Background
Peter Echlin Gerahty was born in Cyprus, the eldest son of Sir Charles Gerahty Queen's Counsel.
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Peter Gerahty
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Colonel Peter Gerahty Commander of the Order of the British Empire was one of the last surviving British Army officers to have served with 6th Airborne Division in Operation Varsity on 24 March 1945: the largest airborne operation in the history of warfare, part of Operation Plunder: the Rhine Crossing in March 1945.
Education
He was educated at Malvern College, Malvern, Worcestershire.
Career
He was later awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his work on combat development with the Ministry of Defence. Gerahty was commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in September 1941 and was posted to the 5th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He served with 9th Parachute Battalion from July 1944 to September 1944 when he transferred to the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd) and joined the battalion at Bulford, Wiltshire.
He served with the 2nd Ox and Buckinghamshire in the Ardennes and the Netherlands from December 1944 to February 1945.
Gerahty took part in Operation Varsity: the gliderborne air assault landing over the River Rhine on 24 March 1945 which was the last major battle on the Western Front in the Second World War. He commanded the recce platoon, Letter C Company, 2nd Ox and Buckinghamshire, whose objective was Hamminkeln railway station.
The scene of some of the fiercest fighting during Operation Varsity. He then took part in the advance across Germany to the Baltic Sea.
In August 1945, Gerahty led the advance party of 2nd Ox and Buckinghamshire in India, preparing for an airborne assault in the Far East, when the Japanese army surrendered.
He served as Adjutant of the 2nd Ox and Buckinghamshire in Palestine from October 1945 to September 1947. Gerahty was second-in-command of the 1st Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 43rd and 52nd and the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) from July 1958 to July 1960. He served at Headquarters East Africa Command, in Kenya, from August 1960 to September 1962.
He commanded the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (TA) from April 1963 to September 1965.
Gerahty was promoted to Colonel in June 1969 and following posts at the Ministry of Defence he retired from the Army in September 1976. He was appointed Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire in June 1962 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours list 1977.
He lived in Langport, Somerset. Colonel Peter Gerahty Commander of the Order of the British Empire died on 15 November 2013.
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Born
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Died
November 15, 2013 (aged 92) -
Nationality
United Kingdom