Edward Truckle

This story is shared by the Trust with kind permission from Amesbury Royal British Legion and Barbara Williams, (née Truckle)

Edward (Ted) Truckle was the son of Alfred George and Edith Truckle of 28 Lynchets Road, Amesbury. He was the third of nine and was born on the 25th February 1923. The Truckles were a family who had live in Amesbury for genrations. He attended the Amesbury Infants School and the Amesbury Church of England Elementary School and he played cricket and football for Amesbury and Barbara has been told he was happy, good-natured lad.

On leaving school Ted was employed at the NAAFI at Boscombe Down where he met his future wife, Vera Nellie Emma (in 1939 she had been directed to work in the Amesbury NAAFI from her home in London by the Ministry of Labour). They were married in December 1942 when Ted was 19 and Vera was 20 years.

Edward and Vera Truckleon their wedding day, December 1942

 

Ted was called up for military service with the 5th Battalion, the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, a territorial battalion of the Regiment. On about 23rd June the battalion landed in Normandy as an element of the 43rd (Wessex) Division and was involved in fighting in an orchard close to the newly captured village of Cheux. He was killed in action on 27th June, aged 21, and is buried in the St Manvieu War Cemetery. Vera was seven month pregnant with Barbara but she had already been named by him.

In his last letter home, another man from Amesbury, Reginald Ware, who was also killed in Normandy had talked about the fact that Ted Truckle, who was serving in the same regiment as him, had been killed. You can read about Reginald Ware's story here.

After his death, Vera received condolence letters from Captain R P Varren, Ted's commanding officer, A E Gibbins, the chaplain of the unit and Sgt Synden who was in Ted's platoon.

Fifty years after the war end, Ted's friend George William's wrote to Ted's brother and Barbara, giving an acount of the fight in which Ted was killed and the training they did ahead of the landings.

George also sent an account of what happened once they had embarked for Normandy and when Ted was killed. He also gave details of his road to recovery after being injured in the same incident..