The Ven David Rogers, communications officer who served with Montgomery at Lüneberg Heath – obituary
As a member of Monty s Phantom regiment he was on duty when the message came through that the German army wanted to surrender
The Ven David Rogers
The Venerable David Rogers, who has died aged 99, served with Field Marshal Montgomery at Lüneberg Heath in 1945 and received the radio message from the frontline that a German general was requesting safe passage to surrender; years later he recalled feeling “exhilaration that at least the German part of the Second World War was over”.
Lieutenant Rogers was part of a small innovative communications network Montgomery established to ensure he personally had the speediest, most accurate information from the front. The “Phantom” regiment was established in North Africa when Monty realised that the traditional passing of tactical information up and down the army hierarchy meant that intelligence moved too slowly for rapid mod
Author David Cornwell John le Carre during his visit to Lower Parkstone This article was written in 2011 and has been republished. IT was undoubtedly his most successful novel, and now the film version of John Le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy looks set to follow suit. The movie opened to rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival and has been tipped to win the prestigious Golden Lion award. Screen magazine described the film, starring Colin Firth, Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Toby Jones and Tom Hardy, as “a richly satisfying piece of storytelling brought to life by a once-in-a-generation cast”.