219 Field Park Coy R.E. & 2nd or 7th Btn Leicestershire Regiment?

Discussion in 'Burma & India' started by High Wood, Mar 31, 2019.

  1. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Steve,
    many thanks, you have hit the nail on the head. I think that the note was signed by Capt A.G.B. Miller. R.A.M.C. The signature certainly seems to match the name. As an added bonus, the officer below him in the list was a Lt A. Sykes. of 219 Field Park Coy, Royal Engineers. It would be interesting to know if any O.R.'s from 219 Field Park Coy also served with 22 Column.

    Of course Spr Frederick W Turner may have only had contact with 16th Infantry Brigade after being flown out sick but, at any rate we know that he attended their Thanksgiving and Rededication Service on Whit Sunday 1944.

    QRWS RAMC 2.jpg

    WODGE 022.JPG
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2019
  2. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    I thought the signature matched up too, but did not want to influence your reading of it.
     
  3. JITTER PARTY

    JITTER PARTY Well-Known Member

    Sorry to be pedantic, Bamboo43, but it took me a minute to work out what you were talking about there. The proper, i.e. wartime, short title should be 2 Queens. Anything else is just confusing.
     
  4. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Don't be sorry Jitter Party.
     
  5. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    To add some more pedantry the correct title after 1920 was: The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), colloquially known as The Queen's rather than The Queens. The use of the latter, having less than flattering implications to the average soldier, was probably the start of many a bar room brawl, but I digress.
     
    Last edited: Apr 17, 2019
    Rothy likes this.
  6. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    I will begin to post some of the photographs that were taken in India and will post the Middle East photographs elsewhere on the forum. Unsurprisingly, there are no photographs taken in Burma. Some of the photographs appear to have been captioned from memory after the war as some of the dates are inaccurate.

    The first few appear to show the 219 Field Park Coy, R.E. clearing a site in Ranchi for a large tented camp. They are dated May 1942. Cpl William Thomas Yetton (see post 15), was probably accidentally killed during the construction of this camp on the 13th April 1942. (I will have to get the War Diary to find out the exact details). He is buried in the Ranchi War Cemetery.

    Clearly Indian labour was used in both rock breaking and hut building. The Coy's lorries and tents are just visible in the back ground. Ranchi 007.JPG
     
    Last edited: Apr 17, 2019
  7. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Indian labourers carrying stones for road making/mending. Ranchi 006.JPG
     
  8. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    An unknown Sapper takes on the job of baby sitting whilst the parents are hard at work. Ranchi 008.JPG
     
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  9. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

  10. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Rattan huts under construction. Ranchi 003.JPG
     
  11. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    A Ranch street scene, possibly a demonstration.
    Ranchi 001.JPG
     

    Attached Files:

  12. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    This photograph is confusingly captioned Ranchi Hill. There are a large number of hills in and around Ranchi. Ranchi 004.JPG
     
  13. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Another street scene. Ranchi 009.JPG
     
  14. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    The last of the Ranchi photographs, sadly the original is out of focus but it is worth posting. London 10,000 miles.
    Ranchi 013.JPG
     
  15. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    To be Lieutenant. 6th June 1944.

    Andrew Graeme Blakely Miller. M.B. (236133)
     
  16. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Despite being uncaptioned this location was relatively easy to find, Esplanade Mansions being the clue. The photograph was taken in Calcutta.

    Ranchi 010.JPG
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2019
  17. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    I now have a further piece of the puzzle. This group photograph was taken in Cairo in 1941 or early 1942. Frederick William Turner is second from the left in the front row. But note the two soldiers on the extreme left. These two soldiers appear in the photograph in post 34 and must have been good mates of Turner's. Tobruk 029.JPG
     
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  18. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    This newspaper cutting was amongst Frederick Turner's effects. Arthur and Eddie Robinson are clearly the two soldiers at the left of the photograph in post 37.
    Robinson.jpg
     
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  19. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    With thanks to Steve (Bamboo 43), I now have a copy of the 1943 and 1942 War Diaries for the 219 Field Park Coy, R.E. Unusually Spr Frederick William Turner gets a mention.

    DSC01110.JPG
     
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  20. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    It is possible that I have his notes from this course but I cannot be 100% sure as the cover to the notebook is missing.
     

    Attached Files:

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