Page 107 - MERCIAN Eagle 2022

LUCKRAFT
Maj AW ‘Bertie’ Luckraft died on 27 July 2022 aged 94. Upon leaving school, Bertie was on Intake 1 at Sandhurst after WW2 and commissioned into the RASC in 1947. On discharge, he became a School Bursar and Teacher and joined 5/8 Foresters TA in 1965. He served in C Coy in Worksop. He later served in the short-lived Derbyshire Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters in Chesterfield
in 1967 and stayed with it until it became a Cadre. The Cadre eventually became part of 3WFR on its formation in 1970.
MACLEOD
Duncan MacLeod, ex Staffordshire Regiment, died in April 2022.
MARSHALL
Maj Anthony ‘Butch’ MARSHALL died in 2022 aged 61. Butch joined
3 WFR and served with
E Company as an Officer Cadet and became 2Lt on 21 Nov 1983 and was
promoted to Lt on 21 Nov 1985. He served with A, B & HQ Companies and was promoted to Capt on 1 August 1989 and Maj on 29 June 1993 as OC of C Company
MATHER
Mickey MATHER died on 21st October 2022. He served with A Coy 1 MERCIAN(V).
MATTHEWS
Stephen MATTHEWS died in 2022. Stephen was in the MVR
MAY
Pte Derek A MAY of Derby, died on 15 February 2022 aged 83. Derek joined the Army on 7 July 1960, serving with The Seaforth Highlanders before transferring
to The Sherwood Foresters and during his time in the military, served in Singapore. He was discharged on 6 January 1966.
MILLS
Alan Mills, ex 1st Battalion The Cheshire Regiment, died on 25th January 2022.
NABOKOV-MARTIN
Maj Edwin NABOKOV- MARTIN died on 15 June 2022 in Bristol aged 91. Edwin was born in Olkusz, Poland in December 1930, the son of Leonard Martin, who won the
Military Cross serving in Italy. His mother’s family had relatives who had served with the Russian Imperial Army prior to the revolution and she was the cousin of Vladimir Nabokov, the author. Edwin joined as a National Serviceman in July 1950 in the Intelligence Corps before completing his officer training at Eaton Hall. He then earned a Short Service Commission with the Essex Regiment before being granted a Regular Commission with the 2nd Bn The Sherwood Foresters in September
1953. Though serving with The Sherwood Foresters as a Plt Comd, Coy 2IC and as
a Coy Comd, much of Edwin’s service was away from the regiment. As a linguist he spoke fluent Russian, Polish, German and Mandarin and therefore had an unusual career pattern. In mid 1957 to early 1959
he served on Special Employment in Ghana as Adjutant, Ghana Regiment and at the Training Centre. Edwin then served as a Coy Comd at the Depot in Derby in 1961 before returning to the 1st Bn in NI. There then followed a posting as GSO3 (SD) in HQ MIDEAST Land Forces in Aden 1964-66 during the Aden Emergency. In 1970 Edwin moved to Hong Kong as a Linguist/IO in
HQ FARELF. On amalgamation he served with 1 WFR in 1972 - 73 in Berlin before postings with the RAF in Gutersloh as an Air Liaison Officer and then with the Army School of Instruction, the Army School of Recruiting and HQ BAOR. Edwin retired from the regular army in 1981. He was a strong supporter of the Sherwood Foresters Officers’ Club.
NEWALL
Cpl Eddie NEWALL of Bloxwich died on 18 August 2022 aged 78. Eddie served his regular service with the Grenadier Guards and then joined the Light Infantry & Mercian Volunteers on its
formation in the early seventies which went on to become 2 MERCIAN
O’BRIEN
Cpl Gerald ‘Gerry’ A O’BRIEN of Suffolk died on 12 December 2021 aged 92. Gerry originally enlisted into the General Service Corps on 12 June 1945 before transferring to The
Sherwood Foresters on 27 February 1947. He served in the UK and Germany until his discharge on 16 October 1952. He then joined the Reserves until 15 December 1958.
OAKLEY
Cpl Peter James OAKLEY died on
5 November 2022. Peter enlisted in 1960 as a Junior Soldier and served with the Sherwood Foresters in NI, Berlin, Minden and Munster being the MT NCO for several years before leaving in 1974.
PERRY
Lt Richard Gordon PERRY of Pershore died on 23 August 2022 aged 79. Gordon attended Mons OTC where he was a Junior Under Officer, before gaining a Short Service Commission
into The Worcestershire Regiment in May 1964. He served with 1st Bn in Germany, Norway, the West Indies and the UK between 1964-7. In 1965 he was seconded to the Malaysian Rangers becoming a fluent
Malay speaker and serving in Borneo.
PLATT
Pte John Allan PLATT of Beeston, Nottingham died on 6 April 2022 aged 99. John enlisted into the Army on 3 March 1941, initially joining The Sherwood Foresters until his transfer to
The Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry on 13 March 1943. He served in North Africa from 1941-1942 and in Italy from 1942- 1944 where on 23 November 1944 he was seriously wounded, believed to be when heading toward Bologna. He was awarded the 1939-45 Star, Africa Star with 8th Army Clasp, Italy Star, Defence Medal and the 1939-45 War Medal and was medically discharged from the Army on 17 August 1946.
PORTER
Dave PORTER died on 14th October 2022. Dave was a member of 1 Cheshire and
A Coy 1st Bn MVR.
POTTINGER
WO2 John POTTINGER of Derby died on 31 August 2022 aged 77. John enlisted at Belfast on 12 September 1961, and following Boys Service, joined the 1st Bn The Sherwood Foresters. On
amalgamation he continued to serve with 1 WFR until his discharge from regular service on 21 September 1986. John continued
his military service on the Long Service List employed as an Estate Manager. He finally completed his service on 2 July 2001, a total service of 39 years 126 days. John served with the regiment in UK, Libya, Canada, Northern Ireland, Belize, Berlin, and BAOR, and was awarded the GSM
NI, LS&GC and Meritorious Service Medal. John was a Treasurer for the Derby branch WFRA.
RANS
Ken Rans died on 30 December 2022 at the age of 97. He had served in
the Royal Artillery during the Second World War and obtained a commission in the North Staffords in 1946.
He is believed to have joined 2nd North Staffords in Palestine and, following the amalgamation of the two Regular battalions, would then have been with the 1st Battalion in Egypt. He left the Army in 1949/50.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
105