Lt Col Fleetwood Hesketh

Roger Fleetwood Hesketh

At the outbreak of war, with DLOY mobilising under command of Lt Col WN Musgrave-Hoyle MC, the War Office soon decided that the horses would be withdrawn from the regiment and the role would change to Royal Artillery. There was a degree of choice offered but all were to rebadge either as 77(DLOY) Medium Regiment RA or 78(DLOY) Medium Regiment RA. Lt Col WN Musgrave-Hoyle MC commanded 77(DLOY) Medium Regiment RA and Major Roger Fleetwood Hesketh, on promotion to Lt Col took command of 78(DLOY) Medium Regiment RA.

Colonel Roger’s tenure of 78(DLOY) Medium Regiment RA was not to last long and before the end of 1940 command was handed a regular gunner, Lt Col VA Young MC. At this point in the regiment’s fullest and latest written history – “Chain Mail” written by John Brereton, the record tracks the progress of 78 along its path throughout World War II and Lt Col Roger Fleetwood Hesketh disappears from the record.

It is worth noting here that Col Roger’s abilities were put to good use. He had been educated at Eton and Christ Church Oxford and called to the bar in 1928 at the Middle Temple. Col Roger joined Ops (B), the deception section of SHAEF that helped plan Operation Fortitude. Col Roger wrote his account of the operation in the three years following demobilisation for a very limited circulation with Whitehall. He had never considered publication until 1973 when he was astonished to discover that the Daily Express journalist Sefton Delmer had been given access to it to write The Counterfeit Spy. Delmer had been assisted by Col Noel Wild, one of Col Roger’s wartime subordinates, who had obtained a copy of the report. Col Roger’s account was eventually published after his death in 1987; the cover is pictured below and the book is available on the internet for about £12.

ISBN 1-58567-075-8

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