Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund C W Myers

Edmund Charles Wolf ‘Eddie’ Myers was born on 12 October 1906, in Kensington, London. Of Jewish descent he was the eldest son of Dr Charles Samuel Myers, CBE, FRS and Edith Seligman. He was educated at Haileybury, the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and Caius College and Gonville College, Cambridge University.

He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, into the Corps of Royal Engineers on 30 August 1926, and was promoted to full Lieutenant exactly three years later. He became the Secretary of the Royal Engineers Flying Club, 1934-1935, and saw service in Palestine, in 1936. He was promoted to Captain on the 30 August 1937.

At the outbreak of war he was in the Middle East, and served as a Staff Officer, Royal Engineers in G.H.Q. Middle East Land Forces in 1940, being promoted to Acting Major on 8 February 1940. He then went on to serve with the 7th Armoured Division until August 1942, when having been promoted to Acting Lieutenant Colonel, he joined the Special Operation Executive.

From October 1942 to early 1944, he headed the SOE - controlled British Military Mission to occupied Greece. In this capacity, he was directly involved in the coordination of the rival ELAS and EDES partisan groups for the destruction of the Gorgopotamos viaduct in November 1942 (Operation Harling), and for the British destruction of the Asopos railway bridge on 21 June 1943 as part of Operation Animals. Increasingly drawn into the brewing conflict between the Communist-dominated ELAS and the royalist EDES, as well as into British designs to restore the unpopular Greek monarchy post-war, Myers was criticised by the Foreign Office for what they believed to be favourable treatment towards ELAS and he was removed from his post. He was succeeded as head of the British mission by his deputy, Chris ‘Monty’ Woodhouse.

He then returned to England and took up a post at Military Operations 1, UK from February to August 1944. Being parachute-qualified, he then entered service as Commander Royal Engineers in the 1st Airborne Division, being posted on 28 August 1944. In this capacity he fought at the Battle of Arnhem. Myers was sent across the Rhine on 22 September to establish contact with the 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade. As the chief engineer officer, he was responsible for organizing the Rhine crossings of the Poles, and finally the evacuation of the remnants of the 1st Airborne Division from Arnhem. During this operation, he was wounded by shrapnel. For his part in the battle, he was awarded the Dutch Bronze Lion.

His post war service was as follows; Far East, 1945; served in 1 Commonwealth Division, Korean War, 1951-1952; Chief Engineer, British Troops in Egypt, 1955-1956; Deputy Director, Personnel Administration, War Office, 1956-1959; retired, 1959; Chief Civil Engineer, Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company Limited, 1959-1964; Construction Manager, Power Gas Corporation Limited, Davy-Ashmore Group, 1964-1968; Regional Secretary, British Field Sports Society, 1968-1971.

In 1955, he published his memoirs from his time in occupied Greece under the title Greek Entanglement.

List of awards.

CBE. 06.01.1944, New Year 1944

DSO. 20.04.1943. Middle East

BL. 20.03.1947. Arnhem 09.1944

Hkn. 25.03.1949. Norway 1945

MID. 23.07.1937. Palestine

MID. 10.10.1952. Korea

LM. 30.10.1953. Korea

List of promotions.

2nd Lt. 30.08.1926.

Lt. 30.08.1929.

Capt. 30.08.1937.

A/Maj. 08.02.1940-07.05.1940.

T/Maj. 08.05.1940-05.04.1942.

WS/Maj. 06.04.1942.

A/Lt.Col. 10.02.1941-08.03.1941, 02.02.1942-05.04.1942.

T/Lt.Col. 06.04.1942-01.07.1943.

WS/Lt.Col. 02.07.1943

A/Col. 03.08.1942-30.09.1942, 01.03.1943-01.07.1943.

T/Col. 02.07.1943-09.02.1944, 23.07.1945-31.03.1946.

Col. 12.12.1949 [supernumerary 12.12.1955]

A/Brig. 01.03.1943-31.08.1943.

T/Brig. 01.09.1943-09.02.1944, 28.02.1944-14.08.1944.

Brig. 07.02.1955 (retd 01.07.1959).

He married Louisa Mary Hay on the 12th October 1943, and they had one daughter.

Edmund Charles Wolf ‘Eddie’ Myers died on 6 December 1997 at Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire.