- Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada (mid-1920s -16 August 2003) was an army officer and president of Uganda. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles, in 1946, and advanced to the rank of Major General and Commander of the Ugandan Army. He deposed Milton Obote and took power in a military coup in January 1971. His reign was characterized by human rights abuses, political repression, ethnic persecution, extrajudicial killings and the expulsion of Asians from Uganda. - Jack White
Captain James Robert "Jack" White DSO (1879 -1946) was one of the co-founders of the Irish Citizen Army, along with James Connolly. - John Howard
Major John Howard, DSO (1912-1999) was a British Army officer who led the World War II assault on "Pegasus", a vital bridge over the Caen Canal of the River Orne. - Neville Duke
Squadron Leader Neville Frederick Duke DSO, OBE, DFC & Two Bars, AFC (11 January 1922 – 7 April 2007) was a British Second World War fighter pilot. He was the top Allied flying ace in the Mediterranean Theatre, having shot down at least 27 enemy aircraft, and was acknowledged as one of the world's foremost test pilots after the war. In 1953, he became holder of the world air speed record when he flew a Hawker Hunter F Mk3 at 727.63 mph over Littlehampton in the UK. - James O'Meara
Squadron Leader James Joseph 'Orange' O'Meara, DSO, DFC and Bar, was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire on the 20th February 1919 and entered the Royal Air Force on short commission in April 1938. His first operational posting was to No.64 Squadron based at hornchurch with whom he obtained his first 'kill' while over Dunkirk on 31st May 1940, when he brought down a Bf 109. - Mike Jackson
General Sir Michael "Mike" Jackson, GCB, CBE, DSO, (born 21 March 1944) is a British army officer, formerly Chief of the General Staff. He was formerly commander of KFor in Kosovo as well as UNPROFOR (see Timeline of UN peacekeeping missions) commander in Bosnia and Herzegovina. - T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO (August 16, 1888 - May 19, 1935), known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British soldier renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt of 1916-18, but whose vivid personality and writings, along with the extraordinary breadth and variety of his activities and associations, have made him the object of fascination throughout the world as "Lawrence of Arabia". - Albert Ball
Captain Albert Ball (1896-1917) was Britain's highest scoring profile fighter pilot during World War One. Ball, who was born in Nottingham, enlisted with the British Army upon the outbreak of war in August 1914, receiving a commission into the Sherwood Foresters. In time he sought and received a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps. - Richard Williams
Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams KBE CB DSO RAAF (3 August, 1890-7 February, 1980) is widely considered to be the "father" of the Royal Australian Air Force. He was the first military pilot to be trained in Australia, and became the first Chief of Air Staff of the RAAF in 1921. - David Stirling
Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling DSO, OBE (November 15, 1915 - November 4, 1990) was a Scottish laird, mountaineer, World War II British Army officer, and the founder of the Special Air Service. - Claude Auchinleck
Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE (June 21 1884 - March 23 1981), nicknamed The Auk, was a British army commander during World War II. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he developed a love of the country and a lasting affinity for the soldiers he commanded. - Paul Paray
Paul Paray was a French conductor, organist and composer. He is best remembered in the United States for being the resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for more than a decade. His father, Auguste, was a sculptor and organist at St. Jacques church, and leader of an amateur musical society. He put young Paul in the society's orchestra as a drummer. Later, Paul Paray went to Rouen to study music with the abbots Bourgeois and Bourdon, and organ with Haelling. - Orde Wingate
Major General Orde Charles Wingate, DSO (February 26, 1903 - March 24, 1944), was a British major general and creator of two special military units during World War II. - William Robertson
Field Marshal Sir William Robert Robertson, 1st Baronet of Beaconsfield, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, DSO (29 January 1860 – 12 February 1933) was a British Field Marshal who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) from 1916 to 1918 during the First World War. He is not, as is often incorrectly stated, … - John Cunningham
Group Captain 'cappy' John "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham CBE, DSO and two Bars, DFC and Bar, (27 July 1917 - 21 July 2002), was an officer in the Royal Air Force during World War II and a test pilot, both before and after the war. He joined de Havilland Aircraft in 1938 and lived in one of the four blocks of flats across the road from the headquarters building. - Donald MacLaren
Donald MacLaren DSO, MC and Bar, DFC (28 May 1893 - 4 July 1988) was a Canadian World War I flying ace. He was credited with 54 victories and, after the war, helped found the Royal Canadian Air Force. Donald MacLaren was born in Ottawa but his family moved first to Calgary in 1899, then to Vancouver in 1911. In 1912, MacLaren went to Montreal to study at McGill University. In 1914, an illness forced him to abandon his studies and he returned to Vancouver. - John Dill
Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill, GCB, CMG, DSO (25 December 1881 - 4 November 1944) was a British commander in World War I and World War II who played a significant role in the formation of the "special relationship" between the United Kingdom and the United States. - Peter Townsend
Group Captain Peter Wooldridge Townsend, CVO, DSO, DFC and Bar, RAF (November 22, 1914 – June 19, 1995) was Equerry to King George VI 1944–1952 and held the same position for Queen Elizabeth II 1952–1953. He was born 1914 in Rangoon, Burma and educated at Haileybury School. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1933, and trained at Cranwell. He served in Training Command, and as a flying instructor at RAF Montrose. He was stationed at RAF Tangmere in 1937. - Glenn Torpy
Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Lester Torpy, KCB, CBE, DSO, BSc(Eng), FRAeS, RAF is the current Chief of the Air Staff. Torpy was born in 1953 and joined the Royal Air Force in 1974 after studying aeronautical engineering at Imperial College London. His early career, after he left the RAF College Cranwell, involved flying duties on Jaguar aircaft before qualifying as a weapons instructor on Hawk aircraft. - Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey, GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED, (Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, 24 January 1884 – Heidelberg, Victoria, 27 May 1951) was an Australian General of World War II, and Australia's first (and only) Field Marshal. He commenced his soldiering as a 'citizen soldier', and served as a staff officer at Gallipoli. The pinnacle of his career was during World War II, as "Commander-in-Chief, Australian Military Forces", … - Gordon Bennett
Lieutenant General Henry Gordon Bennett CB, CMG, DSO (April 16, 1887 - August 1, 1962), Australian soldier, served in both World War I and World War II. Despite highly decorated achievements during World War I, including at Gallipoli, Bennett is best remembered for his role in the Fall of Singapore in the Pacific War when, as commander of the 8th Division, he escaped while his men became prisoners of the Japanese. - Patrick Leigh Fermor
Sir Patrick 'Paddy' Michael Leigh Fermor DSO (born 11 February 1915, London) is a British author, scholar and soldier, who played a prominent role behind the lines in the Battle of Crete during World War II. He is famous for his travel writing and is widely regarded as "Britain's greatest living travel writer". - John Slessor
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Cotesworth Slessor, GCB, DSO, MC (3 June, 1897-12 July, 1979) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the RAF's most senior post, Chief of the Air Staff, from 1 January, 1950 to 31 December, 1952. He served as a Somerset County Councillor, and was High Sheriff of Somerset from 1965 to 1966. In 1936 he authored "Air Power and Armies", … - Eugene Esmonde
Lieutenant Commander Eugene Kingsmill Esmonde VC DSO (1 March 1909- 12 February 1942) an English VC recipient was a distinguished pilot for the British Fleet Air Arm in World War II and a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. - Lewis Hodges
Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Macdonald Hodges KCB, CBE, DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar (1 March 1918 – 4 January 2007) was a pilot for SOE in the Second World War, and later achieved high command in the Royal Air Force and NATO. Hodges was born in Richmond in Surrey, England. He was educated at St Paul's School and joined the RAF College in Cranwell in 1937. - Bobby Gibbes
Robert Henry Maxwell (Bobby) Gibbes, DSO, DFC and Bar, OAM (6 May 1916 – 11 April 2007) was a leading Australian fighter ace of World War II. He is officially credited with shooting down 10¼ enemy aircraft, though his score is often reported as 12 destroyed. - Duff Cooper
Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich GCMG DSO PC (February 22, 1890 - January 1, 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British diplomat, Cabinet member, and author. The son of fashionable society doctor Sir Alfred Cooper and Lady Agnes Duff (sister of Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife), he was the youngest of four children and the only son and enjoyed a typical gentleman's upbringing of country estates, London society, Eton College, and New College, Oxford. - Arthur Coningham
Air Marshal Sir Arthur "Mary" Coningham KCB KBE DSO MC DFC AFC RAF (19 January, 1895 - presumably January 29 or 30 1948) was a senior Royal Air Force commander and was the Air Officer Commander-in-Chief 2nd Tactical Air Force (and subsequently the Air Officer Commander-in-Chief Flying Training Command). Coningham is chiefly remembered as the person most responsible for the development of tactical air power, … - Gordon Campbell
Vice-Admiral Gordon Campbell VC, DSO & 2 Bars, Croix de guerre avec Palmes, Legion d'Honneur (January 6, 1886 - July 3, 1953) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Educated at Dulwich College (between 1898 and 1900), he later became a senior officer and politician. - Roland Beamont
Wing Commander Roland Prosper "Bee" Beamont, CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, DFC (US), Croix de Guerre (Belgium), FRAeS, SETP (Hon. Fell.), (born August 10, 1920 in Chichester, Sussex, died November 19 2001) was a British fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Flying Hawker Tempests while stationed at Newchurch, Kent, he scored notable successes against the German pilotless V-1 flying bomb. - William Holmes
Major General William Holmes, <small>CMG DSO VD</small>; (12 September 1862 – 2 July 1917) was an Australian Army Major General in World War I. He was mortally wounded by a German shellburst while surveying the ground won at the Battle of Messines. - Brian Horrocks
Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks KCB KBE DSO MC (September 7, 1895 - January 4, 1985) was a British military officer. He is chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during World War II. Later in life he gained further fame as a television presenter and as Black Rod in the House of Lords. - Richard O'Connor
Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor, KT, GCB, DSO, MC, ADC (21 August 1889 - 17 June 1981) was a British Army general who commanded the Western Desert Force in the early years of World War II. He was the field commander for Operation Compass, in which his forces completely destroyed a much larger Italian army - a victory which nearly drove the Axis from Africa entirely, and in turn, … - Francis Hassett
General Sir Francis George "Frank" Hassett AC, KBE, CB, DSO, LVO (11 April, 1918-), was an Australian soldier, and head of the Australian Defence Force from November 1975 until April 1977. - Airey Neave
Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, DSO, OBE, MC, (January 23, 1916 - March 30, 1979) was a British soldier and later Conservative politician and MP for Abingdon. Neave was assassinated by the Irish National Liberation Army in 1979. - Wilfred Thesiger
Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger, KBE, DSO, (3 June, 1910 - August 24, 2003) was a British explorer and travel writer born in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. His father was a British diplomat. - William Mitchell
Air Chief Marshal Sir William Gore Sutherland Mitchell KCB CBE DSO MC AFC (8 March, 1888 - 15 August, 1944) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force and the first RAF officer to hold the post of Black Rod. Mitchell was Air Officer Commander-in-Chief RAF Middle East from 23 March 1939 to 12 May 1940. He held the post of Commandant of London Air Training Command from 1942 until his death in 1944 from a heart attack. - William Morrow
Sir William Morrow (b. 1888) DSO ED was a leading Australian physician and specialist in gastroenterology He also served as president of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Morrow founded the "AW Morrow Gastroenterology and Liver Centre" at the Royal Price Alfred Hospital in 1948. He was educated at Newington College, Sydney. Morrow was a recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize in 1961. He also served as president of the Australian Club. - Roy Farran
Major Roy Alexander Farran <small>DSO, MC & Bar</small> (born: 2 January 1921 — died: 1 June 2006) was a soldier, cabinet minister, farmer and author, and journalist. He was best known for his exploits with the Special Air Service during World War II. In Israel he is notoriously remembered for the alleged kidnapping and murder of 16 year old Alexander Rubowitz, during his service in Palestine. He was tried and acquitted under British law of this crime. - Rupert Smith
General Sir Rupert Smith KCB DSO OBE QGM (with a bar on his DSO) (born 1943) was an officer in the British Army until his retirement in 2002. He was educated at the Haileybury and Imperial Service College and later at Sandhurst. Smith enlisted in 1962 and was commissioned into the Parachute Regiment in 1964. He has served in East and South Africa, Arabia, the Caribbean, Europe and Malaysia.
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