This Is Your Life: John Frost

Major-General John FROST CD, DSO and Bar, MC (1912-1993)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - John Frost, Army officer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Twickenham Film Studios, having been invited to view the editing process of the film A Bridge Too Far, on which he had acted as military consultant.

John, who was born in India, trained at Sandhurst before taking up a commission with the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in 1932. During the Second World War he was one of the first to join the newly formed Parachute Regiment and served with distinction in many wartime airborne operations, such as in North Africa and Sicily and Italy.

He is best known for his involvement in the Battle of Arnhem during Operation Market Garden, in the Netherlands, where his battalion held the road bridge against overwhelming odds until forced to withdraw after running out of ammunition. John was captured and held as a prisioner of war in Oflag IX-A/H at Spangenberg castle. He continued to serve in the Army after the war rising to the rank of Major General before retiring in 1968.

"I never thought you'd catch me!"

programme details...

Edition No: 464
Subject No: 461
Broadcast date: Wed 6 Apr 1977
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Wed 23 Feb 1977
Venue: Euston Road Studios
Series: 17
Edition: 24
Code name: Snow

on the guest list...

Richard Attenborough
Jean - wife
Hugo - son
Diana - sister
Betty - sister
Jimmy Sharp
Lt Col Doug Crawley
Col Rudolf Witzig
Lt Bill Tight
June Tight
Maj Victor 'Dickie' Dover
Alfred Reynolds
Walter Rook
Ron Holt
Stan Halliwell
Maj Gen Michael Walsh
veterans of the Second Battalion of the Parachute Regiment
Dennis Wicks
Anthony Hopkins
Caroline - daughter
junior soldiers platoon of the Parachute Regiment

production team...

Researcher: John Viner
Writer: John Sandilands
Directors: Royston Mayoh, Terry Yarwood
Executive Producer: Jack Andrews
Producer: Jack Crawshaw

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Military Life

saluting the armed forces

Richard Attenborough

Screenshots of John Frost This Is Your Life

Scriptwriter Roy Bottomley recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in his book, This Is Your Life: The Story of Television's Famous Big Red Book...

Sir Richard Attenborough, who had just directed A Bridge Too Far – the story of the airborne assault on Arnhem – had invited to Twickenham Film Studios a legendary hero of that battle, even among a host of heroes, Major-General John Frost CB, DSO, MC. And that's where we picked him up. Anthony Hopkins, who played the general in the film, greeted him from Hollywood.

For thirty-three years Major-General Frost had been trying to locate his former batman. With the general wounded, the batman had dragged him to a wall, propped him up, cocked his revolver for him and said, 'if anyone comes through that door, sir, shoot.' Then he rushed off to find a stretcher-bearer.

General Frost had even gone to the lengths of taking a newspaper advertisement to find ex-private Dennis Wicks. It was a challenge the Life research team could not resist. Private Wicks was alive and well – and on the general's programme.

Series 17 subjects