Major Paul Randell Odgers, (30 July 1915 – 24 December 2007), was a British civil servant and a British Army officer who served in the Second World War with the tactical headquarters of the Eighth Army in the Italian campaign and the 21st Army Group in north-west Europe. When he died in 2007, he was the last survivor of Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery's tactical headquarters who was present at the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath.
Odgers joined the Board of Education in 1937. He was an Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Education from 1948 to 1956, and Deputy Secretary of the Department of Education and Science under Margaret Thatcher from 1971 to 1975.
Early life
Paul Randell Odgers was born on 30 July 1915, the eldest son of a surgeon who later became a reader in anatomy at Oxford University. He was educated at Rugby School, where he participated in the Junior Division of the Officers Training Corps and then entered New College, Oxford, where he read classics and modern history. He joined the civil service in the Junior Grade of the Administrative Class in the Board of Education on 28 September 1937.
Military service
On 23 May 1939, Odgers was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He graduated from Staff College, Camberley, and became a staff officer with the Central Brigade in Malta. His service there was recognised with a mention in despatches, but by July 1943, there was little prospect of action there, however, Eighth Army headquarters was temporarily located in Malta for the Allied invasion of Sicily, and he approached Major Harry Llewellyn, an officer on the staff, having heard that Llewellyn was looking for liaison officers. Odgers was accepted on the recommendation of Isaiah Berlin. His service in Sicily resulted in a second mention in despatches.
The commander of the Eighth Army, General Sir Bernard Montgomery, was accustomed to commanding from a forward command post, known as Tactical Headquarters (Tac HQ). After he assumed command of the 21st Army Group in December 1943, Montgomery resolved to create a Tac HQ at 21st Army Group. His chief of staff, Major-General Freddie de Guingand had Odgers recalled from Italy in March 1944, and gave him the assignment of organising and training the Tac HQ, even though Odgers had only passing acquaintance with Eighth Army's Tac HQ, and had little personal contact with Montgomery.
By D-Day, Tac HQ had 30 officers, 85 warrant officers and 182 other ranks, a total of 297 personnel. While back in the UK, Odgers married Diana Fawkes, a sculptor. They later had two children, a boy and a girl. After a brief honeymoon, Odgers returned to Tac HQ, where he conducted exercises with Tac HQ where it conducted a series of exercises on the South Downs and at Crawley and Petworth during which Tac HQ practised packing up, moving, and setting up again.
Tac HQ crossed the English Channel in three tank landing ships, with Odgers arriving at Juno Beach on on 8 June 1944. Odgers main task became scouting and selecting sites for Tac HQ. Over the next two years, it moved 27 times, covering from Courseulles in Normandy to Lüneburg Heath in Germany, where Odgers witnessed the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath.
Odgers ended the war with the temporary rank of major. For his services in north-west Europe, he was mentioned in despatches for a third time, and made a Member of the Order of the British Empire. He left active service after the war, but remained in the Territorial Army as a reservist. He earned the Territorial Decoration for long service, and retired on 30 July 1965, having reached the mandatory retirement age, with the rank of captain, retaining the rank of major as an honorary rank.