William George Chatterton

The entire battalion had moved to Cyprus in June 1940, arriving at the port of Famagusta. Throughout June 1941, they remained on the island to protect it against a feared German airborne invasion—a highly realistic threat following the intense German fall of nearby Crete just a month earlier.

Earlier in February 1941, elements of the battalion's 'B' Company had participated in a costly operation to land on Castelorizzo Island. By June, the battalion was focused on coastal defence patrols, continuous anti-aircraft watches, and intense training in the Mediterranean heat.

This period in Cyprus was the calm before the storm. The battalion remained on the island until January 1942, when they were deployed directly into Egypt and the front lines of Libya. They would later endure heavy fighting in the Western Desert, culminating in the tragic encirclement and surrender of the Tobruk garrison in June 1942..

Because he fell during the chaotic breakout and final battles surrounding the surrender of Tobruk and has no known grave, Private Chatterton is commemorated on the Alamein Memorial in Egypt (Column 69). The memorial honours over 11,000 Commonwealth land forces who died in the Middle East campaigns and have no identified final resting place