Palestine During the
1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Bredin was a
subaltern with the 2nd Royal Ulster Rifles in Upper
Galilee. The Army was charged with protecting Jewish settlements and tracking down Arab insurgents. Bredin took part in
counter-insurgency with Major
Orde Wingate's
Special Night Squads. He was awarded the
Military Cross in a clash at a notorious ambush point on the
Tulkarm-
Nablus road, in April 1938, and a
Bar to the award a month later in a similar action. The citation recorded that, "he had already proved adept at this work which is both arduous and dangerous". Bredin carried out a number of atrocities during the revolt in Palestine. He killed every 15th man, three in total, in one village that failed to produce rifles. On the way to
Daburiyya after the
Tiberias massacre, Bredin and his men encountered a Palestinian man riding his bicycle, whom Bredin shot. At
Kfar Hittim, he executed three prisoners brought to him by Jews, proclaiming:'"In the name of the King of England, I find you guilty of murder and sentence you to death'. … He immediately ordered the English soldiers to carry out the sentence, and they shot the Arabs on the spot.' In this, Bridden [
sic] was following in the practices of Wingate."
Second World War Bredin participated in the
Battle of France in 1940, serving with the Royal Ulster Rifles. They marched from Louvain to
Dunkirk, repulsing German attacks en route, before boarding an
Isle of Man steamer. While on board Bredin came across a steward and asked for a beer, to which the steward replied, "Yes, sir, but I can't serve you till we are three miles out". Bredin received his beer as they were about to land in
Kent and he thought to himself, "...we can't lose the war with people like that about". In 1944, Bredin was commanding the 6th Battalion
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in
Italy. He was tasked with breaching the Gustav Line, the German defensive position, leading the 78th Division in the engagement. A subsequent bravery citation relating to his actions of 15 May 1944 read - Two days later on 17 May 1944 he was ordered to attack Piumarola. Bredin was injured while on the start line for the attack but carried on with the engagement until loss of blood led to his fainting and he was evacuated. For his actions he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order. After recovering from his wounds sustained in May, Bredin was placed in command of the 2nd Battalion,
London Irish Rifles. The battalion were attached to the
9th Lancers and deployed in
armoured personnel carriers known as
Kangaroos. In this role they captured bridges over the Fossa Sabbiosola and reached the Scolo Bolognese. The action resulted in the over-running of enemy artillery position with guns destroyed and
prisoners of war taken.
Post-war After the war, Bredin served in Palestine once more before a stint as an instructor at Sandhurst. He then served as with the
Sudan Defence Force between 1949 and 1953. Bredin went on to command the 2nd
Parachute Regiment at
Suez and on
Cyprus. It was on Cyprus that Bredin won his third DSO while carrying out
counter-terrorism work. His men captured large quantities of weapons and broke up four groups. He was then posted home for two years before being sent to Malaya and Borneo where he commanded 99
Gurkha Brigade Group. In 1962, Bredin was sent to Germany as Chief of the British Commander-in-Chief's Mission to Soviet Forces in Germany (BRIXMIS). This was a position he filled for two years. From there he was moved to command
42nd (Lancashire) Division/District of the
Territorial Army in 1965. He went on to be General Officer Commanding
North West District in 1967. The end of the decade saw Bredin appointed
Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1969. Between 1968 and 1971 Bredin served as Director of Volunteers, Territorials and Cadets, Ministry of Defence. It was also in this period that he was the first Colonel Commandant of the
King's Division. Bredin was also Colonel of the
Royal Irish Rangers from 1979 to 1984. == Retirement ==