Early war and murder attempt: utterly unhelpful - see talk← Previous revisionRevision as of 05:08, 31 October 2026 Line 96: Line 96: ==War service== ==War service== ===Early war and murder attempt=== Early war At the age of 27, Macleod was already considered somewhat too old to be a platoon commander. Once fit for duty again, he served as a staff [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] with the 46th Division in Wye, under the Deputy Assistant Adjutant General (DAAG), Captain Dawtry.Shepherd 1994, pp. 28–29 In September 1939, upon the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], Macleod enlisted in the [[British Army]] as a [[Private (rank)|private]] in the [[Royal Fusiliers]].{{cite web|url=http://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_M01.html#Macleod_IN|title=British Army officer histories|publisher=Unit Histories|access-date=2017-11-02}} On 20 April 1940, he was commissioned as an officer with the rank of [[second lieutenant]] in the [[Duke of Wellington's Regiment]] (DWR), with the [[service number]] 129352.{{London Gazette|issue=34837|page=2459|date=23 April 1940|supp=y}} He was posted to the 2/7th Battalion, DWR, which was then serving as part of the [[137th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|137th Infantry Brigade]] of the [[46th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|46th Infantry Division]], a second line [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] (TA) formation, then commanded by Major-General [[Henry Curtis (British Army officer)|Henry Curtis]]. Macleod's battalion was sent overseas to France in time to see action in the [[Battle of France]] in May, where he was injured in the leg by a flying log when a German armoured car burst through a road block which his men had just erected. He was treated in hospital in Exeter and left with a lifelong slight limp. In later life, besides his limp he suffered pain and reduced mobility from the spinal condition [[ankylosing spondylitis]].{{cite book|author=Nigel Fisher|title=Iain Macleod|access-date=18 December 2011|year=1973|publisher=Deutsch|isbn=0-233-96324-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/iainmacleod0000fish/page/46 46]|url=https://archive.org/details/iainmacleod0000fish/page/46|url-access=registration}} At the age of 27, Macleod was already considered somewhat too old to be a platoon commander. Once fit for duty again, he served as a staff [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] with the 46th Division in Wye, under the Deputy Assistant Adjutant General (DAAG), Captain Dawtry.Shepherd 1994, pp. 28–29 In 1941, Macleod committed the [[Attempted murder#England and Wales|attempted murder]] (known as ''[[fragging]]'' in military contexts) of Dawtry. Heavily drunk, Macleod demanded Dawtry play [[stud poker]] with him. However Dawtry wished to retire to bed. Macleod declared "I'm going to shoot you" and fired all six bullets in the cylinder into Dawtry's bedroom door and then battered the door down with a heavy piece of furniture before passing out.Sandford 2005, pp. 285 Despite showing no remorse (and indeed demanding an apology from his ''victim''), Macleod suffered no disciplinary action. In 1941, a drunk Macleod almost killed Dawtry, as the latter had retired to bed rather than play [[stud poker]] with him. He shot at his door until his revolver ran out of bullets, and then passed out after smashing down the door with a heavy piece of furniture. He demanded an apology the next morning for his refusal to play, although the two men remained friends thereafter. Dawtry later became Chief Clerk of Westminster Council.Sandford 2005, pp. 285 ===Staff College, D-Day and European campaign=== ===Staff College, D-Day and European campaign===