‹ Long Range Desert Group — Roll of Members

Thomas “Finchen” Finchin

Trooper · #4259786 · HQ Patrol

RankTrooper
Service number#4259786
PatrolHQ Patrol
RegimentR.T.C.
Known as“Finchen”

What this roll records

DUPLICATE RECORD MERGED (2026). The roll held this man twice — once with his service number and once without it, under a variant spelling of the surname. The entry with no number could not be caught by the shared-number test that found the earlier duplicates, nor by the photograph test, because it had neither. It was found by asking whether the roll already held him with a number. This card is the survivor; the discarded entry read “Finchen, Thomas”. Both entries are Troopers, and the surnames are one vowel apart. HQ comes across from the discarded entry, as does the fuller forename: the discarded card gave “Thomas” where this one held only the initial.

Added from TRACKS article. North Africa — 26 Jan 1942, Msus: evaded capture. Family memory confirms he was one of the Msus escapees. Source: TRACKS magazine (LRDG Association), Ian Chard, 'Not all were lucky — LRDG missing in North Africa', June 2023.

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Where this comes from

In collaboration withThe Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) Preservation SocietyTo add information about this man, or note a correction, please post in the Society’s Facebook Group →

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Not By Strength But By Guile