William Becke was commissioned into the 1st Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters in January 1937, the regiment he served with until 1942, he served in Palestine until the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939.
12 Facts About William Becke
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William Becke commanded a company of the 11th Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters in Iraq, Syria and Algeria, then landed in the bitter fighting for the Anzio beachhead.
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William Becke then served with the 14th Battalion throughout North Africa and Italy, where he was severely wounded.
4.
In 1949, William Becke was appointed assistant adjutant-general to the British Military Mission in Athens, where he served until 1952.
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William Becke returned to the UK in 1966 and later decided to move to Australia with his wife.
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William Becke gained the post of private secretary and comptroller to the last British governor of Victoria, Major-General Sir Rohan Delacombe.
7.
William Becke left the UK for Victoria, Australia in 1974.
8.
William Becke lived in the Cottage at Government House, Melbourne, entertaining many visitors.
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William Becke continued as an honorary adjutant when he moved to become personnel officer with the Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria.
10.
In 1945, William Becke married Mary Richmond, a nurse from New South Wales who was serving in Scotland.
11.
William Becke was a senior marshal for the RSL's Anzac Day march between 1977 and 1999, he was a keen hockey player and he served as honorary treasurer of the National Trust spire appeal for Christ Church in South Yarra, where he was a committed member of the congregation.
12.
Lt Colonel William Becke died on 3 April 2009 in a nursing home in Toorak at the age of 92 after a long illness.