John Pott

Major Robert Laslett John Pott MBE MC (14 July 1919 – 23 April 2005) was a British Army officer who, during World War II, served as Commanding Officer of A Company, 156th Battalion, Parachute Regiment, in the Battle of Arnhem, part of Operation Market Garden, in September 1944. Sixty-five years after the Battle of Arnhem, John Pott's story became more widely known because of a song written about him by his grandson, Joel Pott, lead singer of the Ivor Novello Award winning indie rock band Athlete.

Early life John Pott was born on 14 July 1919 in Khartoum in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, where his father was serving with the Sudan Defence Force. He was educated at Wellington College and then went to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. On 1 July 1939, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) and was posted to join the regiment's 1st Battalion in British India. His battalion was sent to the Middle Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre, and he served—and was wounded—in the Western Desert campaign in 1942. Later in the year the battalion was being shipped to Cyprus and their transport was torpedoed.

Italy In 1943 Pott joined the Parachute Regiment. Posted to 156 Battalion as an acting major and given command of A Company, he took part in the Allied invasion of Italy. The day after leading his company into action for the first time, he was ordered to capture two German-held farmhouses. To take the first position, he had to lead his men up a narrow ravine which was swept by fire from German positions, and then cross flat, open ground to the farm house itself. The company took the objective, but Potts now had only 15 men with him. Despite this, he elected to press the attack on the second farmhouse. The attack was held up at a sunken lane, but he managed to gather up some other members of the company, and successfully took the second objective as well. He was recommended for the Military Cross by the brigade commander, John Hackett, his citation concluded:

The award of Pott's MC was gazetted on 13 January 1944.

Arnhem On Monday 18 September 156 Battalion parachuted into Arnhem. After an opposed landing, the battalion moved off at about 5pm, but A Company, still led by Pott, was without its 3rd Platoon who had remained on the dropzone to protect casualties. The battalion halted north of Oosterbeek for the night and resumed their advance the following morning. Pott was particularly keen to reach Arnhem road bridge for it was his brother-in-law, Lieutenant-Colonel John Frost, who was commanding the small force defending it. This determination was further reinforced by Hackett, who impressed upon Pott and 156 Battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Richard des Voeux, the urgent need to reinforce the bridge. To make up for the missing platoon, A Company were reinforced with a platoon of Glider Pilots. At least three of the men were badly wounded, and Pott was forced to leave them behind before he pressed on towards the objective. One of the men, Sergeant George Sheldrake, recalls that Pott then prayed for the men, "for a couple of minutes maybe, although there was some mortar and machine gun fire... It is something I shall never forget." In addition, a documentary called Black swan story featuring Joel Pott and his father following the route his grandfather took at Arnhem was produced by Richard Edkins. An 11-minute edit of the film was shown on Channel 4 on 6 November 2009, and will be featured in the Royal British Legion's Remembrance Day educational resources for schools in September 2010. On Monday 9 November 2009 the full 43-minute film was streamed live by Livestream in partnership with the Royal British Legion.

frameless|upright=0.7|David and Joel Pott near Oosterbeek, Netherlands

Journeying Home: Thoughts on Dying Well In his book Journeying Home: Thoughts on Dying Well Pott's son David, describes in detail the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Pott and his wife.