Geoffrey Merrick - Telegraph Geoffrey Edward Merrick was born at Lewes, Sussex, on September 1 1921 and educated at Winchester. He enlisted in the Army at the outbreak of war and was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade. He saw fierce fighting with the 2nd Battalion in North Africa. In October 1942, during the second battle of El Alamein, after overcoming a German position the battalion fought off determined counter-attacks by two Panzer divisions and disabled much of the enemy armour; 57 tanks were burnt out and many others were immobilised. For his part in the engagement, the commanding officer, Lt-Col Victor Turner, was awarded a VC. In March 1945 Merrick transferred to 7 RB at Cattolica, on the Adriatic coast, for the final phase of the Italian campaign. The advance northwards became a triumphal procession. At each village the church bells rang out, the streets were lined with men, women and children cheering and singing, and the riflemen were showered with flowers. At Udine, 20,000 people gathered to greet them, while several hundred partisans, armed to the teeth, saluted with repeated volleys from their weapons. But north of the town, contact was made with the small group of German tanks which appeared to be willing to surrender. That this was a deceitful ruse became clear when an officer of 7 RB went forward on foot and the leading tank commander shot him. As a general firefight ensued, Merrick brought his gun into action decisively. V-E Day found the battalion across the Austrian border. There Merrick witnessed the forced repatriation of the Cossacks, which greatly distressed him. After being demobilised, he went up to Christchurch, Oxford, for a year to take the Colonial Civil Service Course. He decided, however, to join ICI and worked for the company for the rest of his career. He retired in 1980 and lived at Midhurst, Sussex, before settling at Chichester, where he enjoyed playing golf and going to the theatre. Geoffrey Merrick married, in 1951, Celia Richards, who survives him with their son and daughter. Geoffrey Merrick, born September 1 1921, died January 11 2013