I have just spotted this thread. The following (pay for access site) has quite a few transcriptions of, or notes on, various pages from National Archives records of NCC companies. Royal Pioneer Corps (RPC) - RLC Digital Archive
Thanks for this. Pritchard, C H was C Hardinge Pritchard (c 1920-2007), whom I have mentioned previously. After Bomb Disposal, he transferred to RAMC, Parachute Field Ambulance, and was one of a group of conscientious objectors who parachuted into Normandy on D Day. He was taken prisoner around July 1944. A few more details on some of the NCC Bomb Disposal men mentioned earlier: Frederick Agar, 1919-1992 Ernest Baxter, transferred to RAMC, Parachute Field Ambulance, Normandy, D Day Cyril John Dain Bennett, born c 1917 Thomas William Chantrell, 1916-2001 Peter Eaton, 1914-1993 Alec Forster, born c 1918 Bernard Lionel Home, attd, 75 Bomb Disposal Section, RE; transferred to RAMC, Parachute Field Ambulance, Normandy, then SE Asia George H Jones John Edgar Leach, transferred to RAMC, Parachute Field Ambulance, landed Normandy D Day, died, CWGC Arthur John Marsden Victor Noel Newcomb, transferred to RAMC, Parachute Field Ambulance; landed Normandy; PoW, repatriated Henry Rowell, Oliver, born 1915, transferred. RAMC, Parachute Field Ambulance, Normandy and Far East Wilfred A Reeves Stanley Rickman, transferred to RAMC, Parachute Field Ambulance, Normandy William Rowe Christopher Saunders Robert Frederick Arthur Smith Ernest Carl Trope Spring Kenneth Arthur Spring, resigned CO status, Oct 1941, enlisted RE, 15 Bomb Disposal Coy, Dec 1941; commissioned, RA, Jul 1944 Norman Basil Town, 1915-1987 Anthony White Christopher Wren
I was delighted to come across your exchange about the NCC with mention of my wife’s late uncle, William John Pudney from Hornchurch, Essex and another member of the same Pioneer Corps NCC Bomb Disposal Company - ‘Wilkie JH’. According W John Pudney’s widow, it was a John Alexander Scott Wilkie in the same Bomb Disposal unit who suggested to John Pudney that he go back with him to his home in Abernethy Perthshire after the war (where he was to meet the lady who became his wife). I wonder if Wilkie JH and JAS Wilkie are one and the same person? Have you perhaps come across any more info, photos etc about the war service of these two conscientious objectors. I would be grateful for your advice. Many thanks.
Don, I'm afraid I have no more info, though the 'H' in JH could easily be a typo misread from an 'A'. You could try getting their records from the MoD for more info.- Get a copy of military service records If you do find anymore info/photos, please come back and add them to this thread. Good Luck! Chris
You refer to "the same Pioneer Corps NCC Bomb Disposal Company". The Pioneer Corps and the Non-Combatant Corps were two separate Corps. All the conscientious objectors mentioned in this thread were members of the Non-Combatant Corps. None of them was a member of the Pioneer Corps. They were members of the NCC Bomb Disposal Company, pure and simple.
Thanks for the useful correction, Drayton. It was the NCC Bomb Disposal Company (therefore not the Pioneer Corps).
I acknowledged this post at the time, when I had not paid much attention to the intracies of Army service numbers. With greater experience, I can make two points in response: It appears that all men enlisted in the WW2 Non-Combatant Corps, who were necessarily registered combatant objectors exempted from combatant service, were allocated numbers beginning 9700. They retained the number when transferred to a unit such as RAMC, where they could retain their conscientious objector status, and even when transferred to a unit such as RE, where they lost their CO status (the latter kind of transfer could only happen on the initiative of the man concerned). The 9700 series of numbers are all 8-digit, whereas "ordinary" Army numbers appear to be 7-digit.
Michael Gough - Wikipedia During World War II Gough was a conscientious objector, like his friend Frith Banbury, although he was obliged to serve in the Non-Combatant Corps, [7] a member of 6 Northern Company, in Liverpool. [8]
Pinfield, Ronald Neil (Oral history) "story of joining the Non-Combatants Corps in Liverpool and attachment to the Pioneer Corps 12/1940. Aspects of period with Pioneer Corps in GB, 12/1940-1942: purpose of Non-Combatants Corps; description of billets in Liverpool Old College; initial training including drill." Other search results Find an object | Imperial War Museums
Another NCC soldiers AB64 that I had missed before - also added below the ones posted earlier but messed up by photobucket
27 CWGC Casulaties with NCC numbers, not serving with NCC: Spr ARMSTRONG, FREDERICK, 97002163, 12/07/1944, Royal Engineers, 253 Field Coy., France CAMBES-EN-PLAINE WAR CEMETERY Pte BASS, ANTHONY DAVID, 97005812, 18/08/1944, Royal Army Medical Corps, 224 Parachute Field Amb., France RANVILLE WAR CEMETERY Pte BRAY, NOEL CECIL, 97003482, 25/01/1942, Royal Engineers, United Kingdom, HIGHGATE CEMETERY Pte BROOKS, JACK, 97006513, Age 22, 24/03/1945, Royal Army Medical Corps, The Parachute Regiment, A.A.C., Germany REICHSWALD FOREST WAR CEMETERY Pte BUCHAN, RONALD CHARLES, 97005471, Age 24, 13/05/1945 Royal Army Pay Corps, India, DELHI WAR CEMETERY Pte CARTER, DENNIS JESSE EDWARD, 97001613, 09/12/1941, Royal Army Medical Corps, Israel and Palestine KHAYAT BEACH WAR CEMETERY Pte CINI , ADRIAN FRANCIS ARMANDO, 97005484, 24/12/1943, Royal Army Pay Corps, United Kingdom, ST. PANCRAS CEMETERY L/Cpl CLARK, MALCOLM JAMES EDWARD, 97003883, Age 31, 17/08/1945, Intelligence Corps, United Kingdom BOURNEMOUTH CREMATORIUM Pte, DAVIS, CHARLES BROCKLESBY, 97003494, Age 26, 12/02/1944, King's Own Scottish Borderers , 2nd Bn., Myanmar RANGOON MEMORIAL Pte ETHERIDGE, LESLIE CHARLES, 97000754, Age 26, 05/01/1945, Royal Army Medical Corps, The Parachute Regiment, A.A.C., Belgium HOTTON WAR CEMETERY Pte FELTHAM, GLADSTONE DAVID, 97005711, Age 26, 17/12/1944, Royal Army Medical Corps, United Kingdom MIDDLESBROUGH (ACKLAM) CEMETERY Pte HARVEY, THOMAS, 97001163, Age 26, 16/06/1944, Royal Army Medical Corps, 225 Parachute Field Amb. France RANVILLE WAR CEMETERY Pte HOBROW, WILLIAM FRANCES, 97005570, Age 22, 11/07/1944, Hampshire Regiment, 1st Bn. France, BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY Pte HODGES, JOHN BENJAMIN, 97004475, Age 33, 13/05/1946, Royal Army Medical Corps, 224 Parachute Field Amb. United Kingdom, SOUTHAMPTON OLD CEMETERY Pte HUTTON, PHILIP, 97004379, Age 31, 06/06/1944, Royal Army Medical Corps, 224 Parachute Field Amb., France, RANVILLE WAR CEMETERY Pte JAMIESON GEORGE MCKINNES, 97000993, Age 25, 07/04/1945, Royal Army Medical Corps, The Parachute Regiment, A.A.C. Germany BECKLINGEN WAR CEMETERY Cpl JONES, GEORGE H., 97000916, Age 28, 22/05/1945 Royal Engineers, 4 Bomb Disposal Coy., United Kingdom BRIGHTON CITY (BEAR ROAD) CEMETERY Gnr JONES, EDWARD THOMAS, 97001061, Age 24, 18/07/1944 Royal Horse Artillery, 13 (Honourable Artillery Coy.) Regt. France BAYEUX MEMORIAL WO1 KENNERLEY, JOHN OLIVER, 97007685 Age 21, 08/12/1946, Royal Army Educational Corps, Israel and Palestine, RAMLEH WAR CEMETERY Pte LEACH, JOHN EDGAR, 97003462, Age 33, 06/06/1944, Royal Army Medical Corps, 224 Parachute Field Amb., France BRUCOURT CHURCHYARD Pte LEWIS, JACK, 97004018, Age 24, 06/06/1944, Royal Army Medical Corps, 224 Parachute Field Amb, France BRUCOURT CHURCHYARD Pte LIDDELL, DONALD STEWART, 97003530, Age 32, 21/06/1944, Royal Army Medical Corps, The Parachute Regiment, A.A.C., France LA DELIVRANDE WAR CEMETERY, DOUVRES Gnr MURRIE, JOHN, 97001000, Age 23, 19/01/1943, Royal Artillery, 17 Field Regt., Tunisia MEDJEZ-EL-BAB WAR CEMETERY Pte SARGENT, WILLIAM PHILIP, 97003318, Age 24, 06/06/1944, Royal Army Medical Corps, 224 Parachute Field Amb., France RANVILLE WAR CEMETERY Tpr SHEAVES, ALFRED ERIC, 97001141, Age 25, 22/01/1943, Royal Tank Regiment, R.A.C., 48th RTR, United Kingdom, SOLIHULL CEMETERY L/Cpl SPOONER, WILFRED JOHN, 97002775, Age 29, 20/09/1946, Royal Army Medical Corps, United Kingdom BRIGHTON (EXTRA-MURAL) BOROUGH CEMETERY S/Sgt SUSSKIND, JOFFRE ALEXANDER ZYSKA, 97004516, Age 26, 19/04/1945, Royal Engineers, Netherlands ARNHEM OOSTERBEEK WAR CEMETERY
Bell, John Rhys 97001308 15 BD Coy Campbell John 97001375 21 BD Coy Green, Sandall John 97002379 20 BD Coy Kitson, Henry James Buller 97004748 4 BD Coy Lewis, Ronald Graham 97000679 5 BD Coy Norman, Geoffrey 97000871 15 BD Coy Page, William Leonard 97001932 8 BD Coy Raddon, Hugo James 97005954 9 BD Coy Roberts, Arthur Churchill 97000938 22 BD Coy Spouge John Douglas. 97004613 8 BD Coy Spring Kenneth Arthur 97005697 15 BD Coy Suter, Charles Graham 97001296 25 BD Coy Taylor E. 97002950 20 BD Coy Taylor, Stanley Hector 97004674 134 BD Coy Terry, John Christopher Ernest 97002275 22 BD Coy Tilney, R.G. 97005023 2 BD Gp Tyrrell, Norman 97004163 22 BD Coy Wallace, Arthur Millington 97005033 5 BD Coy Williams, Kenneth Vaughan 97005212 5 BD Coy Wraight, E.P. 97000965 1 BD Coy