William John TELFER
Serial Number: 36193 (NZ Army)
RNZAF Trade: nil (was a Gunner in the NZ Artillery)
Date of Enlistment: 1939 or 1940
Rank Achieved: Gunner
Flying Hours: nil
Operational Sorties: nil in air
Service Details: William Telfer is included on this website because he initially volunteered for the RNZAF shortly after the outbreak of war. He was put onto the waiting list for that service, but it seems William could not wait and to avoid any further delay he volunteered for the army instead. So he has a tenuous RNZAF attachment. He joined the Artillery and left New Zealand for active service at the end of 1940.
Date of Birth:
Personal Details: Son of Duncan Telfer and of Agnes Telfer (nee Murray), of Martinborough, Wellington, New Zealand.Details of Death: William was killed in North Africa on the 27th of June 1942. He was aged 28 (though the Waikato Independent reported his age to be 27)
Buried at: Grave plot XXX. A. 2 of the El Alamein War Cemetery
Connection with Cambridge: Before joining the armed services William was on the staff of Messers Wilkinson and Co. Ltd, for two years. Previous to that he was with the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company in Hamilton. He was a very keen sportsman and was well known in Cambridge golfing circles.
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