Holloway Anthony “Titch; Tich; also recorded as A.H.” Cave
Sergeant · #555726 · Y1 Patrol · MM, MID
| Rank | Sergeant |
|---|---|
| Service number | #555726 |
| Patrol | Y1 Patrol |
| Regiment | Wiltshire Yeomanry |
| Known as | “Titch; Tich; also recorded as A.H.” |
| Honours | MM, MID |
What this roll records
*** THE GAZETTE GIVES HIS FORENAMES IN FULL, AND THEY ARE NOT WHAT THIS CARD HOLDS. *** The Military Medal entry at Supplement 35429, page 393, reads, verbatim: “No. 555726 Trooper HOLLOWAY ANTHONY CAVE, Royal Armoured Corps (Yeomanry)”. That is H. A., where this roll and Brendan O’Carroll both give A. H. — the initials appear to have been transposed at some point, and the Gazette printing the names in full against his exact service number outranks an initial in a secondary work. The collection’s photograph caption, which gives A. D., is wrong on both counts. THE NAME FIELD ON THIS CARD HAS BEEN LEFT AS IT STANDS pending a decision; the evidence is recorded here. A NOTE ON THE NOTE ABOVE: this card previously quoted the Gazette as reading “Trooper A. H. Cave (555726)”. It does not and never did. The roll’s own initials had been written inside the quotation marks in place of the Gazette’s words, and that quotation has now been corrected.
From Rhodesia roll: Service Number "555726"; Honours "MM, MID"; AKA/nickname "Titch". Source: Rhodesia Nominal Roll (Brendan O’Carroll).
Y Patrol CONFIRMED: "Tpr A.H. Cave" at Y Patrol F30 Aramis. Brendan O'Carroll, "The Long Range Desert Group in North Africa".
North Africa — 8 Apr 1941, el Mechili: evaded capture. Fell into German hands at el Mechili; escaped from a PoW holding camp near Derna, reached Allied lines late Jun 1941, back with Y Patrol. Source: TRACKS magazine (LRDG Association), Ian Chard, 'Not all were lucky — LRDG missing in North Africa', June 2023.
Deeper background (2026): his Military Medal was gazetted — “No. 555726 Trooper Holloway Anthony Cave,” Royal Armoured Corps, The London Gazette supp. 35429, p.393 (20 Jan 1942); he had earlier been Mentioned in Despatches (issue 35396, p.7342, 26 Dec 1941). Sources: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35429/supplement/393 ; https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35396/page/7342
The collection holds two photographs of him, captioned “Cave, Titch” and “A.D. Tich Cave TY Patrol”. The second gives his initials as A.D. against the A.H. this card holds, and spells the nickname Tich where the first spells it Titch. The roll’s initials have been left as they stand. Source: the photograph itself, in the collection’s master folder.
HIS FORENAMES HAVE BEEN WRITTEN OUT AS HOLLOWAY ANTHONY, on the authority of the Gazette entry quoted above, which names him in full against his own service number. The roll formerly carried him as A. H. and Brendan O’Carroll gives A. H. as well, so the older form is kept in the AKA field — anyone searching this roll or reading O’Carroll will still find him.
See him in the full roll →Where this comes from
- Added from IWM 1945 roll (LRDG Association member). Source: IWM Nominal Roll, LRDG Association, July 1945 (Imperial War Museum).
- Missing info added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll.
- AKA added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll (missing information).
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Not By Strength But By Guile