1st Lothians & Border Yeomanry

Discussion in 'British Army Units - Others' started by gerboise, Jan 28, 2009.

  1. Robblybob

    Robblybob Member

    Hi CliffW:
    Your grandfather William Mitchinson may be the 1st cousin of my father Cecil Henry (Harry) Mitchinson (329046 - this army number may not be complete as it seems to be quite short), who was born in December 1919 in (West) Hartlepool. I have a note from information provided by my father that his cousin Billy was in the same regiment as him at the beginning of the war, at Catterick. My father, Harry, was in the Lothians and Border Yeomanry, was recruited (called up) in Middlesbrough and did his initial training in the cavalry in Edinburgh in 1940. I have a note that he was in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment. I have your William's wife as Augusta, born in Holland but not other information. My notes indicate that William died in 1978. Are we talking about the same people? Harry landed in Normandy about a month after D-Day and made his way to Belgium and Holland. He was in Sherman Crab minesweeping tanks.
    Robblybob
     
  2. Swiper

    Swiper Resident Sospan

    Another inquiry... anyone got the WD for 14 - 17 July or so, especially interested in their employment near Baron/general clearance on the night 15 - 16 July around 0300.
     
  3. Thane

    Thane Member

    Hi I have just seen these posts. And I do have a lot of info and photos that my father has on the 1st Lothians. James Nightingale 7962690.He was a tank driver in A sqd. Tank name was Thane of Cawdor. My father passed away last week at the age of 91. So I'm in the process of documenting his time in WW2 .
    I will check to see what information I have and post it up. I do have a lot of photos of the tanks and places they were as my dad always went everywhere with a camera.
    Regards
    James Nightingale jnr.
     
  4. Last edited: Feb 19, 2018
  5. Thane

    Thane Member

    Just A few photos I have managed to scan
     

    Attached Files:

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  6. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    I copied the diary last week and there is no Peter Stern mentioned in the Officers Field Returns. I suspect he may have been an officer at Brigade HQ
     
  7. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Your man was HQ Troop, well his tank was, in A Squadron. There's quite a lot of info in this diary inc census numbers for the the units tanks, trucks bikes etc.
     
  8. Thane

    Thane Member

    Thanks Andy
    I do have a whole load of pictures and other documents which I will try to post.
    Call me thick but I still cant find any these diaries you talk about . would you be able to sort this out for me
    I would also like to have a copy of my dads service records as well if this is possible.
    let me know if you can.
    Regards
    Jim
     
  9. 4jonboy

    4jonboy Daughter of a 56 Recce

    Jim

    You will need to apply to the MOD to get his service records. They are the only place you can get them
    https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records

    The war diaries are at the National Archives in London. If you cannot get there, Andy can copy them for you very cheap :) .

    Lesley
     
  10. KevinT

    KevinT Senior Member

    Hello James,

    Thanks for posting the photos. Is there any further info written on the reverse of the photos such who the Humber scout or the Churchill AVRE belongs to?

    Cheers

    Kevin
     
  11. The Humber Scout Car is clearly A Sqn 1 Lothians: 79 Armd Div emblem, (Yellow) triangle for 'A' Sqn and White '52' over (Red) square for second regiment in 30 Armd Bde, but a higher resolution scan might reveal its name as well, which should be one of DAREDEVIL, DAUNTLESS or DUSTIEFOOT, unless it's a replacement with no name given. The WD number looks like F 196650, or is it F 196850?

    It's interesting to note that while tanks (either Crabs or Gun Tanks) of 30 Armd Bde never seemed to sport their Squadron marking (I've yet to find one single example), at least some of the other vehicles did.

    As for the AVRE, some indication about the date when the photo was shot might enable us to find out which AVRE unit A Sqn was operating with.
     
  12. KevinT

    KevinT Senior Member

    The Humber Scout Car is clearly A Sqn 1 Lothians: 79 Armd Div emblem, (Yellow) triangle for 'A' Sqn and White '52' over (Red) square for second regiment in 30 Armd Bde, but a higher resolution scan might reveal its name as well, which should be one of DAREDEVIL, DAUNTLESS or DUSTIEFOOT, unless it's a replacement with no name given. The WD number looks like F 196650, or is it F 196850?

    It's interesting to note that while tanks (either Crabs or Gun Tanks) of 30 Armd Bde never seemed to sport their Squadron marking (I've yet to find one single example), at least some of the other vehicles did.

    As for the AVRE, some indication about the date when the photo was shot might enable us to find out which AVRE unit A Sqn was operating with.

    Hi Michel,

    I thought that the Humber was 1st Lothian's going by the markings but it is often dangerous to assume. I just needed confirmation.
    The name could be below the drivers feet and as you say a higher resolution might reveal it more clearly, although I am not sure of the location of the name on the Humber. As to the number I think that it is F196650, if you enlarge the image it is slightly clearer.

    The AVRE number is new to me so I cannot help with its identification although again it would be nice to know.

    By the way did you see the latest version of the Vehicle Name and Number listing?

    Cheers

    Kevin
     
  13. Hi Kevin,

    Of course you're totally right to be cautious, since the AoS 52 in 79 Armd Div could mean other units than 1 Lothians, depending on the time the photo was taken, e.g. 13/18 Hussars (27 Armd Bde) before Oct 43 or Staffs Yeo (31 Armd Bde) after Apr 45, or even ERY (33 Armd Bde) for the Rhine Crossing. The continuous changes in the organisation of 79 Armd Div do not make identification very easy!

    I did assume that 1 Lothians was the most likely choice since the photographer belonged to that unit, in 'A' Sqn too. Maybe some day we can positvely identify the chaps leaning on the Humber as belonging to 1 Lothians (or not!).

    Thanks for pointing the latest version of the listing to me, I had not noticed it because I forgot to "follow this topic". However, the link in your post still leads to the previous version (V3.0 as at 12 Dec 13) instead of the new one, which I could still retrieve by changing the 'V3' into 'V4' :).

    Michel
     
  14. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    From the war diary-Do they help?

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  15. Swiper

    Swiper Resident Sospan

    Cracking! Had found a few other odds and sods, but that is of great help (bit of disagreement in general but more or less confirms my thoughts).

    I also found a number of 1 Lothians accounts from PW in 1940, in the WO344 series - but no personal accounts of capture yet, unsurprisingly most were captured in St Valery.
     
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  16. Back to Thane's photos, the telltale detail that first escaped me is the beret badge on the crew on the Humber which does look like it's 1 Lothians'.

    Michel
     
  17. Thane

    Thane Member

    Hi Guys
    I have seen your comments about the scout car and will see if I can rescan it at more detail.
    Any way here are a few more pics I have
    My dad was the driver of Thane of Cawdor .
    Regards Jim
     

    Attached Files:

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  18. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Cracking Pics !
     
  19. KevinT

    KevinT Senior Member

    Hi James,

    Great photos thank you for posting them. Could I ask a favour please. If you can get a higher resolution of the Humber can you see if you can make out the T census number on the rear of WOLF OF BADENOCH at the same time so I can add it to the Vehicle Name and Census Number database.

    Cheers

    Kevin
     

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