Members of Popski's Private Army
About 190 men served in PPA between 1942 and 1945. They came from dozens of regiments and at least eight countries, and most were decorated, wounded or killed under the name of their parent regiment rather than PPA. That makes them hard to trace. This page brings together what is known.
Start with the parent regiment
PPA men kept their original regiment on paper. Their awards were gazetted, and their deaths recorded, under that regiment, so a search for "Demolition Squadron" in the London Gazette or the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records finds nothing. If you know which regiment your relative came from, search under that. If you have photographs, letters or service records, we would like to hear from you.
Searches the members, the Roll of Honour and the honours list on this page.
Officers and men
These are the men for whom the records say most. Names are given in the most common form; variant spellings are noted on each person's page.
Vladimir Peniakoff DSO, MC
- Parent unit
- General List
- Nationality
- Belgian-born
Raised and commanded PPA, 1942–45. Wounded twice.
VerifiedJean Max Charles Caneri MC
- Parent unit
- General List
- Nationality
- French
Second-in-command. Commanded PPA Dec 1944 – Apr 1945 while Peniakoff recovered.
VerifiedRobert Park “Bob” Yunnie MC
- Parent unit
- The Black Watch
- Nationality
- Scottish
Led 'B' Patrol for most of the war. Wrote Warriors on Wheels (1959).
VerifiedJohn Davies Campbell MC and Bar
- Parent unit
- Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
- Nationality
- British
Commanded 'S' Patrol from September 1944.
VerifiedJ. E. W. Rickwood
- Parent unit
- Not yet established
- Nationality
- British
Commanded 'R' Patrol; later second-in-command. Wounded June 1944.
VerifiedA. A. Reeve-Walker
- Parent unit
- Union Defence Force
- Nationality
- South African
Commanded 'S' Patrol until autumn 1944.
VerifiedG. A. Lee
- Parent unit
- RCEME
- Nationality
- Canadian
Commanded 'R' Patrol. Recalled by the Canadian Army, April 1945.
VerifiedE. “Kiwi” Sanders MM
- Parent unit
- 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force
- Nationality
- New Zealander
Came from the LRDG. Took over 'R' Patrol in 1944.
VerifiedD. “Don” Galloway MM and Bar
- Parent unit
- RASC
- Nationality
- British
Led 'B' Patrol in the fighting near Venice, April 1945.
VerifiedJ. E. Beautyman MM
- Parent unit
- Royal Corps of Signals
- Nationality
- British
Ran the Signal Section.
VerifiedG. Waterson MM
- Parent unit
- 1st King's Dragoon Guards
- Nationality
- British
Squadron Sergeant Major from the unit's first days.
VerifiedC. “Charlie” Burrows MM
- Parent unit
- RASC
- Nationality
- British
Peniakoff's gunner.
VerifiedD. J. “Dave” Porter DCM
- Parent unit
- Royal Engineers
- Nationality
- British
PPA's only DCM. Killed in Italy, 1944.
VerifiedBenjamin Joseph Owen MID
- Parent unit
- RASC
- Nationality
- British
Wrote With Popski's Private Army (1993). IWM sound recording 12936.
VerifiedWilliam Joseph “Bill” O'Leary MM
- Parent unit
- Royal Artillery; 1st Bn Parachute Regiment
- Nationality
- British
Joined PPA 1 December 1943. MM for the farmhouse capture near Ravenna, 13 November 1944.
VerifiedA. D. Cahill MM
- Parent unit
- RASC
- Nationality
- British
His MM appears on the memorial but not in Peniakoff's own list.
Needs verificationD. Hodgson MID
- Parent unit
- Royal Artillery
- Nationality
- British
Served in 'S' Patrol. Photo captions call him Danny; his friend Bill O'Leary's obituary calls him Dennis.
VerifiedE. Thomas MID
- Parent unit
- RASC or Royal Engineers (sources differ)
- Nationality
- British
Commanded the landing-craft flotilla, “Popski's Private Navy”, 1945.
VerifiedThis list is being built up. The full roster will come from Peniakoff's own index cards at the Imperial War Museum, which record every member of the unit.
Roll of Honour
Twelve men are named on PPA's Roll of Honour, as printed by Peniakoff in Private Army and inscribed on the unit memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. We have traced each of them to a war grave or a memorial to the missing. Three have no known grave and are named on memorials: Gaskell and MacGillivray, lost at sea in September 1943, and Hunter. For two men the records still disagree on the date of death, so for now we give only the year.
| Rank | Name | Parent unit | Patrol | Died | Buried or commemorated | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cpl | W. “Jock” Cameron | Lovat Scouts | 'Blitz' | 1944 | Ancona War Cemetery, Italy · I.M.10 | Grave found |
| Tpr | T. “Tommy” Croghan | 3rd Hussars | 'R' | 1944 | Ravenna War Cemetery, Italy · V.A.10 | Grave found |
| Sgt | C. H. Curtis | Royal Engineers | 'Blitz' | 1944 | Montecchio War Cemetery, Italy · II.B.12 | Grave found |
| Dvr | W. S. Gaskell | RASC | HQ | 1943, lost at sea | Brookwood 1939–1945 Memorial, England · Panel 16 | Grave found |
| Pte | J. Hunter | Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders | 'B' | 1944 | Cassino Memorial, Italy · Panel 11 | Dates differ |
| Spr | R. MacDowall | Royal Engineers | 'B' | 1945 | Argenta Gap War Cemetery, Italy · II.E.19 | Grave found |
| Lt | D. B. MacGillivray | 1st Derbyshire Yeomanry | HQ | 1943, lost at sea | Cassino Memorial, Italy · Panel 1 | Grave found |
| Lt | I. W. McCallum | 27th Lancers | 'B' | 1945 | Argenta Gap War Cemetery, Italy · II.E.20 | Grave found |
| Sgt | D. J. Porter DCM | Royal Engineers | 'R' | 1944 | Ravenna War Cemetery, Italy · V.A.9 | Dates differ |
| Tpr | A. Rogers | 56th Reconnaissance Regiment | 'B' | 1945 | Padua War Cemetery, Italy · IV.A.6 | Grave found |
| Cpl | J. Snape | 50th Royal Tank Regiment | 'Blitz' | 1945 | Klagenfurt War Cemetery, Austria · 2.A.2 | Grave found |
| Pte | A. White | Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry | 'S' | 1945 | Udine War Cemetery, Italy · II.A.7 | Grave found |
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Grave found | A war grave or memorial record matches this man's name, unit and age. |
| Dates differ | The grave is found, but the date of death on the grave record, the memorial and Peniakoff's memoir do not agree. |
| Not yet confirmed | No matching grave record has been found yet. |
Grave details come from war-grave records as transcribed by Find a Grave, and will be checked directly against the Commonwealth War Graves Commission before publication. Two dates are unresolved: Sgt Porter's grave record gives 10 November 1944, the memorial 15 November; Pte Hunter's record gives 31 January 1944, the memorial 21 January. D. Whittaker's 1984 history records 10 PPA men killed; the Roll of Honour names 12.
Honours and awards
The list below follows a PPA honours list reproduced on the Special Forces Roll of Honour site, with each man’s parent unit and patrol. Its original source is not recorded. “PPN” is “Popski’s Private Navy”, the landing-craft flotilla of 1945.
| Name | Parent unit | Patrol |
|---|---|---|
| Distinguished Service Order | ||
| Peniakoff, Maj V. | General List | — |
| Military Cross | ||
| Cadell, Lt M. A. G. | Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders | B |
| Campbell, Capt J. D. (and Bar) | Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders | S |
| Caneri, Maj J. M. | General List | HQ |
| Peniakoff, Maj V. | General List | — |
| Yunnie, Capt R. P. | The Black Watch | B |
| Distinguished Conduct Medal | ||
| Porter, Sgt D. J. | Royal Engineers | R |
| Military Medal | ||
| Beautyman, Sgt J. E. | Royal Corps of Signals | Blitz |
| Burrows, Pte C. | RASC | Blitz |
| Cahill, L/Cpl A. D. | RASC | S |
| Galloway, Sgt D. (and Bar) | RASC | B |
| Higgins, Dvr J. | RASC | Blitz |
| O’Leary, Sgt W. J. | Royal Artillery | S |
| Riches, Sgt F. S. | 1st King’s Dragoon Guards | B |
| Sanders, Sgt E. | 2nd NZEF | R |
| Waterson, SSM G. | 1st King’s Dragoon Guards | Blitz |
| Mentioned in Despatches | ||
| Cawthorn, Spr | Royal Engineers | PPN |
| Dobinson, Spr F. | Royal Engineers | PPN |
| Foreacre, Spr L. | Royal Engineers | PPN |
| Freeman, Spr | Royal Engineers | PPN |
| Hodgson, Cpl D. | Royal Artillery | S |
| Kineally, Sgt J. | Royal Engineers | PPN |
| North, Cpl R. | Royal Irish Fusiliers | R |
| Owen, Cpl B. J. | RASC | B |
| Petrie, Spr A. | Royal Engineers | Original |
| Sonley, L/Cpl G. | 16th/5th Queen’s Royal Lancers | B |
| Taylor, Sgt S. | The Queen’s Bays | R |
| Thomas, Lt E. | Royal Engineers | PPN |
The totals differ between sources. Peniakoff’s own list in Private Army gives 1 DSO, 5 MCs to 4 men, 1 DCM, 8 MMs to 7 men and 6 Mentions. The memorial names more, including Cadell’s MC and the MMs of Cahill and Higgins, which Peniakoff does not list. This list gives Lt E. Thomas as Royal Engineers; other records give RASC.
What we don’t yet know
- The full list of men who served. Peniakoff’s index cards and Caneri’s nominal rolls, both at the Imperial War Museum, should settle it.
- The correct dates of death for Sgt Porter and Pte Hunter.
- The citations behind most of the MMs and Campbell’s two MCs.
If your family has anything to add, get in touch. Everything shared is credited, and originals stay with you.
Sources
- V. Peniakoff, Private Army (Jonathan Cape, 1950), Roll of Honour and awards, p. 501.
- Popski’s Private Army memorial, National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas (2008).
- D. Whittaker, Some Talk of Private Armies (1984).
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission records, as transcribed on Find a Grave (2026).