Hello, A friend of mine asked me if we can help him any further in his search for James Anthony, who stayed in Wommelgem (Antwerp) 1944-45. Any help would be appreciated, it looks on the picture that he was with the Royal Engineers, as shown on the badge of the soldier to the right, on the left is the officer, which I believe is James Anthony. Any thoughts? This is a long shot, I know......
What has he done so far? James Anthony or Anthony James as the card? https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records
Not an idea, he doesn't know his way around in the British archives, he was hoping to find a list locally, but of course, that turned out nothing....
Might need a bit more detail there was for example a Peter Anthony Joseph in the Royal Artillery, but this is the problem as pointed out by Tony56, we dont seem to know his name, we also dont seem to know what branch of he military (Artillery, Infantry, Engineers) or if he was an officer or other rank - if he wasnt injured, captured or killed then its going to be exceedingly difficult - so please ask your friend to gather as much detail as he can find TD
Thanks, my thoughts exactly. Problem is, he hasn't much more, he found this picture when he was clearing out his mother's house. Looks like a Royal Engineers badge to me. It's a pityu the shoulder titles are unclear.
Good morning folks, A pound to a penny the name will be (as per the generally used UK convention); Forename: Anthony, Surname: JAMES. Likely known as "Tony James". Doesn't narrow the search field much unfortunately, and if it duplicates the line of thinking here already then apologies to all. Final thought, tall chap on left of photo (Anthony James?) looks to be sporting a GS beret (again, not a lot of help, sorry!) Kind regards, always, Jim.
Is he a relative of your friend? Surely he must know his correct name? Remember that you do not need any military information to get his service records - just name(!), date of birth and death certificate unless he was KIA.
Sorry! Wagering parlance followed by the bit in brackets, which I neglected to make clear, which I meant as a reference to how names are mostly scribed in the UK (forename first). I even confuse myself now in my dotage! Kind regards, always, Jim.
If hes the one on the left then it seems he may be an officer, but cant make out the patch on his right arm, if hes the one on the right ..... best of luck As mentioned before - he may sign himself Anthony James, but is that his christened forename or just a preferred/differentiating middle name TD