Bill died on 14 March 1998, aged 86.
He enlisted in October 1929 at Liverpool, initially joining the Royal Artillery. In February 1931 he transferred to the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars who were at that time stationed at Beaumont Barracks, Aldershot.
In October 1932 the Regiment moved to the cavalry barracks in Hounslow prior to sailing to Egypt in December 1933.
He took part in the last Mounted Parade of the 8th Hussars on 11 November 1935.
He served with the Regiment in Palestine from June to November 1936. In January 1937 he returned to England to take his discharge in April 1937.
He was recalled on 1 September 1939, landing in France on 12 September 1939. He returned to England in December 1939 and in January 1940 he sailed for Palestine, where he was attached to the RASC, probably because of his welding skills.
In October 1940 he was compulsorily transferred to the RASC. In October 1942 he was transferred to the REME, with whom he remained until taking his discharge in February 1946 in the rank of WO2 (AQMS). He served almost five years in the Middle East.
He joined the Territorial Army in January 1949 as a member of REME, serving mainly in the LAD of RASC TA units. He left the TA in January 1957, aged 48, with the rank of Staff Sergeant.
When he rejoined the Regimental Association in 1990 he said that, although he spent his war service away from the 8th Hussars, it was true that ‘once an 8th Hussar, always an 8th Hussar.’ In civilian life, he worked as a construction welder.
