Eric Cole Major - General Eric Stuart Cole , CB , CBE ( 10 February 1906 – 19 December 1992 ) was a senior British Army officer and telecommunications expert . He saw active service in the Second World War , with his most important contribution being the planning of communications for the invasion of Normandy . He continued his army career after the war , ultimately holding the post of director of telecommunications at the War Office . He was also a cricketer of county - standard , who played for Kent during the 1938 English cricket season . A right - handed batsman and right - arm medium pace bowler , he played ten first - class matches in all , and also represented the Egypt national cricket team . Personal life and army career . Born in Malta in 1906 , where his father was then stationed as bandmaster of the Royal Sussex Regiment , Cole was educated at Dover Grammar School and Sandhurst . On graduation from the Royal Military College , Sandhurst , in 1925 , he was a commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Signal Corps on 3 September , and posted to Egypt , his early career also included time in Palestine , and he was promoted to lieutenant on 3 September 1927 . During these first postings he joined a group exploring the deserts of the Middle East . In 1934 he designed a transceiver that enabled an expedition consisting of two cars taking a 1500 mile trip across the Western Desert and Libyan Sand Sea to remain in daily contact with their base at Abbassia . The techniques developed during this and similar expeditions would later be taken up by British Forces in the North African Campaign , particularly by the Long Range Desert Group and helped to give them an edge over their Axis counterparts . He took and passed the examinations for promotion to captain in October 1934 , but was not actually promoted until 3 September 1936 . In 1938 he was Montgomery ' s chief signal officer in 88th Division Signals , operating against Arab terrorists in northern Palestine . On 1 March 1939 he was appointed adjutant of 1st Division ' s Signals . The unit was part of the British Expeditionary Force sent to France on the outbreak of the Second World War . Shortly before the main German offensive he became acting deputy chief signal officer to I Corps ( and an acting major ) . During the evacuation from Dunkirk he commanded the signals party which remained with the Corps HQ until it was finally evacuated , managing to keep communications open most of the time , despite only having one wireless detachment , five despatch riders and two linemen ; he was wounded on the evacuation beach . The Corps chief signal officer recommended him for a decoration , initially the Military Cross , which was then downgraded to an MBE , but in the end Cole only received a Mention in Despatches . On Cole ' s return to the United Kingdom he was soon involved in planning the communications for various amphibious operations proposed by Churchill , mostly cancelled before they got off the drawing board . In July 1941 he was appointed chief signal officer for Force 110 , an amphibious force intended to carry out raids and landings across an area from the Azores to Sicily , and designed some of the special comms equipment used by the amphibious and airborne forces . He married an artist , Doris Hartley , in 1941 . Given this experience of amphibious operations , he was an obvious choice for the new Combined Operations department when it was set up in January 1942 . He was promoted major on 3 September 1942 . In this capacity he was involved in planning the communications for the proposed invasion of Normandy . He took part in the invasion as chief signals officer of I Corps , and was sent forward on D + 7 to take over signals in 6th Airborne Division , and stayed with that division during the remainder of the Battle of Normandy . On 28 September 1944 , he moved to the role of deputy chief signals officer ( British ) at Allied Forces Headquarters , initially under the command of Field Marshal Sir Henry Maitland Wilson , and from December 1944 , Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander . He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE ) in 1945 for services during the Italian Campaign . By this time he held the war substantive rank of lieutenant - colonel , a temporary colonelcy and was an acting brigadier . In April 1945 he was posted to Athens as part of the British Land Forces Greece , supporting Greek Government forces during the Greek Civil War . In 1946 Cole was appointed chairman of the Joint Communications Board , and his wartime substantive rank of lieutenant - colonel was confirmed . He was promoted substantive colonel in 1948 ( with seniority backdated to 1947 ) , and spent two years in Washington , D . C . . Further important positions followed , along with promotion to substantive brigadier in 1954 . By January 1958 he was at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe as deputy chief signal officer , and became director of telecommunications at the War Office ( with the temporary rank of major - general ) on 15 April 1958 , receiving substantive promotion on 24 August 1958 , and relinquished the role on 27 April 1961 , retiring from active duty shortly after . He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath ( CB ) in the 1960 Queen ' s Birthday Honours , Colonel Commandant of the Royal Corps of Signals on 22 December 1962 , in succession to Mervyn Wheatley , and held that appointment until 22 December 1967 . On his retirement in 1961 he joined Ultra Electronics managing their telecommunications business , he was also appointed president of the Radio Society of Great Britain . In 1964 he moved to manage Granger Associates , a radio aerial manufacturer , and later become a director of the company . Cricket career . Cole ' s early cricket career was split between Egypt and England . He first played for the Egyptian national side in April 1930 , playing twice against HM Martineau ' s XI . Indeed , all his matches for Egypt were against Martineau ' s team , and he also played twice against them for Gezira Sporting Club . In 1931 , after playing twice for Egypt in April , he made his first - class debut , playing for the Free Foresters against Cambridge University . Back in Egypt , he played for the national side once in 1932 and twice in 1933 . The 1933 English cricket season was when he first became involved with Kent County Cricket Club , playing five times for their second XI in the Minor Counties Cricket Championship that year . He also played his second first - class match that year , playing for the British Army cricket team against the West Indies . He again played twice for Egypt in 1934 , and played his final match for them in April 1935 . The rest of his cricket career was in England , and in 1935 he played a first - class match for the Army against Cambridge University , and a Minor Counties Championship match for Kent Second XI against Staffordshire . He played first - class matches for the Army against Cambridge University in the 1936 season and against Oxford University in the 1937 season . He also played for the Combined Services against New Zealand in 1937 . In 1938 , after playing for the Army against Cambridge University , he made his debut for the Kent first team , playing County Championship matches against Lancashire , Derbyshire and Worcestershire . These were his only games for Kent . He played a non - first - class match for the Army against the West Indies in 1939 , his last recorded match . Statistics . In his ten first - class matches , Eric Cole scored 147 runs at an average of 9 . 80 , with a top - score of 36 for the Army against the West Indies in 1933 . He took 25 wickets at an average of 36 . 48 , his best innings bowling performance of 4 / 78 came on his County Championship debut for Kent against Lancashire . Other sports and recreations . In his youth , Cole was Army light - heavyweight boxing champion , and also fought at middle - weight . He also represented Aldershot Command in at least one football match in 1928 . He later took up golf to a reasonable standard and was president of the Army Golfing Society in the 1970s . He was a keen photographer , and an associate of the Royal Photographic Society . He collected English bronze coinage , and was known as a numismatist . He frequently competed in amateur radio competitions .