Algie died on 3 December 1994.

Sgt AIO Cossins
Sgt AIO Cossins

He joined ‘B’ Squadron of the 7th Queen’s Own Hussars in January 1938 at Abbassia, Egypt.

On 16 April 1941, in a determined effort to recapture Fort Capuzzo and do as much damage as possible to both the Germans and the Italians, ‘B’ Squadron, with a small Jock column, launched an attack.

During this swift, gallant and successful action, SSM ‘Hank’ Swain’s Mk VI light tank was hit and set on fire. SSM Swain was killed and awarded the M.M.

His crew, Cpl Cossins and Tpr Clayton were wounded and taken prisoner. He was sent to PoW camps in Italy and Germany and was repatriated in May 1945.

Being discharged in June 1946, he rejoined in August 1946 and joined the 7th Hussars in Trieste. In January 1952 he left the Regiment on posting to Bovington as an SQMS. In March 1952 he was assigned to the East Africa Pioneer Corps in Kenya for a short period. He remained with the Royal Pioneer Corps in the Canal Zone until April 1954, when he was posted back to Bovington.

Shortly after, he rejoined the 7th Hussars in Hong Kong. He joined the amalgamated Regiment The Queen’s Own Hussars on 3 November 1958 and was discharged from Bovington in May 1962.

He was secretary of the London branch of the Queen’s Own Hussars’ OCA for many years and was a regular attendee at Regimental events. His wife, Win, still attends cavalry weekends where she has a lot of friends.

Related topics

  1. A short history of The 7th Hussars
  2. A short history of The Queen’s Own Hussars
  3. Timeline: Middle East (Egypt and Libya)