Basil Trevor Tatham

1921 - 2007  (86 years)

• Name	Basil Trevor Tatham  [1, 2, 3]
  Birth	13 Mar 1921	Bardolfs, Knebworth   [1, 2, 4]
  	On the 13th March, at Bardolfs, Knebworth, the wife of Capt. T. E. Tatham, of a son. [The Times]
  Education	1935 - 1940	St Edward's School, Oxford   [3, 5]
  Decoration	abt 1940 - 1945	Croix de Guerre  [6]
  Military Service	1940 - 1945	Flight Lieutenant, RAF  [3, 6]
  		Basil Trevor Tatham (1921-2007) D-Day Commemorative Postcard
  		Basil Trevor Tatham (1921-2007) in aircraft cockpit in WW2
  Marriage	10 Feb 1945	Brussels, Belgium
  	Catherine Louise Meganck,   b. 10 Apr 1921, Belgium ,   d. 03 Aug 1996, Wycombe
  Occupation	aft 1946	Technical Manager, Alginate Industries  [3]
  Residence	abt 1980	Maidenhead   [7]
  Residence	Nov 1993	225 Courthouse Rd, Maidenhead   [8]
  Death	02 Dec 2007	Buckinghamshire   [3, 9]
  	Tatham, Basil Trevor (Tatters/Junior) passed away 2 December 2007 at home. WWII RAF Flt Lt, Croix de Guerre. Worked worldwide for Alginate Industries. Funeral at Slough Crematorium 13 December at 3 p.m. Donations to Eczema Society. [Telegraph Announcements]
  Burial	13 Dec 2007	Slough Crematorium   [6]
  Probate	22 Apr 2009	Winchester   [9]
  Notes	Flight Lieutenant Basil 'Tatters' Tatham, a pilot in WW2 with 79 Squadron, RAF. He first flew Hurricanes with 79 Sqn, then went on Atlantic convoys. [gazzamataz website, with photo in cockpit, accessed 15 Jan 2010] Tatham - On 2nd December 2007. B. T Tatham ('Tatters')(D 1936 = 1940) Tribute by his son, Richard Tatham: Basil went late to St Edward's in 1936 following many months in Middlesex hospital with osteomyelitis, which nearly cost him his leg. Despite this he went on to follow his father in to the 1st XI cricket team, became captain of shooting, entered the Officer Training Corps and passed his school certificates. After finishing school in 1940 he could have gone on to university but felt duty bound to join the RAF. Basil was training in the Battle of Britain, but served through two tours as a pilot flying Hurricanes, Spitfires, Typhoons and Tempests. He served both UK and Europe, ending the war as a Flight-Lieutenant, (he was an acting Squadron Leader) with a number of medals including the Croix de Guerre Avec Etoile de Vermeil (F). He survived being shot down twice. His endurance was further pushed by a period in an open boat in the North Atlantic after a ship on which he was volunteer serving as part of the Merchant Shipping Unit was sunk in just four minutes by a U boat torpedo. After D Day he went to several countries in Europe mainly engaged in close air to ground support work with Rockets and Cannon fire, (this is where he won his Croix de Guerre). While near Brussels, under canvas, he met and married a lovely Belgian girl, Ketty, who he believed was the first Belgium bride to be taken back to England, and with whom he enjoyed over fifty years of happy marriage, two children, and three grandchildren. After the war, he was offered a permanent post in the RAF by Douglas Bader. He chose the civilian life and worked as a research chemist and later as a technical manager for Alginate Industries, a Scottish company which made sodium alginate from 'Tangle of the Isles' seaweed. He visited many parts of the world and designed many unique applications for Alginates. He became a county level golfer and looked after Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Junior County Players for several years. At home he was a keen gardener and made much of his own furniture and his first television. A keen crossword buff until his death, he always thanked the school for his excellent general knowledge and the standards it instilled in him. It remained important to him all his life. He was 86 years old when he died. [Obituary, St Edward's School website, accessed 15 Jan 2010, no longer online Mar 2011] Postcard commemorating D-Day landings signed by him, sold on eBay 07 Dec 2009. Tatham, Basil Trevor, FL - French rec - 247 Sqn - RAFVR. Wartime citation posted by Hugh A Halliday 12 Oct 2009 [RAF Commands website, accessed 15 Jan 2010, no longer online 13 Mar 2011] "I have commissioned cousin Laura to edit, index & tidy up Henry Curtis' book on the Tatham family in the 1920s. The cost is going to lie between £1500 and £1000. I am writing to family members whom I know to find out if they would like a copy. The final price will of course depend on how many do so. The work should be finished by Easter 94.". [Basil Trevor Tatham to PFBT 25 Nov 1993] [outcome not known as at May 2011]
  Person ID	I0872	Tatham | Morris branch | Descendant - male line
  Last Modified	22 Apr 2015

  
  

  Father	Trevor Emil Tatham,   b. 01 Sep 1888, St Andrew's Lodge, Church Rd, Watford ,   d. 19 Aug 1963, Lister Hospital, Hitchin  (Age 74 years)
  Mother	Eugénie Mabel Hughes,   b. 26 Nov 1886, Hackney ,   d. abt Aug 1974, York  (Age 87 years)
  Marriage	abt Nov 1918	Hastings   [10]
  Family ID	F0275	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Catherine Louise Meganck,   b. 10 Apr 1921, Belgium ,   d. 03 Aug 1996, Wycombe  (Age 75 years)
  Marriage	10 Feb 1945	Brussels, Belgium   [3, 11]
  	Marriage reg not found in GRO consular registrations 1944-1947. On Feb 10, 1945, in Brussels, Flight Lieutenant Basil Trevor Tatham, only son of Mr. and Mrs. Trevor Tatham, to Mlle. Catherine Louise Meganck, of Brussels [The Times, 01 Mar 1945]
  Notes	While near Brussels, under canvas, he met and married a lovely Belgian girl, Ketty, who he believed was the first Belgium bride to be taken back to England, and with whom he enjoyed over fifty years of happy marriage, two children, and three grandchildren. [Obituary, St Edward's School website, accessed 15 Jan 2010, no longer online Mar 2011]
  Children	+ 1. Living   2. Living
  Last Modified	31 Mar 2012
  Family ID	F0911	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S04] H Curtis: Notes for a Pedigree of the Tathams of Co. Durham. [S02] BMD Index, birth reg Hitchin, 2Q1921. Basil T Tatham, mmn Hughes [S07] Other Sources, St Edward's School website. obituary Basil Tatham [S05] The Times, birth notice, 18 Mar 1921. [S05] The Times, Sports pages, 17 Jul 1940. cricket match against Marlborough [S07] Other Sources, Telegraph Announcements, Jan 2008. website accessed 04 May 2010 [S03] Family Members, JH. [S33] Family Letters, Basil Trevor Tatham, 25 Nov 1993. letter to PFBT [S14] National Probate Calendar. [S02] BMD Index, marriage reg Hastings, 4Q1918. [S05] The Times, marriage notice, 01 Mar 1945.