Peter Echlin Gerahty was born in
Cyprus, the eldest son of Sir
Charles Cyril Gerahty QC. He was educated at
Malvern College,
Malvern,
Worcestershire. 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 Bucks 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 Bucks, 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 Bucks in
India, preparing for an airborne assault in the
East Asia, when the Japanese army surrendered. He served as Adjutant of the 2nd Ox and Bucks 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 HQ
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
MBE in June 1962 and
CBE in the New Year Honours list 1977. He married Arminell Morshead in 1952 with whom he was to have a son and daughter. He lived in
Langport,
Somerset. Colonel Peter Gerahty CBE died on 15 November 2013. ==References==