieutenant, in The Essex Regiment on the 5 November 1942.

On the 11 November 1942 he was transferred to The Parachute Regiment, Army Air Corps, and was posted to the 6th (Welch) Parachute Battalion.

In May 1943 he sailed, with his battalion and the rest of the 2nd Parachute Brigade, for North Africa, as part of the 1st Airborne Division. Whilst based at Kairouian in Tunisia, in September 1943, the 1st Airborne Division was warned to stand-by for an immediate operation. The 2nd Parachute Brigade was to be part of the spear-head of this impending action and in the evening of the 7 September the 6th Parachute Battalion was moved to the port of Bizerta for embarkation onto HMS Abdiel as part of Operation ‘Slapstick’. This was to be a naval landing at the Southern Italian port of Taranto.

The 6th Parachute Battalion War Diary:
Place: BIZERTA.8 September 1943.
1000 hrs. ‘B’ and ‘C’ Coy’s, Adv Bn HQ, Mortar; MMG Pln’s embark on HMS Abdiel for Taranto. ‘A’ Coy, Rear Bn HQ & A-Tk Pln remain behind at Transit Camp, ready for embarkation later.

Place: TARANTO.9 September 1943.
2330 hrs. HMS Abdiel struck mine off Taranto Harbour. Many killed and missing, survivors transferred to HMS Howe.

Lieut. Alan James Radford was amongst those who was missing and later confirmed as killed in action. His body was recovered and initially buried in the War Cemetery at Taranto, but later moved to the permanent Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery at Bari, where he lies at rest in plot, XV. E. 3. He was just 22 years old when he was killed.