Taffy died on 16 May 1998, aged 87.
He joined the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars’ draft at Colchester on 2 January 1929, having enlisted in Cardiff. His civilian trade had been a carpenter. At the end of the month, he joined the Regiment in Wiesbaden.
In October 1929 the 8th Hussars returned to England and were stationed at Beaumont cavalry barracks, Aldershot. In February 1932 he was appointed a Regimental saddler, and in February 1933 he was promoted to Corporal saddler.
In October 1933 the Regiment moved to the cavalry barracks in Hounslow with 400 horses. In December 1933, Taffy sailed with the Regiment to Main Barracks, Abbassia, Cairo. He served with the Regiment in Palestine in 1936.
In 1938, as a local Sergeant, he attended an armament instructor’s course. In December 1939 he was promoted to Sergeant and relinquished the appointment of a Saddler. At the end of 1938, he did a D and M course at Bovington and a gunnery course at Lulworth.
On 5 August 1940 Taffy took part in the first action in the desert of the 8th Hussars, capturing the only prisoner taken, and was Mentioned in Despatches. He also took part in the Buq-Buq battles.
In March 1941 he was promoted to SQMS. While replenishing his squadron, he was wounded in an air attack, and after a spell in the hospital at Tel el Kabir near Cairo, he was transferred to the Oribi Military Hospital at Pietermaritzburg. He was evacuated to England in October 1942, joining the 56th Training Regiment at Catterick.
He left Catterick in January 1944 to go to the School of Tank Technology at Chertsey, where he stayed until taking his release in January 1952. He moved to Englefield Green where he remained until his death.
On his release, he took up employment at Chertsey as a storeman.
After two and a half years he started work with the Woodlee Rehabilitation Centre near his home, where he stayed for 20 years.
Les was a loyal member of the Regimental Association and attended reunions regularly.
He served nine years in Egypt and eight months in Wiesbaden, the remainder of his service being spent in the UK.
