Trooper WILLIAM CHARLES HENRY 'Bill' MANT (photo added)



Rank | Trooper |
Forenames | WILLIAM CHARLES HENRY 'Bill' |
Surname | MANT (photo added) |
Initials | W C H |
Place of Birth |
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Date of Birth | Tuesday, 18 April 1916 |
Date of Death | Thursday, 08 June 1944 |
Age | 28 |
Nationality |
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Residence or Entered Service From | SELSEY, SUSSEX, UNITED KINGDOM |
Service Number | 7937112 | Force |
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Service/Corps/Regiment | Royal Armoured Corps |
Unit / Ship / Battalion / Squadron | 24 Lancers, C Squadron |
Military Honours and Awards | |
Place of Burial/Commemoration |
BAYEUX MEMORIAL
Roll of honour |
Grave/Memorial Location | Panel 8, Column 2. |
Previous Place(s) of Burial | Unknown |
Epitaph | NO EPITAPH |
Family Details | SON OF CHARLES AND ELEANOR ANNIE MANT. |
Additional Information
WILLIAM CHARLES HENRY MANT (or 'Bill' as he was more familiarly known) was born on the 18th April 1916, the eldest son of Charles and Nellie Mant, who lived at that time in North Road, Selsey. By 1937 both his parents had died and he was working at Henstridges the bakers, whose shop was on the corner of East Road and North Road.
At the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted in the Army but had to wait a long time for his call-up. He used to cycle round the village with his huge basket, delivering loaves and bemoaning the fact that although he had volunteered, he had not yet been called up.
Eventually in 1941 he became a Trooper in the 24th Lancers, Royal Armoured Corps, and later took part in the D-Day landings. On the 8th June 1944, two days after D-Day, Bill was driving his Sherman tank, in company with a number of others, along a dusty lane near Tilly, about ten miles west of the German-held town of Caen. There the group encountered heavy enemy anti-tank fire from the German “88s” and several of the tanks were hit and put out of action. Among them was the tank being driven by Bill Mant. He is believed to have been killed outright.
A stone to his memory was erected in the Military Cemetery near Caen, and he is remembered on the Bayeux Memorial.1
References |
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1. | Extract from Selsey Remembers 1939-1945, Published by the Selsey Society, 1995. Extract kindly provided by Andy Lawrence, great nephew of Trooper WILLIAM CHARLES HENRY MANT. |
Acknowledgements and Credits |
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Source of original data: | Commonwealth War Graves Commission |
Headstone photograph: | Carl Shilleto |
Individual photograph: | Andy Lawrence, great nephew of Trooper WILLIAM CHARLES HENRY MANT. |
Additional photographs provided by: | Carl Shilleto |
Additional information provided by: | Andy Lawrence, great nephew of Trooper WILLIAM CHARLES HENRY MANT. |
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What other people have said
Andy Lawrence
In memory of Bill Mant on the centenary of his birth
On Saturday, April 16, 2016Andy Lawrence
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
On Saturday, June 7, 2014Andy Lawrence
In memory of Billy Mant on the 70th Anniversary of D-day
On Saturday, May 17, 2014