Bill Etches

Colonel William Whitson Etches, OBE, MC (15 May 1921 – 12 April 2015) was a senior British Army officer. After having attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and after being commissioned into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in December 1939,[2] he served with the commandos during the Second World War, taking part in the raid on St Nazaire for which he won the Military Cross[3] and was taken as a prisoner of war.[4][5]

Bill Etches
Bill Etches about to eat a Minden Rose, a tradition of the Lancashire Fusiliers.
Born(1921-05-15)15 May 1921
Bisley, Surrey, England
Died12 April 2015(2015-04-12) (aged 93)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1940–1971
RankColonel
Service number112866
UnitRoyal Warwickshire Regiment
No. 3 Commando
Commands held3rd Battalion, The Queen's Own Nigeria Regiment
Battles/warsSecond World War United Nations Operation in the Congo
AwardsOfficer of the Order of the British Empire[1]
Military Cross
Mentioned in dispatches

References

  1. "No. 43203". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1963. p. 43.
  2. "No. 34766". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 January 1940. p. 66.
  3. "No. 37162". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 1945. p. 3493.
  4. Colonel Bill Etches – obituary. The Telegraph, 11 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  5. "Colonel Bill Etches". The Times. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
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