Did any of your family serve during WW2; if so what did they do?

Discussion in 'Searching for Someone & Military Genealogy' started by Paul Reed, Mar 3, 2004.

  1. start_the_purple

    start_the_purple Junior Member

    Grandfather: 1 Cameron Highlanders, Burma to end of war.

    Father: Sergeant, Royal Artillery, transferred to 1 Black Watch May 1944 to end of war.

    Great Uncle: Hauptsturmfuhrer, 3 SS Panzergrenadier Regiment Deutschland. Escaped PW camp 1946.
     
  2. jetson

    jetson Junior Member

    My dad was recalled to the colours as a reservist on the Friday before Mr Chamberlain declared war on the following Sunday. I remember him biking like mad home from the factory at teatime, mother had a small suitcase packed with necessaries for him, a quick wash and shave and he was on the train to his unit by six o'clock. Years later, despite his reticence in discussing anything about his war experiences in France and later India and Burma, I did enquire why he did not finish work at lunchtime to give him a bit more time. He sardonically replied that his employers not noted for their generosity did not pay their workforce until near knocking off time and war or no war would not have paid him for his week's work if he had left any earlier!
     
  3. pigeon

    pigeon Junior Member

    My Dad was in the Navy i have a few pics of him in Navy/uniform Whites some with what looked like a group who he was in charge off others in Ceylon ?
    afaik he was injured in the Atlantic and had surgery at Cork

    Theres a Uncle Buried in Hersin Communal Cemetery in France killed in action WW1
     
  4. white1

    white1 Discharged

    Mr P. H. White sailed to England from his birthplace of Bombay on 30th May 1932 aged 19 aboard the ship "city of Lahore“. His final qualification was ARICS (Associate of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) possibly obtained in 1935/36.
    Mr White was in the Home Guard for the first few years after the war started, as he was in a reserved occupation. He then enlisted in the Cheshire Regiment and was later transferred to the Middlesex Regiment to go out to Burma with the 12th Army, based mainly we seem to remember from his knowledge of Hindi. Most of his original platoon were killed in the Normandy D-Day landing as far as we know. He then ended up as the Military Custodian of Enemy Property in the Paymaster’s Office and was based in either Rangoon or maybe Mandalay or both and he received the wartime substantive rank of Major.

    [​IMG]
     
  5. AndyBaudrey

    AndyBaudrey Junior Member

    My uncle, Henry started the war in the KRRs then transferred to the paras and was captured at Arnhem.
    My uncle George was in the Suffolk Regiment and landed in Normandy on d-day and was also in Burma.
    My grandad wanted to join up again (being in ww1) but was too old so joined the AFS!
     
  6. RedStan

    RedStan Junior Member

    Hi all. This is one long thread!
    We all seem to have either served or are related to someone - that war was truly a World War!

    Here are mine:
    Mother's Father - Regular NCO with 2nd Yorks & Lancs (Sudan/Syria/Heraklion, Crete/Alexandria/Tobruk/India/Burma, Chindits) - he was commissioned after the war and ended up a Lt.Col with King's African Rifles

    Father's Father - RNVR Lieutenant - commanded two Motor Launches

    Mother's Uncle - Able Seaman on Destroyers - saw too much active service in the Atlantic in his opinion - not enough under the sun!
     
  7. bengill44

    bengill44 Junior Member

    Hi all,
    just to get started both grandfathers and my dads grandad served as Highlanders in ww1, all survived,although my dads dad who was also in the MGC, died at 50 as a result of being gassed.

    ww2
    my mother who worked at Hillington the RR shadow factory in Glagow, and many times told me of air raids,she was a turret lathe operator
    my father met mom there where he was a milling machine operator,they built merlin engines.
    My father joined the Cameronians and was sent to India in april45 to prepare for the invasion of Japan, shortly before they dropped the Abomb,so he stayed in India until 47.
    Dads brothers
    my uncle Andy ,survived Dunkirk,and later fought in Burma where he was wounded, he was MID apparently.

    my uncle Davey, rode a motorcycle, from Normandy to Germany, and said he was one of the first british soldiers to enter Belsen or aushwitz or buchenvald,
    whichever one it was stayed with him.

    moms brothers
    uncle James was a paratrooper in Italy
    uncle Teddy was in the oxford and buckingham light inf and was a POW

    and my uncle Alex who sailed with the merchant navy as a wireless operator sailed the Atlantic convoys sailed the murmansk run,and sailed the Mediteranian he is still alive and at a recent family reunion enjoyed glass of strong rum which he said Thats a fine rum savouring it as only an old sailor could,

    Thanks so much for the opportunity to give these people their well deserved respect,
    Scotty
     
  8. suzie

    suzie Junior Member

    i have been looking for my husbands uncle, i have sent his name and birth date to army records in glasgow, but they have no record i have pics of him in basic army uniform and a pic from india looking like the chindits i also have the three basic ww11 medals and a burma star, he told his brother he was a pow on the burma railway, but i have looked on many sites and found nothing, can any one help please
     
  9. Nicola_G

    Nicola_G Senior Member

    i have been looking for my husbands uncle, i have sent his name and birth date to army records in glasgow, but they have no record i have pics of him in basic army uniform and a pic from india looking like the chindits i also have the three basic ww11 medals and a burma star, he told his brother he was a pow on the burma railway, but i have looked on many sites and found nothing, can any one help please

    Hi Suzie

    I don't know much about Army records, but I recently traced one of my uncle's crew's RAF records. It proved very difficult as the Service records that the RAF had for him gave his DOB as one particular date and also his name. However none of the details matched any records that I could find.

    I then managed to find someone on Rootchat forum who was looking for someone with a similar name who went missing on the same day, but had a different DOB - same day but different year. After discussions it turned out that he was one & the same person. I eventually managed to contact the family who told me that they had tried for years to find their relative in the RAF records but the RAF could find no trace of him. I think they were looking under his real DOB & name.

    Many young men joined up underage, different names and so on.

    So my suggestion is that perhaps unbeknownst to your husband's family, their uncle joined the army using a name and / or DOB that wasn't his real name.

    For my search it was only a years difference and some letters in the name changed to make a different name - real date 14 may 1923 service records 14 may 1922, real name Roland, service record Ronald.

    So you may find that this is the case in your situation.
     
  10. white1

    white1 Discharged

    Hello there Suzie.
    If you give me the name i will see what details i can find for you with our resources.
     
  11. 4jonboy

    4jonboy Daughter of a 56 Recce

    i have been looking for my husbands uncle, i have sent his name and birth date to army records in glasgow, but they have no record i have pics of him in basic army uniform and a pic from india looking like the chindits i also have the three basic ww11 medals and a burma star, he told his brother he was a pow on the burma railway, but i have looked on many sites and found nothing, can any one help please

    Hello Suzie and welcome to the forum

    Perhaps you could start a separate thread on the forum so that more members will see it.
    Can you post any photos of your husbands uncle so other members can help you?
    You are in good company here as we have members who can help with POW records.

    Lesley
     
  12. Enigma1003

    Enigma1003 Member

    Suzie,

    If you post here any photos you have, some of the guys work wonders at identifying cap badges etc, which might give a starting point for a regiment to trace for POWs.

    Mike
     
  13. Gary S

    Gary S Member

    One of my uncles served with the Royal Navy and died of the Spanish Flu in Iraq in October 1918. He was buried at Basra War Cemetery (listed on CWGC website- Jenkins E.G, Shipwright, HMS Bramble, died 28/10/1918) however in the last ten years this cemetery in Basra has been smashed up, the headstones destroyed and I believe it is too dangerous for the CWGC are unable to maintain it properly which is a little bit of a sore point in the family at the moment.
    I had other members of the family who served in the Lincolnshire Regiment in WWI
    My Grandfather served in the Grenadier Guards and was in North Africa 1943, was injured and captured at Anzio February 1944
    My father joined the Royal Artillery in 1949 and served in the Canal Zone, Egypt (1950-1 I think)
    My brother served in the 1st Gulf War, Northern Ireland etc with 40 Commando Royal Marines/SBS
    My brother and I both joined the RAF and served in Northern Ireland, tours of Falklands etc
    Finally, my mother lived in Portsmouth during the war and was subjected to the blitz of that city before being evacuated.
    Regards
    Gary
     
  14. pagey

    pagey Junior Member

    i am researching my dads war record, and the only info i have is. My dad joined army 1939, his name was thomas herbert page. I have several of his old war books and in the front of a couple of them is written.( att. 51st heavy reg.(ra) bef 1939-1940 ) he was repatriated at dunkirk as i have his medal he also was awarded the italy star north africa star with 8th army bar also 39-45 star and defenceand 39-45 medals. in the other book is written CSM.TH Page S/t ALVAIAZERE (247 motorboat coy.)RASC. So it is rather sketchy, i have applied to glasgow for his war record but there is upto 12 months waiting list so i have another 10 months to wait. so if anybody can help with filling in a few of the gaps it would be greatly appreciated
    Pagey
     
  15. Janfowles

    Janfowles Junior Member

    My Father was on Lancasters as a rear gunner to start with. He served in Bomber and Coastal command, flying on Wellington's, Sunderlands and probably everything in between. Unfortunately he doesn't want to talk about his time in the war.
    Have been pushing him for info for geneology project and found he had a cousing John (known as Jack) Robertson who was the same age as him(born in 1925) who was also in the RAF and was lost over Burma. I want to find details of him but can't find him on forces records. Can anyone help with info on RAF Sqdsn in Burma during WW2 where I may find his name as missing?
     
  16. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Spotted in today's Times

    Ron
     

    Attached Files:

  17. MARK R

    MARK R Junior Member

    Pre1940 the War Office had a fleet of small ships/boats managed by the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) made up of all sorts of vessels – a number of which were involved in Dunkirk. These craft performed with distinction and their value to the war effort was widely recognised, but there was nowhere nearly enough of them. The fleet was expanded and passed from War Department to the R.A.S.C.
    who formed them into Motor Boat Companies, performing a variety of tasks from patrolling for saboteurs, to target towing and re-supply of offshore forts.
    Early in 1942, No. 2 Company was engaged on patrols in the East Coast estuaries and rivers, but later that summer, the planning of the invasion of North Africa; ’OPERATION TORCH’ identified the need for one motorboat company to be included in the order of battle of the 8th Army; No. 2 Company was tasked and in November, 1942, was renumbered 247 Motor Boat Company, R.A.S.C. The unit operated on the North African coast with the ‘TORCH’ expeditionary force adding to its ten vessels shipped from the United Kingdom by “acquiring” additional local craft. The S/t ALVAIAZERE was one of the boats/craft in 247 Motor Boat Company.
    As part of the ‘8th Army’, your father would have overseas service designated as Middle East (1942-1943) e.g. Egypt/Libya and British North Africa (1943-1945) accounting for Sicily and Italy (and possibly) Yugoslavia .
    This would account for the award of the 1939-45 Star, Africa Star with 8th army Clasp and Italy star. I would suggest contacting the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) Museum in Aldershot as a good place to start researching more on the Motor Boat Companies.
    att. 51st heavy reg.(ra) bef 1939-1940 ) as far as I know = Attached to 51st Heavy Regiment (Royal Artillery) British expeditionary Force 1939-1940; the 51st full title was 51 (Lowland) Heavy Regiment Royal Artillery T.A. and during the time your father would have been with them were deployed as ‘GHQ troops’
    in France at the ouset of the war.
    Hope this helps – good luck on further research.
    Kind Regards
    Mark R
     
  18. pagey

    pagey Junior Member

    Pre1940 the War Office had a fleet of small ships/boats managed by the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) made up of all sorts of vessels – a number of which were involved in Dunkirk. These craft performed with distinction and their value to the war effort was widely recognised, but there was nowhere nearly enough of them. The fleet was expanded and passed from War Department to the R.A.S.C.
    who formed them into Motor Boat Companies, performing a variety of tasks from patrolling for saboteurs, to target towing and re-supply of offshore forts.
    Early in 1942, No. 2 Company was engaged on patrols in the East Coast estuaries and rivers, but later that summer, the planning of the invasion of North Africa; ’OPERATION TORCH’ identified the need for one motorboat company to be included in the order of battle of the 8th Army; No. 2 Company was tasked and in November, 1942, was renumbered 247 Motor Boat Company, R.A.S.C. The unit operated on the North African coast with the ‘TORCH’ expeditionary force adding to its ten vessels shipped from the United Kingdom by “acquiring” additional local craft. The S/t ALVAIAZERE was one of the boats/craft in 247 Motor Boat Company.
    As part of the ‘8th Army’, your father would have overseas service designated as Middle East (1942-1943) e.g. Egypt/Libya and British North Africa (1943-1945) accounting for Sicily and Italy (and possibly) Yugoslavia .
    This would account for the award of the 1939-45 Star, Africa Star with 8th army Clasp and Italy star. I would suggest contacting theRoyal Logistic Corps (RLC) Museum in Aldershot as a good place to start researching more on the Motor Boat Companies.
    att. 51st heavy reg.(ra) bef 1939-1940 ) as far as I know = Attached to 51st Heavy Regiment (Royal Artillery) British expeditionary Force 1939-1940; the 51st full title was 51 (Lowland) Heavy Regiment Royal Artillery T.A. and during the time your father would have been with them were deployed as ‘GHQ troops’
    in France at the ouset of the war.
    Hope this helps – good luck on further research.
    Kind Regards
    Mark R
    many thanks Mark R. this does tie in with what little i already know. i knew about yugoslavia where i believe he was working with the SBS, this was told to me by my cousin who is 82yrs old. i have several photos of him in tunisia scicily and greece there is also a couple of photos of yugoslavia, also photos of his crew. as a warrant officer would he have been in charge of the ALVAIAZERE, as prior to the war from 1926 he was in the merchant navy. pagey
     
  19. valjag

    valjag Junior Member

    My father was in the RAF WW11. He was posted to the Azores February 1944. He was a works electrition I remember him saying he "worked on the lighting on the runways" but little else. In fact very little seems to be known about the Azores. My mother was also in the RAF she was a cook.
     
  20. Nikademus

    Nikademus Junior Member

    My father joined the RN in 1941 at the age of 14, he then took it apon himself to be a RM Commando, was on Sicily a week before the landings, radioing back german depositions, and then serving with 47 RM Commando from the units conception late 1943, fought through D-Day and the Orne bridgehead, helped clear the channel ports, seconded to X-troop with jeeps going behind the lines with ex German jewish troops on harrasment capture missions, landed on Walerchen, lost a kidney there, after recovery crossed the Rhine at Wesel and linked up with the paras, then went to 30AU until wars end, immediate postwar driving a bulldozer at Bergen-Belsen, demobbed 1946. Refused his medals....Still alive a kicking today.

    A proud son.
    Nick
     

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