Armoured Car, 11th Hussars, pictured in 1944. It was a car similar to this that was struck by a German tank, killing Trooper Robert Rodger 300
A FORMER soldier and Gulf War veteran is hoping to trace relatives of three Merseyside soldiers who lost their lives in World War II.
David Eason, whose 14 years of service with the Royal Hussars included the 1991 Gulf War, is writing a Roll of Honour for the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert’s Own) Regiment.
This will include the names and biographies of all the soldiers who fought and died for their country in World War II, including those who died through accident or illness in the two years immediately following.
Although the work is almost complete, Mr Eason still needs to trace any surviving relatives of three men born in Merseyside.
Among them is Trooper Robert Rodger, who was killed in action at the age of 31 on April 17, 1945, just weeks before the surrender of Germany.
He was the son of Robert and Susannah (nee Turner) Rodger, of Wallasey, and the husband of Mrs W A Rodger, of 12 Dawson Avenue, Birkenhead.
He is commemorated at both Birkenhead’s war memorial, and at the Groesbeek memorial in the Netherlands.
Trooper Rodger, who was with the famous British 7th Armoured Division (Desert Rats), had reached the outskirts of the German town of Walsrode – the final obstacle before Hamburg – when his crew ran into a Panther Tank in a maze of woods in April 1945.
