The 8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, raised by the British Army during the Second World War. The battalion was created in late 1942 by the conversion of the 13th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment to parachute duties. The battalion was assigned to the 3rd Parachute Brigade, serving alongside the 7th (later replaced by the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion) and 9th Parachute battalions, in the 1st Airborne Division before being reassigned to help form the 6th Airborne Division in May 1943.
The 8th Parachute Battalion fought in Operation Tonga, the British airborne landings in France on D-Day, the Normandy Campaign, and the break out to the River Seine. Withdrawn to England in September 1944, the German winter offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge saw the battalion return to the continent. Their final mission during the war was the River Rhine crossing, followed by the advance to the Baltic.
1943 Lt Col Hildersly
1943-4 Lt Col AS Pearson, DSO, MC
1944-7 Lt Col G Hewetson, DSO
1946-8 Lt Col JHM Hackett, DSO
After the war the battalion was sent to Palestine with the 6th Airborne Division until January 1948, when it was amalgamated with the 9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Parachute Battalion (which had served alongside the 8th in 3rd Para Brigade) to form the 8th/9th Parachute Battalion.
Some Pictures of 8 PARA on the Plain and at Depot 1 between Tilshead and Westdown Camp are below.
Brigadier Alastair “Jock” Stevenson Pearson, CB, DSO & Three Bars, OBE, MC, TD, DL (1 June 1915 – 29 March 1996) was a baker, farmer and one of the most highly regarded soldiers of the Parachute Regiment and was one of the most decorated soldiers in the British Army who served in the Second World War. During the summer of 1944, the commander of the new 6th Airborne Division gave ‘Jock’ Pearson command of the division’s 8th Parachute Battalion, which was assigned to the 3rd Parachute Brigade. Pearson immediately began preparing the battalion for the Battle of Normandy. On the night of 5 June 1944, the battalion departed England for France. Upon landing, as part of Operation Tonga (the British airborne drops on D-Day), Pearson was shot in the hand but continued to command. The 8th Parachute Battalion went on to destroy several bridges over the River Dives and then take up defensive positions in the Bavent Wood, east of Pegasus Bridge. Pearson was awarded a fourth DSO in February 1945 for his contributions during the Battle of Normandy. On his return to England in September 1944, Pearson surrendered command of the 8th Parachute Battalion due to ill health.
There is a memorial to the Parachute Regiment in Tilshead.
Frank Druce and George Clegg
8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion ilikuwa jeshi la jeshi la Uingereza lililokuwa likijengwa wakati wa Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Dunia. Kikosi hicho kilitengenezwa mwishoni mwa mwaka 1942 kwa kubadilisha kikosi cha 13 cha Royal Warwickshire Regiment kuwa kikosi cha wapiganaji wa parachuti. Kikosi hicho kilipewa jina la 3rd Parachute Brigade, na kutumika pamoja na kikosi cha 7 (baadaye ilibadilishwa na 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion) na kikosi cha 9 (Palachute Battalion) katika Kikosi cha 1 Airborne kabla ya kupewa jukumu la kusaidia kuunda Kikosi cha 6 Airborne mnamo Mei 1943. Kikosi cha 8 cha Parachute kilipigana katika operesheni ya Tonga, kuwasili kwa ndege za Uingereza nchini Ufaransa siku ya D-Day, kampeni ya Normandy, na kuvunja hadi Mto Seine. Baada ya kurudi Uingereza mnamo Septemba 1944, vita vya majira ya baridi kali vya Ujerumani vilivyoitwa Vita vya Bulge viliona kikosi hicho kikirudi bara. Kazi yao ya mwisho wakati wa vita ilikuwa kuvuka Mto Rhine, ikifuatiwa na kuhamia Bahari ya Baltiki. Lt. Col. Hildersley Pearson, DSO, MC, 1944-1944 - Lt. Col. G. Hewson, DSO, 1946-1948 - Lt. Col. J. H. H. Hackett, DSO, 1943-1948 - Lt. Col. Hildersley Pearson, DSO, DSO, 1943-1944 - Lt. Col. G. Hewetson, DSO, DSO. Picha za 8 PARA kwenye Plain na katika Depot 1 kati ya Tilshead na Westdown Camp ni chini. Brigadier Alastair Jock Stevenson Pearson (Kib, D.S.O. & Three Bars, OBE, T.D., M.C., 1915 - 29 Machi 1996) alikuwa mkulima, mkulima na mmoja wa askari wenye heshima zaidi wa Jeshi la Uingereza. Wakati wa majira ya joto ya 1944, kamanda wa Divisheni mpya ya 6 Airborne alitoa amri ya Jock Pearson ya Kikosi cha 8 cha Parachute, ambacho kilipewa mgawo wa Kikosi cha 3 cha Parachute. Pearson mara moja alianza kutayarisha kikosi hicho kwa ajili ya Vita vya Normandy. Usiku wa Juni 5, 1944, kikosi hicho kiliondoka Uingereza na kwenda Ufaransa. Baada ya kutua, kama sehemu ya operesheni ya Tonga (mashambulizi ya anga ya Uingereza siku ya D-Day), Pearson alipigwa risasi mkononi lakini aliendelea kuamuru. Kikosi cha 8 cha Parachute kilishambulia na kuharibu madaraja kadhaa kwenye Mto Dives na kisha kuchukua nafasi za ulinzi katika Bavent Wood, mashariki mwa Daraja la Pegasus. Pearson alipewa DSO ya nne mnamo Februari 1945 kwa michango yake wakati wa Vita vya Normandy. Baada ya kurudi Uingereza Septemba 1944, Pearson alijiuzulu uongozi wa Kikosi cha 8 cha Parachute kwa sababu ya afya mbaya. Kuna ukumbusho wa Kikosi cha Parachute huko Tilshead. Frank Druce na George Clegg