Willis Michael “Mike; also recorded as W. Michael” Sadler
Corporal · #1097526 / 282465 / 1095726 / CR3514 · S Patrol · MC, MM
| Rank | Corporal |
|---|---|
| Service number | #1097526 / 282465 / 1095726 / CR3514 |
| Patrol | S Patrol |
| Regiment | RH ATB |
| Known as | “Mike; also recorded as W. Michael” |
| Honours | MC, MM |
What this roll records
London Gazette entries found under 282465, one of the alternate numbers from O’Carroll’s Rhodesia roll; the primary number on this card returns nothing. 26 September 1944, Supplement 36721, p.4477: “From K.R.R.C., 1st Apr. 1944: W. M. Sadler (282465)”. 20 March 1945, Supplement 36994, p.1542: “Captain (temporary) Willis Michael Sadler, M.M. (282465), Army Air Corps”. 11 January 1946, Supplement 37430, p.449: “War Subs. Lt. W. M. SADLER, M.M. (282465) relinquishes his commn., 1st Nov. 1945”. Together they give his forenames in full, confirm his Military Medal against the number, and supply a career this card did not hold: he came to the Army Air Corps FROM THE KING’S ROYAL RIFLE CORPS on 1 April 1944, rose to Captain (temporary) where this roll holds him as a Corporal — which will be his L.R.D.G. rank — and relinquished his commission on 1 November 1945. Source: The London Gazette.
Additional service number(s) from Rhodesia roll: 1095726, CR3514. Source: Rhodesia Nominal Roll (Brendan O’Carroll).
March 1942 roll (courtesy Tarek el Mahdy): Navigator
A NOTE ON THE MILITARY CROSS. This card’s honours field reads “MC, MM”. All three London Gazette entries above, running from 1944 to 1946, style him “M.M.” and none of them mentions a Military Cross. That is not proof there was none — an award can be gazetted outside the notices a search surfaces — and the honours field has been left exactly as it stands. This note records the state of the evidence on the card rather than leaving it in a file. Source: The London Gazette.
HIS MILITARY MEDAL, FOUND AND DATED. London Gazette, 20 February 1942, Supplement 35465, heading “The Military Medal.” on page 896, entry on page 897: “No. 1095726 Gunner Michael Sadler, Royal Regiment of Artillery.” It stands against 1095726, one of the alternate numbers from O’Carroll’s Rhodesia roll; the primary number on this card returns nothing. He was a GUNNER of the ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY in February 1942 — so the sequence runs Gunner, R.A. → Corporal, the L.R.D.G. rank held here → to the Army Air Corps from the K.R.R.C. in April 1944 → Captain (temporary) → commission relinquished November 1945. This is the earliest L.R.D.G. award found in the 2026 Gazette passes bar Clayton’s. Source: The London Gazette.
The collection’s photograph of him is captioned “Mike Sadler LRDG Navigator”. Navigation was what he was known for: he was the Group’s navigator, and later navigated for the S.A.S. Source: the photograph itself, in the collection’s master folder.
See him in the full roll →Where this comes from
- Missing info added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll.
- AKA added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll (missing information).
This page is part of the Long Range Desert Group roll of members at lrdgarchive.org. If you hold rights to anything on it and would like it credited differently, or taken down, please see Sources and Copyright. It will be dealt with promptly.
Not By Strength But By Guile