Tod Sweeney
| Henry John Sweeney | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Tod Sweeney |
| Born |
1 June 1919 Blyth, Northumberland |
| Died | 4 June 2001 (aged 82) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Years of service | 1942–1974 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry |
| Commands held | 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) |
| Awards | Military Cross |
| Other work | Director General of the Battersea Dogs Home |
Colonel Henry John Sweeney MC (1 June 1919 – 4 June 2001), known as Tod Sweeney, was an officer of the British Army. During the Second World War he was a platoon commander in the coup de main operation, by gliderborne troops of the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd), on D-Day, 6 June 1944, tasked to seize Horsa Bridge and Pegasus Bridge before the main assault on the Normandy beaches began. The following day he was awarded the Military Cross for rescuing a wounded member of his platoon while under heavy fire near Escoville.
Sweeney was born in Blyth, Northumberland and educated at Douai School, Berkshire. He entered Douai Abbey as a novice monk. At the outbreak of the Second World War he enlisted in the Royal Army Pay Corps, later volunteering to join the infantry. He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant into the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and shortly afterwards transferred to the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, joining the 2nd (Airlanding) Battalion (the 52nd) in April 1942. At the time the battalion was assigned to the 1st Airlanding Brigade, part of the 1st Airborne Division, and converted into a glider infantry role.
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