In Memory of

GEORGE WILLIAM THEAKER

Lance Bombardier
938278
107 (The South Notts. Hussars) Regt., Royal Horse Artillery
who died on
Saturday, 6th June 1942. Age 23.

Additional Information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. G. Theaker, of Staveley, Derbyshire.


Extracts from an email Caroline Beck, nee Theaker.

 I am the niece of George William Theaker.  

I just by chance happened to come across your website as I was curious to discover whether there was anything under the Theaker name on the Yahoo search engine,  low and behold i find that there is!!  

I was drawn particularly to the Theaker War Dead section to see if there was perhaps any mention of my uncle, George William Theaker,  who was killed in action at the battle of Knightsbridge, 1942 (actually before the battle of Alamein as it states on the website).   Not expecting to find anything, I came across his name and the details of his regiment.   It is extremely moving for me to see my Uncle's name acknowledged and commemorated in this way.

Of course, as the youngest child growing up in a warm, loving family, I always knew about the existence of my Uncle George, from the stories my father would tell me and my two sisters and brother, but as is often the case, it was not until I grew older and was more able to comprehend the devastating effect that my Uncle's death had on his mother, my father and my aunt, (their father had passed away aged 55 in mid/late 1930's), that I realised the true measure and profound goodness of this young man who died aged 23.

My aunt, Gwen Theaker,  who is now 91 and very frail has lived every day with fond thoughts of her brother and never got over his death.   My dear father, Gervase Theaker,  who is now 82 often relays stories about his brother and particularly about their childhood days growing up in Staveley, Derbyshire, in 1920/30's. A time fraught with economic difficulty, poverty and social injustice.  My father has some wonderful photos of himself and my Uncle together as small children, along with photos of my Uncle after he had joined the Army.  In fact my father has a large collection of letters that his brother wrote to him and his sister during the war together with photographs of himself and his comrades in Egypt.  I have opened the box of letters and read the contents only once before,  a very thought provoking and moving experience.  The last letter he wrote was 17th May 1942, which was exactly 20 years before I was born.  In the letter he explained that he couldn't tell of his exact whereabouts due to security reasons, but that he was to be going out on manoevres on a mission he understood to be extremely dangerous.  That letter will stay in my mind for evermore.  My Uncle was a religous young man and the local Padre to the regiment wrote to my Grandmother following his death and told of his couragous yet gentle spirit,  in spite of the awful circumstances he found himself in.  Along way from Middlecroft Road, Staveley.  

Commemorative Information

Memorial: ALAMEIN MEMORIAL, Egypt
Grave Reference/
Panel Number:
Column 12.
Location: The Alamein Memorial forms the entrance to the El Alamein War Cemetery. Alamein is a village, bypassed by the main coast road, approximately 130 kilometres west of Alexandria on the road to Mersa Matruh. The first Commission road direction sign is located just beyond the Alamein police checkpoint and all cemetery visitors should turn off from the main road onto the parallel old coast road. The cemetery lies off the road beyond the ridge, and road direction signs are in place approximately 25 metres before the low metal gates and stone wing walls which are situated centrally at the road edge at the head of the access path into the cemetery. The Cross of Sacrifice feature may be seen from the road. Within the south-eastern part of the cemetery will be found the Alamein Cremation Memorial.

Historical Information: The Alamein Memorial Land Forces panels commemorate the soldiers of the British Commonwealth and Empire who fell in the campaigns in Egypt and Libya, and in the operations of the Eighth Army in Tunisia up to 19th february 1943 - the date when it came under the command of General Eisenhower - and who have no known grave. It also commemorates those who served and fell in Syria and Lebanon, Iraq and Persia. The Alamein Memorial Air Forces panels commemorate the airmen of the Commonwealth who fell in the campaigns in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Greece, Crete and the Aegean, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Somalilands, the Sudan, East Africa, Aden and Madagascar and who have no known grave. Those who served with the Rhodesian and South African Air Training Scheme and have no known grave are also honoured here. The Alamein Memorial commemorates nearly 12,000 Second World War casualties.

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