Montague Rakusen

Leading Seaman, H.M.M.L. 268
Service number C/JX 278486
Died 28 Mar 1942
Commemorated on Chatham Naval Memorial
Age 32


Montague (Moses) was born on 30 October 1909 in Leeds, Yorkshire to Lloyd (Lazarus) who was born in Lithuania and Hull born Gertrude nee Sadofsky and he had three brothers, Emmanuel, Phillip and Arnold and a sister Netta. Their father Lloyd was originally a jeweller and watchmaker who in 1900 started baking matzos in his own back room. This grew to form the country’s first kosher catering firm and a factory in the city of Leeds, which eventually passed onto his family in 1944 on his death and is still in production today.

Montague trained as a solicitor and qualified in 1933 and then worked from chambers at 14 Park Row in Leeds. In July 1936 he married Marie Kaye (Kalinsky) and their daughter Penelope Ann was born in January 1938.

Montague enlisted into the Royal Navy and was taking part in the raid on St Nazaire (Operation Chariot) when he was killed. The raid was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandy dry dock at St Nazaire. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandoes on 28 March 1942. Montague was on board ML 268 which was blown up by German forces. St Nazaire Raid – Wikipedia