Maurice Anderson

Who was Maurice Anderson?

Lieutenant-Colonel William Maurice E Anderson MD,DSO, joined the British 6th Airborne Division in 1943, and became CO of the 195th Field Ambulance.

On D-Day he arrived at Ranville, France by glider and was wounded by sniper fire two days later at Longueval. He recovered and subsequently participated in the Ardennes offensive and Rhine crossings. In the latter operation his unit saw around 400 casualties during the 30 hours after landing. In 1945 he was part of the force that liberated Belsen and shook hands with the Russians on the banks of the River Elbe. He was then invited to form the No2 Medical Commando with a view to fighting the Japanese, but this was cancelled by the subsequent bombing and surrender of Japan.

He died 13 December 1986 aged 78, succeeded by one son - Lieutenant-Colonel William Robert George Anderson.

Lieutenant-Colonel W.M.E. Anderson D.S.O. Citation:

At Hamminkeln on 24 March 1945, Lieutenant-Colonel Anderson was in command of 195 Airlanding Field Ambulance, which collected, treated and held over four hundred casualties for well over thirty hours. Conditions were difficult at first due to sustained enemy fire and later on due to limited accommodation and numbers of casualties mounting rapidly, but Colonel Anderson dealt so decisively and actively with each difficulty that at no time was the well being of the patients endangered. At no time did he allow enemy activity which was particularly violent during the early stages to interfere with the cool and skilful exercise of his duties.