Edward Joseph Todhunter
Encyclopedia
Brigadier Edward Joseph Todhunter TD, DL, (1900–1976) soldier and High Sheriff of Essex
Ted Todhunter was born in Essex, on his family estate Kingsmoor House and Stewards farm in Great Parndon. He attended Rugby School
becoming a Cadet in the O.T.C division. In 1922 he was Gazetted as 2nd Lt. in the Territorial Royal Field Artillery 104th (Essex Tea.) Brigade. He married Agnes Swire in 1927 and promoted Lieutenant-Colonel.
During World War II serving as a Brigadier with the Royal Horse Artillery and was captured at Mechili in Cyrenaica North Africa with General Gambier-Parry in April 1941.
He was initially brought to the same barracks as Major-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
VC in Tripoli . Then by ship to Naples and to the Villa Orsini near Sulmona
. He helped in the garden and ‘collected news from Italian newspapers, making a resume of them in English which he managed brilliantly’.
He was transferred to Castello di Vincigliata
(PG12) in April 1942. It was a medieval castle near Florence for very high ranking officers. Amongst the captives were Major-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
VC, Air Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd
, Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame
VC, Lieutenant-Colonel John Frederick Boyce Combe
, General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor and Thomas Daniel Knox, 6th Earl of Ranfurly -known as 'Dan' Rufurly. He took on the role of camp librarian, which by the spring of 1943 numbered nearly one thousand books . He was part of the tunnelling group that worked in shifts for over six months. The escape was successful -six officers escapes and two managed to make Switzerland, New Zealanders Brigadiers James Hargest and Reginald Miles.
He was able to escape during the Italian Armistice in September 1943 with the remaining officers and men. They branched off into the mountains seeking refuge in the Monastery of Camaldoli. ‘He discovered a retired Dutch diplomat, close by, and he and O’Connor used to listen to the news on their wireless’. He joined the Italian partisans known as the Garibaldi Brigade Romagna under the leadership of Libero Riccardo Fedel. During the winter of 1943/4 this partisan group helped dozens of allied prisoners to escape and together with MI9 officers he reached Allied lines in Termoli by fishing boat with Guy E Ruggles-Brise
(who later -like him became a High Sheriff of Essex after the war) together with Combe and Ranfurly by May 1944.
He was flown to Algiers and from there together with John Combe was flown to England in May 1944 .
After the war he served as High Sheriff of Essex 1964–1965, living at Threshers in Harlow. Later he lived at The Glebe House, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, and held the office of Justice of the Peace. He had one daughter Janet Hazel Margaret Todhunter who married in 1952.
Ted Todhunter was born in Essex, on his family estate Kingsmoor House and Stewards farm in Great Parndon. He attended Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
becoming a Cadet in the O.T.C division. In 1922 he was Gazetted as 2nd Lt. in the Territorial Royal Field Artillery 104th (Essex Tea.) Brigade. He married Agnes Swire in 1927 and promoted Lieutenant-Colonel.
During World War II serving as a Brigadier with the Royal Horse Artillery and was captured at Mechili in Cyrenaica North Africa with General Gambier-Parry in April 1941.
He was initially brought to the same barracks as Major-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
Adrian Carton de Wiart
Lieutenant-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO , was a British officer of Belgian and Irish descent...
VC in Tripoli . Then by ship to Naples and to the Villa Orsini near Sulmona
Sulmona
thumb|150px|Celestine V's hermitage and the remains of the Shrine of Hercules Curinus.thumb|150px|Palazzo SS. Annunziata and Museo Civicothumb|150px|Church of SS...
. He helped in the garden and ‘collected news from Italian newspapers, making a resume of them in English which he managed brilliantly’.
He was transferred to Castello di Vincigliata
Vincigliata
Vincigliata Castle is a medieval castle which stands on a rocky hill to the east of Fiesole in the Italian region of Tuscany. In the mid-nineteenth century the building, which had fallen into a ruinous state, was acquired by the Englishman John Temple-Leader and entirely reconstructed in the...
(PG12) in April 1942. It was a medieval castle near Florence for very high ranking officers. Amongst the captives were Major-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
Adrian Carton de Wiart
Lieutenant-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO , was a British officer of Belgian and Irish descent...
VC, Air Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd
Owen Tudor Boyd
Air Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd CB, OBE, MC, AFC was an officer in the British Royal Flying Corps during most of World War I...
, Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame
Philip Neame
Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame VC, KBE, CB, DSO, KStJ was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
VC, Lieutenant-Colonel John Frederick Boyce Combe
John Frederick Boyce Combe
Major-General John Frederick Boyce Combe CB DSO & Bar was a British Army officer before and during World War II. He was twice awarded the DSO for his service in the Western Desert Campaign before being captured in April 1941 and spending nearly two and a half years as a prisoner of war in Italy...
, General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor and Thomas Daniel Knox, 6th Earl of Ranfurly -known as 'Dan' Rufurly. He took on the role of camp librarian, which by the spring of 1943 numbered nearly one thousand books . He was part of the tunnelling group that worked in shifts for over six months. The escape was successful -six officers escapes and two managed to make Switzerland, New Zealanders Brigadiers James Hargest and Reginald Miles.
He was able to escape during the Italian Armistice in September 1943 with the remaining officers and men. They branched off into the mountains seeking refuge in the Monastery of Camaldoli. ‘He discovered a retired Dutch diplomat, close by, and he and O’Connor used to listen to the news on their wireless’. He joined the Italian partisans known as the Garibaldi Brigade Romagna under the leadership of Libero Riccardo Fedel. During the winter of 1943/4 this partisan group helped dozens of allied prisoners to escape and together with MI9 officers he reached Allied lines in Termoli by fishing boat with Guy E Ruggles-Brise
Guy E Ruggles-Brise
Capt Guy E Ruggles-Brise , Soldier, countryman and High Sheriff of EssexGuy Edward Ruggles-Brise born in 1914 the second son of Sir Edward Archibald Ruggles-Brise,MC,TD,JP,DL. He came from a landed family who had lived at Spains Hall, Finchingfield, Essex, since the 18th century. The original house...
(who later -like him became a High Sheriff of Essex after the war) together with Combe and Ranfurly by May 1944.
He was flown to Algiers and from there together with John Combe was flown to England in May 1944 .
After the war he served as High Sheriff of Essex 1964–1965, living at Threshers in Harlow. Later he lived at The Glebe House, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, and held the office of Justice of the Peace. He had one daughter Janet Hazel Margaret Todhunter who married in 1952.
Sources
- Playing with Strife, The Autobiography of a Soldier, Lt-Gen. Sir Philip Neame, V.C., K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O., George G Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1947, 353 pages, (written whilst a POW , the best narrative of Vincigliata as Campo PG12, contains a scale plan of Castello di Vincigliata, and photographs taken by the author just after the war)
- Farewell Campo 12, Brigadier James Hargest, C.B.E., D.S.O. M.C., Michael Joseph Ltd, 1945, 184 pages
- Happy Odyssey, Lt-Gen. Sir Carton De Wiart,V.C.,K.B.E.,C.M.G.,D.S.O., Jonathan Cape Ltd, 1950, re-printed by Pen & Sword Books 2007, 287 pages, ISBN 184415539-0
- MI9 Escape & Evasion 1939-45, M.R.D. Foot & J.M Langley, The Bodley Head, 1979, 365 pages
- To War with Whitaker, 1994, The wartime diaries of The Countess of Ranfurly 1939 -1945, William Heinemann Ltd, London, 375 pages, ISBN 0-434-00224-0
- War in Italy 1943-1945', 1994, A Brutal Story, Richard Lamb, Saint Martin's Press, New York, 328 pages, ISBN 13 9780312110932
- The Peerage.com