14370835 Gunner William THARBY, 75 Anti-Tank Regiment, RA: 24/07/1945

Discussion in 'Royal Artillery' started by Emiel43, May 18, 2024.

  1. Emiel43

    Emiel43 New Member

    Hi everyone, my name is Emiel and I live in Tilburg, The Netherlands. I will try my best to write in the best English possible, sometimes with the help of google translate :D

    I’ve read some topics on this site in the last couple of years but never signed up until today.

    In the Netherlands it is common for war graves to be adopted. I'm adopting one of these graves in Overloon.
    280 Britons and one Dutchman are buried in the Overloon war cemetery.
    I adopt the grave of William Tharby. There’s just little information about William and his war experiences. So I starter with the search for his relatives. That took me a while.
    my last hope was to use the media, and contacted some journalists. With the result that I got one full page in the East Anglian times. Within a day I had contact with his relatives by mail. Until now we sometimes have contact by mail.

    The search did’nt end with this contact. Through time there is little information about William and his experiences in war. I do know his date of birth and the date of his death and that he served in with the 75 Anti tank regiment.
    It often feels like looking for a needle in a haystack, I hope to find some information here or find the right sources to complete the story, at least an attempt to…
     

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  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Welcome to the forum.
     
  3. Tony56

    Tony56 Member Patron

    Welcome.
    Tharby.jpg
     
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  4. 51highland

    51highland Very Senior Member

    Welcome and enjoy.!!! Seems he died of Diphtheria.
     

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    Last edited: May 18, 2024
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  5. Emiel43

    Emiel43 New Member

    That’s is correct. Thanks
     
  6. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Welcome to the forum and good luck with your research.

    I've edited title and moved the thread out of Intros.

    For record, full CWGC details:
    https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2081501/william-tharby/
    GUNNER WILLIAM THARBY
    Service Number: 14370835
    Regiment & Unit: 75 Anti-Tank Regt.,
    Royal Artillery
    Date of Death: 24 July 1945
    Age 38 years old
    Buried or commemorated at OVERLOON WAR CEMETERY
    Grave Reference: IV. A. 9.
    Location: Netherlands
    Additional Info: Son of William and Mary Elizabeth Tharby, of Cavendish, Suffolk; husband of Daisy Ellen Tharby, of Cavendish.
    Personal Inscription: NOT GONE FROM MEMORY NOT GONE FROM LOVE BUT GONE TO OUR FATHER'S HOME ABOVE
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2024
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  7. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    Before your post there appeared in a member's profile regarding the photo and text - now posted. He had served with 75 Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery (I expect you have that from the CWGC record).

    See Posts 3 & 4 for their location and assignments after VE-Day 8th May 1945 in this thread: 117 Battery, 75th Anti-Tank Regiment

    There are a few other threads here id'd using "75 Anti-Tank Regiment" site:ww2talk.com and on a quick scan don nit apply to your time period.
     
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  8. Emiel43

    Emiel43 New Member

    Yes, I do have info about him, as his place and date of birth and where he passed. I think I have a complete family tree. I lot of info comes from the CWGC and some from family.

    I don’t know much about when he joined the army or when he entered the war and the places he went..

    Thank you for the reply
     
  9. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    His Service Number was issued when he became a soldier, initially in the General Service Corps (GSC), not the Royal Artillery.

    The GSC acted as a common entry point to the Army from early 1942; it did an initial assessment and balanced with the army's needs. From another thread:
    Have a peek at the threads id'd for the 75th, I expect they landed on or soon after D-Day and whilst you may not be able to track their journey - cretaing a timeline.

    You could follow the division they were part of. using: 75 Anti-Tank Regiment RA - The Royal Artillery 1939-45 that was the 11th Armoured Division.

    Using "11th Armoured Division" site:ww2talk.com there is a mass of threads here. Add in the clues in: 11th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) - Wikipedia

    Note they were a divisional unit in Europe and the only anti-tank regiment with the division, so were likely to be assigned wherever needed.
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2024
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