John Percival Mathias was the son of Thomas Henry and Maggie Mathias and husband of Gladys Emma Mathias, of Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire.
He was granted an emergency commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Welch Fusiliers on 15 March 1941 and was serving in the 10th Battalion when it was converted into the 6th Parachute Battalion.
Lt Mathias attended parachute course 53 at RAF Ringway, which ran from 1 to 14 March 1943. The course instructors’ comments state: ‘Worked Hard- very keen. Excellent standard
He went to North Africa in May 1943 and then took part in ‘Operation Slapstick’, the landing at the Italian port of Taranto by the 1st Airborne Division on the 9 September 1943.
In the very early hours of the 10 September the ship he was on, HMS Abdiel, hit a mine and sank in a few minutes. Captain Mathias was one of those who was killed, aged 30 years.
Capt Mathias has no known grave and is commemorated on panel 12 of the Cassino Memorial.
Memorial photograph courtesy of CWGC.
By Bob Hilton
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