2560483, Trooper, 11th Battalion, The Hussars.
Died 5th November 1939 aged 32.
The grave of Trooper Richard Avis in the Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt.
Richard was born on 5 November 1907, in Aldrington St Leonard, East Sussex, the son of George William & Helen Avis, and one of nine children. His father served in the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War.
A professional soldier, he enlisted in the Royal Tank Corps on 14 February 1927 and had served his entire military career with the 11th Hussars. In 1928, the 11th Hussars became one of the first British cavalry units to mechanise. The regiment then deployed to Egypt and Palestine for much of the 1930's, manning the border with Italian Cyrenaica during the Abyssinian crisis and suppressing the Arab Revolt. He married Olive Brown at the Bunyan Baptist Church, Stevenage, on 23 December 1933. The couple had two children, Dorothy Margaret, who was born on 10 March 1935 and Michael Richard, born on 2 June 1937. Both children were born in the Egyptian city of Abbassia, where their father was stationed.
On Saturday 4 November 1939, the battalion were harboured on the Barrani - Mersa Matruh Road. Richard was working in the mess tent. Sergeant Frank Ward was making his way towards the tent when there as a sudden muffled explosion. A soldier appeared from the tent, covered head to foot in flames. Sergeant Ward and two other men struggled to put the flames out, but eventually extinguished the fire. The soldier was Trooper Richard Avis, who was conscious and did not appear to be in pain, he even asked for a bottle of beer. Sadly, Richard may not have been fully aware of his injuries and he died from shock and burns in the early hours of 5 November 1939, his 32nd birthday. A court of inquiry later determined the cause of death as misadventure, due to the fact Richard had cut a hole in the side of a 4 gallon petrol tin and then inserted a primus stove inside. This exploded when he attempted to light it. His body was flown to Cairo and is buried in the Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt. (H.7.)
Headstone Inscription: “In Loving Memory Of A Dear Husband And Father. Brief Life Is Here Our Portion”