Sergeant George Stephen Tusler
Corps of Military Police 7519055
Died as a result of an accident
Date of Birth: June Quarter of 1907
Place of Birth: Teignmouth, Devon
Date of Death: 12th of April 1942, aged 35
Buried: Teignmouth Old Cemetery, plot QQ122.
Awarded the 1939-45 Star and the War Medal 1939-1945
George Stephen Tusler was born in June 1907, the son of William and Mary Jane Tusler (nee Hammacott) and married to Eva (nee Moore).
In the 1911 census, George Stephen Tusler, was a 'Foster Nurse Child' at 2, Kimberley Cottages, Teignmouth, Devon, living with Alfred and Mary Cridiford.
In the 1st quarter of 1930, George married Eva Moore, registered at Newton Abbot.
Before joining the Forces he had been a fireman in the Teignmouth Fire Brigade and also the secretary of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
He enlisted on the 29th of September 1939 in the Royal Army Service Corps and transferred to the Corps of Military Police on the 25th of January 1941 where he held the rank of sergeant.
He died on 12th April 1942 at the Shropshire Orthopaedic Hospital, Gobowen, where he had been admitted following an accident which had resulted in a compound fracture of his right leg. He died whilst under anaesthetic and, although recording a verdict of accidental death, the Oswestry coroner (Mr W B Aylmer Lewis) commented that although an emergency operation was warranted his death should not have happened.
British Army Casualty List 1942
He died as a result of asphyxiation during anaesthesia which, according to the coroner, could have been prevented if there had been better communication between anaesthetists during handover.
At his funeral, George Tusler was given the honour of a Teignmouth fire engine hearse. Members of the Fire Brigade, St John Ambulance Brigade, Red Cross Society and the Voluntary Aid Detachment all attended the service which was officiated by the Rev H S Wyatt.
Sergeant George Stephen Tusler Corps of Military Police 7519055
In the year after his death, as reported in the Western Morning News on the 11th of January 1943,
Teignmouth Memory. To perpetuate the memory of his son, Sergt. George Stephen Tusler, who was secretary of Teignmouth St John Ambulance Association, his father (Mr W. Tusler) with other members of his family have presented a cup for competition among the St John Ambulance cadets at Teignmouth.
Information was gathered by Elaine Calver, Friends of Teignmouth Cemetery
Thanks to Teignmouth Tales from the Grave
