Frederick Gough

Colonel Charles Frederick Howard Gough, MC, TD (16 September 1901 – 19 September 1977) was a British Territorial Army officer, company director and politician.

Gough was educated at Cheam School and then enrolled in the Naval College at Osborne House (where he won an 'Honourable Mention' in 1915). He then went to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. However, Gough disliked the Royal Navy and after three years serving as a Midshipman on HMS Ramillies and HMS Witherington, he left.

Originally intending to go into farming and horse-breeding in India (his father had been a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Indian Army and he had been born there at Kasauli), Gough returned to Britain after two years to join a firm of insurance brokers affiliated with Lloyd's of London. He became a director of several companies.

In 1924 Gough joined the London Rifle Brigade of the Territorial Army where he served for five years. He rejoined the same Brigade on the outbreak of the Second World War and served throughout. He fought in the Winter War for Finland and was a member of the Scots Guards 5th Battalion who were trained in skiing. On his return he was posted to GHQ in France but was immediately caught up in the evacuation of Dunkirk where he was mentioned in despatches (he managed to get back to Britain on 1 June 1940).

He was then trained as a parachutist, and became the first person to be issued with the Royal Aero Club Parachutist Certificate. He was placed in command of the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron. The Squadron worked in North Africa and Italy in 1943, for which Gough won the Military Cross in connection with the landing at Taranto. In September 1944 he fought at the Battle of Arnhem, briefly commanding the forces at Arnhem Bridge after Lieutenant Colonel John Frost was injured. He was taken prisoner when the force was overrun, but he escaped in April 1945 and joined up with American forces in Bavaria.

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