Captain Dennis Parkin - Telegraph Captain Dennis Parkin, who has died aged 93, was severely wounded in an action in the Burma campaign in July 1944 in which he won a DSO. Shortly after the lifting of the siege of Imphal, Parkin was commanding "A" Company, 1st Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment (the Prince of Wales's Own) (1 WYR). On July 12 he was ordered to capture the village of Ningthoukhong, which was blocking the advance of the 1/7 Gurkhas up the Tiddim Road. His company took most of the village and captured two enemy tanks, but the Japanese counter-attacked and held the ground on three sides; the fourth, open paddy fields, they covered with machine guns. The next day, Parkin's men were pinned down by enemy sniping, and many were wounded. A lone Dakota tried to drop supplies, but these fell into an area held by the Japanese. With dwindling supplies of food and ammunition, their position was already desperate when the enemy launched an attack from three sides supported by heavy machine-gun and mortar fire. Parkin, realising that their position was indefensible, decided to pull out across the paddy fields under cover of darkness. They were strafed by enemy fire. The platoon commanders were killed, the company sergeant major was wounded and Parkin was hit in the shoulder and then his left arm was shattered by a grenade. Unable to crawl because of his injuries and in excruciating pain, he ordered his batman, Corporal Beaumont, to leave him and get what men he could back to the battalion. Beaumont refused to abandon him to the mercy of the Japanese and dragged him on his back through the paddy. They heard the chattering of the Japanese close behind them, and to Parkin it seemed that the end was very near. He ordered Beaumont and another uninjured officer to throw their last six grenades and fire off the rest of the ammunition. Silence followed. Perhaps the enemy believed that they were facing a larger force than was the case, for they did not follow up their advance. "Someone," Parkin said afterwards," was watching over us that night." As they approached the battalion's position, one great danger remained. Some of the Japanese could speak English and so a new password was issued every night. When Parkin's men were challenged, if they did not give the correct reply, the sentries would take no chances; they would shoot without hesitation. Beaumont went forward on his own and shouted, in no uncertain terms, who they were. Twenty-six men, most of whom were wounded, all with leeches as big as slugs on their legs, crawled into the relative safety of the battalion position. Two officers and 23 men had been killed. Parkin was recommended for a Victoria Cross but received a DSO, a rare award for a junior officer. Beaumont was awarded a DCM. Dennis Parkin was born into a mining family at Wath-upon-Dearne, south Yorkshire, on January 11 1916. An abiding memory of his childhood was the poverty caused by the General Strike in 1926, when he had to pick through slag heaps to collect coal for his family. Having failed to pass the entrance exam for grammar school, aged 14 he joined his father and brother at the colliery, starting as a telephone boy at the bottom of the pit. He continued his studies at night school and passed exams in mining technology. But the arrival of the Depression removed the chance of promotion and, aged 18, he left home and joined the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards at Chelsea Barracks. Over the next four years, Parkin was on ceremonial duty at the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary, the funeral of George V, the proclamation of Edward VIII and the coronation of George VI. After a spell with the Maidstone Borough Police Force, he rejoined the Army at the outbreak of the Second World War and was commissioned into 1 WYR. In 1943 he accompanied the battalion to Burma. After the action in which he was wounded, he was evacuated to England. Repeated surgery followed but, in February 1946, his disabilities left him no alternative but to retire from the Army. He rejoined Kent County Constabulary and, in 1964, he was promoted to chief superintendent and commandant of the No 6 District Police Training Centre. He retired from the police in 1968 as the commander of Kent Police B Division and worked first with the Road Transport Industry Training Board and subsequently at Dungeness B atomic power station. A keen sportsman and swimmer, in later life he enjoyed bowls and gardening. Dennis Parkin died on August 10. He married, in 1940, Joan Mabb, who survives him with their three daughters.
A very brave man and a dedicated batman. Perhaps unfortunately, the standards for awarding a VC have been progressively raised over the years.
