This is Major Digby Tatham-Warter, a British officer who fought in World War 2. He was famous for carrying his umbrella into battle.
The main reason he carried an umbrella everywhere was because he had trouble remembering passwords and declared that anyone who saw him would obviously assume that only a "bloody fool Englishman" would carry an umbrella into combat against the Nazis.
During the battle of Arnhem, Digby led a bayonet charge wearing a bowler hat instead of a helmet against German tanks that were attempting to cross a bridge. His umbrella proved to come in handy as he was able to use it to disable a German armored car, by pushing it through the observational slit and poking the eyes of the driver, completely incapacitating him.
When Digby saw a chaplain pinned down by enemy fire, he reportedly said, "Don't worry about the bullets, I've got an umbrella". He then proceeded to escort him across the street using his umbrella to "shield" him. In another exchange, a fellow officer is said to have told him "that thing won't do you any good", to which Digby replied "Oh my goodness Pat, but what if it rains?
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Eventually, Digby was captured by the Germans but quickly managed to escape. He built a compass from the buttons on his uniform to navigate behind enemy lines. Instead of returning back to base, he proceeded to disguise himself as a deaf-mute son of a Dutch lawyer with the help of the Dutch resistance.
To test his disguise he stayed at an inn that also housed German soldiers and he even helped push a Nazi staff car out of a ditch. No one recognized that he was a British soldier in disguise. He went on to round up 150 POWs and used bicycles to ride back to freedom. This was known as Operation Pegasus.
After the war, Digby went on to create the modern safari, where he dictated that animals should be observed and photographed instead of being hunted and killed. He passed away in 1993. #uk #ww2 #zerofoxtrot #stayzero