The Men
A-Z index
Here you will find information about every 23H man whose identity could be traced. Brief family details are given where known.
Sadly, some names are missing. Although address lists for A, B and HQ Squadrons were produced, I have never come across, or heard mention of, one for C Squadron. Survivors who could have filled the gaps are no longer with us. It is the price I must pay for not starting this project sooner.
From the criminal underworld to the aristocracy and everything in between, the list includes, for example, the brother of Margot Fonteyn; the designer of the Humber Bridge; the composer of the music for "A Bridge Too Far"; an actor who appeared in the film 'The Colditz Story'; a lawyer at the Nuremberg Trials; a petty thief from London's docklands. All human life is here....
....and death.
The Fallen
The main sources of info about those who died in the service of 23H are:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website;
- The graves themselves, scattered as they are throughout northwest Europe.
and the Rolls of Honour (ROHs):
- as listed in the 23H Story (Pages 270 and 271);
- as listed in "Taurus Pursuant, a history of 11th Armoured Division", Palamontain, 1945;
- carved on wooden panels and on permanent display in Bridlington Priory Church.
However, the above do not provide the full picture. Some men were killed before 23H saw action in Europe (eg. during training); some lost their lives whilst attached to other units; at least one man is known to have committed suicide. They do not appear on any 23H ROH.
Neither does another man, Lt. Alan Michael Walker MC; I can find no reason for his exclusion.
Clerical errors do not help either. An extreme example is that of Trooper Frederick John Cook, a tank driver in B Squadron. He is listed in the 23H Story (Page 272) and 'Taurus Pursuant' as being KIA in Antwerp on 4 Sep 1944. Happily, this is not correct: he survived the war and lived until 1981.
I have applied the rule that: if a man had served in, or been attached to, the Regiment, for however short a period, and was killed either during the War, or soon after as a direct result of it, then he is included in the All who died list.
Prisoners of War
Happily, only a handful of 23H men were taken prisoner and their incarceration was not to be for long. This section contains a list of those men, with details of their imprisonment and, in some cases, the circumstances of their capture.