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Last surviving officer from daring World War II Pegasus Bridge operation dies aged 85

By Daily Mail Reporter

The last surviving officer to serve in World War II's daring Pegasus Bridge operation which paved the way for the D-Day landings has died aged 85.Colonel David Wood was just 21 when he led a platoon of airborne troopers in helping to secure two key bridges in Normandy, just hours before the Allied beach assault.He was among dozens of troops who drifted silently behind enemy lines in six Horsa gliders in the early hours of June 6 1944 and took just ten minutes to take the bridges.The heroic mission prevented the Germans from sending in reinforcements and enabled Allied forces to continue their advance after taking the beaches.

It has been hailed as 'the single most important ten minutes of the war' and featured prominently in the 1962 Hollywood movie 'The Longest Day'.Colonel Wood was awarded the Legion d'Honneur for his heroic actions - the highest order of the French government. He went on to serve 36 years with the army before his retirement in 1978.

Colonel Wood, who lived with his wife of 25 years Sarah in Cullompton, Devon, died in hospital on March 12 after a long battle with prostate cancer.Yesterday, Captain Peter Hodge, honorary secretary of the Normandy Veterans' Association (NVA), led the tributes.

'He was an absolutely remarkable person,' he said. 'He was a figurehead for the Normandy Veteran's Association and he will be sorely missed.
Colonel Wood was just 21 when he led a platoon in the risky mission'He was one of the nicest men anyone was ever likely to meet and, among veterans, he was household name.'Colonel Wood was commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, which later became part of the 6th British Airborne Division. He was commander of 20 men in Platoon 24 of the Pegasus Bridge mission - codename Operation Tonga - which was led by Major John Howard.The objective was to seize two bridges - Benouville bridge, known as Pegasus bridge, over the Caen canal and Ranville bridge, now known as Horsa bridge, over the River Orne.German forces had laced the bridges with explosives so they could blow them up in the event of an Allied advance.

Colonel Wood's men were in the second glider to land at Pegasus Bridge at 00.17 hours.Their objective was to clear trenches, machine-gun nests and the anti-tank gun pit along the east bank of Pegasus bridge.He was shot in the leg during the assault and was evacuated to a divisional aid post in Ranville and eventually back to England.

Both bridges were secured by 00.26 hours.

In a previous interview Colonel Wood said they had been blessed with two key strokes of good luck - the German major commanding the bridge was away from his post, reportedly enjoying a romantic liaison with a French woman, and German commander Field Marshall Erwin Rommel of the North Afrika Corps was visiting his wife on her birthday in Germany. Allied troops move across the Pegasus Bridge. Its capture was key to the success of the D-Day landings'By the time the major returned we had captured the bridge,' said Colonel Wood.'The surprise was complete and our losses were smaller than predicted. Two of our men were killed and only 14 wounded, including myself.

'I was shot in the leg and I am constantly reminded of my encounter with an enemy gun. My left leg, where I was wounded, is one and a half inches shorter than the other mainly due to the fractures I suffered.'
Colonel Wood volunteered for the Army at 18 and became an officer cadet. He spent two years training in gliders for the assault on Pegasus Bridge.Exeter was the training ground for his mission because the bridges over the Exe and the Exeter Canal, including the swing bridge at Countess Wear, were identical to those across the River Orne and canal in France.

After the war Colonel Wood went on to serve all over the world with the Green Jackets and then the Royal Green Jackets, including Cyprus, Egypt and the second Suez crisis.His other postings were Northern Ireland, Germany, Malaya and Aden, where he was assistant military secretary.He also spent time at Exeter's Higher Barracks followed by a time as deputy commander of the Rhine area in Germany before retiring in 1978.

Colonel Wood, who was childless, was presented with seven campaign medals during his career and was made an MBE for his services to the military.

The bridge can be seen in the background of this 1946 picture. On the right is Capt David Wood with Major John Howard DSO, who led the attack, and Georges Gondree, the owner of Cafe Gondree - now the Pegasus Bridge Cafe