Trying to get information - Bedfordshire & Herts WW2 military policeman

Discussion in 'British Army Units - Others' started by Mrs Trellis, Sep 3, 2017.

  1. Mrs Trellis

    Mrs Trellis Member

    I've been reading a book that includes WW2 in north Africa. I realised we have no information on my father-in-law's war service. He was a military policeman and served in north Africa and Italy. He was at some point demoted and left as a private. I think he was in Beds and Herts but everywhere I search comes up with nothing. It seems you have to pay National Archives or buy books which may or may not be relevant.
     
  2. idler

    idler GeneralList

    It will cost you £30, but the only way forward is to apply for his service records from the MOD. They should be able to find him from his full name and date of birth. They will tell you who he was with, where and when as a basis for further research. Other online sources won't have access to this information despite what they imply.

    www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records
     
  3. Tony56

    Tony56 Member Patron

    Idler is absolutely correct. I can't promise but if you are happy to post a name/dates/locations you may well get some information to be getting along with.

    Good luck.
     
  4. Mrs Trellis

    Mrs Trellis Member

    Thanks! We have no detailed info - how sad we never thought to ask and it's now too late. There's a story that in Africa he once found himself behind German lines, and that he sat in Mussolini's box at the opera in Italy. Also at 5'4" he was the smallest military policeman but accepted been he'd been a boxer.
     
  5. Mrs Trellis

    Mrs Trellis Member

    Thanks, I guess that is correct. FindMyPast and other websites claim to have vast amounts of info on military records, but came up a blank.
     
  6. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Obtain his service records as your first important step, but in the meantime we have members on here who have access to all sorts of files etc, but would need his name and any other info you have ie date of birth etc etc

    TD
     
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  7. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Last edited: Sep 3, 2017
  8. Mrs Trellis

    Mrs Trellis Member

    Name John Todd or John Hildyard Todd or even John Hildyard-Todd. dob 12.12.1914, London.
    Number 4621596
    Medals: Africa, France Germany and Italy stars. Was in the territorials and joined up as military policeman at the beginning of WWII Released from army January 1946.
    You never know!
     
  9. Steve Mac

    Steve Mac Very Senior Member

    His service number is from the The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (The West Riding) block of numbers. Here is a Wiki link regarding this regiment: Duke of Wellington's Regiment - Wikipedia

    Soldiers were often moved to different regiments, so although he was originally with the DWR it doesn't necessarily follow that he stayed with them for the duration of WWII.

    Do you know why, being a Londoner, he would have joined a Yorkshire Regiment as a TA soldier? Was he working/living in Yorkshire?
     
  10. Mrs Trellis

    Mrs Trellis Member

    I had an idea it was Beds and Herts, which is a bit nearer! He never lived anywhere but London and had no connexion to Yorks. The number was for his war service which may be different from territorials?
     
  11. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Seems as though the authorities were covering every eventuality with this man

    England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
    Name: John Hildyard-todd
    Death Age: 85
    Birth Date: 12 Dec 1914
    Registration Date: Sep 2000
    Registration district: Brent
    Inferred County: Greater London
    Register Number: C21E
    District and Subdistrict: 2211E
    Entry Number: 73

    Name: John Hildyard
    Death Age: 85
    Birth Date: 12 Dec 1914
    Registration Date: Sep 2000
    Registration district: Brent
    Inferred County: Greater London
    Register Number: C21E
    District and Subdistrict: 2211E
    Entry Number: 73

    Name: John Todd
    Death Age: 85
    Birth Date: 12 Dec 1914
    Registration Date: Sep 2000
    Registration district: Brent
    Inferred County: Greater London
    Register Number: C21E
    District and Subdistrict: 2211E
    Entry Number: 73

    TD
     
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  12. Mrs Trellis

    Mrs Trellis Member

    Yes!
    We registered the death. I don't know where 'John Hildyard' comes in as that was never his name. He was registered at birth as John Hildyard Todd (as were his father and grandfather). He wrongly thought the hyphen had been missed out, so had it officially put in.
     
  13. Tony56

    Tony56 Member Patron

    The variation in names makes it difficult but I have not managed to find any military details for John although there may well be some for his relatives:

    6459454 William Hildyard-Todd, KIA 17/9/44
    2331459 C A Hildyard-Todd, Royal Corps of Signals who appears in Casualty Lists and was POW


    John does not appear in in WW2 casualty lists, perhaps indicating that he was not seriously injured or was missing at any time.

    In 1939 J Hildyard-Todd, dob 12/12/14, single, Laundry washer living at 2 Corby Road, Willesden

    1947 may have worked for Post Office.

    Service records the answer.
     
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  14. Mrs Trellis

    Mrs Trellis Member

    Thanks for all that! Amazing you can come up with this info. Dad was not seriously injured. He was indeed working in a laundry before the war. and was a postman for many years after the war. William was his brother who was a paratrooper killed on the way to Arnhem.
     
  15. Mrs Trellis

    Mrs Trellis Member

    How did you get all this so quickly?
     
  16. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    It helps when its a wet Sunday afternoon and you are waiting for the Grand Prix highlights to come on the TV ........................................

    TD
     
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  17. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  18. Mrs Trellis

    Mrs Trellis Member

  19. Tullybrone

    Tullybrone Senior Member

    Hi,

    If that info comes from the 1939 register he could not have been a serving Territorial at the time - as he would've been embodied and serving at the time of the survey - late Sept 1939 - and serving soldiers aren't shown as far as I understand.

    Suggests he was conscripted later and was sent to DWR?

    To repeat the already quoted phrase - the answer is in his service record.

    Steve Y
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2017
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  20. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    If he turns out to be Beds & Herts in Italy then he would have been in 2nd Battalion Beds & Herts. They were part of 10 Infantry Brgade who were in 4 Infantry Divsion.

    Depending on when he joined 2 Beds & Herts, he may have been at the Fourth Battle f Monte Cassino in May 44 and the Battle of the Gothic Line in Sep 44.

    Come back to me if he turns out to have been in Beds & Herts.

    Regards

    Frank
     

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