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. scotty wotty

    scotty wotty Junior Member

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  2. hendrix17

    hendrix17 Active Member

    Great Uncle: Merchant Navy - killed on M.V. Dunbar Castle when it struck a mine.

    I’ve just found a photo of this ship in ‘the war illustrated’ magazine from January 26th 1940.
     

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  3. Shane Greer

    Shane Greer We're Doomed

    My Grandfather was in the military police in North Africa during WW2 and later served in Palestine. Unfortunately beyond that I dont have much info.
     
  4. Jacqui Patterson

    Jacqui Patterson New Member

    My dad Frederick Charles Patterson was a very proud Chindit serving behind Japanese enemy lines in Burma.
     
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  5. ypres5

    ypres5 Junior Member

    My Grandfather was wounded ww1 with the 15th Cheshire's, then went into the Liverpool's. Then WW2 come's along and at the age of 42 joins the Pioneer corps, and he was one of the lucky one's to get off the beach at Dunkirk. I had a Great Uncle who died as a Pow at the hands of the Japanese, i believe he was in the Royal Artillery. Mick
     
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  6. KevinC

    KevinC Slightly wierd

    Can't believe I have missed this thread after all these years
    My grandfather was in No. 5 Commando and was involved in Madagascar
    My uncle was in the Engineers and was killed in the retreat to El Alamein
     
  7. Tolbooth

    Tolbooth Patron Patron

    Yes, I missed it too

    Dad was Lothian and Border Yeomanry, went in D+30, through Normandy, Holland and on to Germany.
    My uncle Tom, his brother, was also L&BY, having joined slightly earlier than Dad, went over with BEF and captured just outside St. Valery.
    Both of them were called back for Korea and served '50-'51 with 8th Royal Irish Hussars

    On Mum's side Uncle Greg was Royal Navy in the Med and Uncle George in the Marines, served in Italy where he met and married his Italian wife;-
    George and Amalia wedding, Messina, 8th July 1945.jpg

    Mum worked for Armstrong Siddeley in Coventry and was once chased down the Holbrook Lane on her bike by a German raider - does that count ?
     
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  8. Vince Edwards

    Vince Edwards New Member


    My father Ronald Phillip Albert Edwards served in the Royal Navy from early 1939 after running away to sea at the age of 15 to join the merchant navy. From what I can gather he spent some time in the Arctic initially on minesweepers, but later from HMS Cairo taking part in attacks on German positions in Norway. He did land at Narvik where he sustained minor injuries from a bullet. His ship was also hit by a bomb. Dad's arm was injured enough, by a falling table, to make playing the piano harder later in life. He was then transferred to a corvette for North Atlantic duties.

    Later he trained as a naval commando. He reported to me that he trained in Persia for some of the time. He had an aptitude for languages so ended up being dropped behind enemy lines in North Africa and the Low Countries to direct naval fire onto enemy positions. He liaised with the locals. He spoke Arabic and French fluently. I have a photo of him with his section in July 1944. No. 17. R.N. Beach Signal Section. He landed at Sword Beach on D-Day assigned to work his way inland with radio to direct naval fire on German positions. He told me his companion was crushed by a friendly tank when he got stuck in a tidal gully by Quistreham. so Dad made his way inland ,with a folding bike, alone.

    Earlier in the war he was assigned to the Greek Navy. He spoke fluent modern Greek. His ship spent time hunting German Submarines, but he did go on one excursion gun running to supply weapons to Serbian resistance. He also told me he was posted onto Mount Etna to man a signals hub for the Invasion of Sicily and Italy. He spoke fluent Italian too.

    After D-Day, and presumably after the group photos were taken, he was dropped into the Low Countries, (not sure where) . His group dropped into water and most were killed. He made it to dry land, but then can't remember what happened. He thinks he was hit by shell blast and can only remember waking up in an aircraft on the way home. He recalls thinking that he was in heaven. My Uncle Pete remembers seeing him on leave shortly after that. He was definitely 'bomb-happy' he recalls.

    I have inserted two images. One is a formal photo of his signals section from July 1944 and the other, with many of the same comrades, is informal.

    My family and I would very much appreciate any information available in connection with my father's war and particularly his No. 17. R.N. Beach Signal Section.comrades.
     

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  9. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Hi Vince & welcome

    Our normal initial reply is 'do you have his service records' - if you do thats great and would suggest you start a new thread so that details for him are in one place. If you dont have then would suggest you open the link - Request records of deceased service personnel and obtain them - they are only available from the MOD - once you have them start that new thread

    He sounds as though he had a busy war

    TD
     
  10. Derek Newark

    Derek Newark Member

    My father Jack Leslie Newark was in the buffs and fought in battle at Monte Casino before his company made their up to Milan. Up until he died at 93 years old he was never able to talk about his captain without a tear in his eyes. His captain was Timothy Joseph O’Brien and I would love to trace his descendants who are probably not aware what a great man he was and how many lives he saved. Details can be found at the link below.and I would be grateful for any help in tracing them though I know the chances are slim.
    www.nemojames.com/blog/a-hero-unknown/
     
  11. travers1940

    travers1940 Well-Known Member

    UK Army Roll of Honour places him as Irish born & resident in West Wales.

    Name: Timothy Obrien
    Given Initials: T J
    Rank: Lieutenant
    Death Date: 25 Oct 1944
    Number: 297236
    Birth Place: Eire
    Residence: Pembrokeshire
    Regiment at Enlistment: Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
    Branch at Enlistment: Infantry
    Theatre of War: Italy
    Regiment at Death: Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
    Branch at Death: Infantry
     
  12. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    Which battalion of the RWK were your father and Captain O'Brien serving with?

    5th or 6th are the most likely.
     
  13. CL1

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

    Might be worth starting another thread here Searching for Someone & Military Genealogy


    Lieutenant O'BRIEN, TIMOTHY JOSEPH
    Service Number 297236

    Died 25/10/1944

    Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
    Buried at FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

    Location: Italy
    Number of casualties: 1139

    Cemetery/memorial reference: VI. C. 4.
     
  14. ecalpald

    ecalpald Chick LaPlace

    Good Day UK

    My Father, Chick - 11 Cdn Field Ambulance, RCAMC - NW Europe
    Uncle Dick - 3 Cdn Medium Regiment, RCA - NW Europe
    Uncle Louis - 2 Cdn Survey Regiment, RCA - NW Europe
    Uncle Stan - Royal Winnipeg Rifles, wounded twice, last time in Cleve, Germany & evac'd back to Canada.
    Father-in-Law Chester - Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, wounded Gothic Line, Italy & evac'd back to Canada.
    Aunt Marie, RCAF Airfield, De Winton, Alberta (Commonwealth Air Training Plan) & Munitions Plant in Ontario, Canada.

    Great Uncle Herman, RCN, WWI, served on the first Canadian warships, the ex-British Cruisers, Rainbow & Niobe and also on Mine-sweepers off the East Coast of Canada.

    For interest, a Canadian Legion magazine article on the Ajax Munitions Complex can be viewed at:

    The bomb girls of Ajax | Legion Magazine
     
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  15. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    I have another T J O'Brien was mentioned in dispatches in 1943 (see page 2). It appears to be a different man.

    RWK MID 01.jpg MID RWK 02.jpg
     
  16. Derek Newark

    Derek Newark Member

    Thanks for you interest. it was the 5th battalion they were serving in. I found the war grave but sadly dad was too old to make the trip. Ironically it was very near the seaside town Cesenatico where we often used to go on summer holiday. We were so close and never knew it.
     
  17. Derek Newark

    Derek Newark Member

  18. Ange

    Ange New Member

    My mothers uncle Thomas cook, 2nd Coldstream guards. North Africa campaign. Died 23 December 1942 at the battle of longstop hill.
     
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  19. Tony56

    Tony56 Member Patron

  20. John hunter

    John hunter New Member

    Hi all, my grandad Thomas Dewhurst Scoble was a prisoner of war at stalag 18a. Captured in Greece 1941. He was 24 when this photo was taken.
    He served with 292 Army Field Company and was a Sapper.
     

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