But, after years of trying to persuade my nan to get my grandfathers service records and any medals he was due I now have the records. (Unfortunately my nan isnt well now and in a home, so my mother was able to obtain them for me) The problem is that I dont really understand them. He spent 3 1/2 years in Gibraltar, but im at a loss to really find anything out. even the regiments etc seem to keep changing. ie 22(1)....... 66th ANTI....... POSTED 20/10/39 .... GIB 24-10-39.... TANK REGT ...................R.A (T.A.) 23/39 ....... 264/66 CSO(?)............. -''-.................... 28-10-39 51/39 ...........129/220 S/L RA .................................. 16/12/39 Theres a few more, but as I have no experience of the forces, it doesnt mean anything to me. Could anyone help or point me in the right direction? Also, some of the extras that came with it really brought my grandfather to life. He died when I was only 7, and although I remember him, my family were devastated by his death and didnt really talk about him, my mother simply says that he was a "mans man" and would hardly have told her anything about the war or his life....he simply wasnt that way inclined. It seems he broke his metatarsal "wrestling on the beach"......and at another point lost 28 days pay and received 28 days field punishment.....for an offence under sec 15(2) AA...and was under close arrest for 2 days. God I hope that wasnt something terrible, but it has really brought him "to life" for me. Any help or direction would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
Reckon he started in an Anti-Tank Regt, then was moved to a Searchlight Regt. Both Royal Artillery - the T.A means Territorial Army, but all draftees were TA in WW2. Useful site for you here: Royal Artillery 1939-45 Good luck Pete
Best thing to do is scan them & post them up here so me can have a good look & help you out that way. Welcome to the forum. ps. I've edited your thread title to attract more helpers.
Marky welcome As Owen suggests scan them in plus any photos you have and forum members will be able to assist you
Ok, Ill do that, although it may take a day or two, theyre A3 in size. Some of the writing is very hard to decipher though. Thanks again everyone, Ill get onto it straight away.
Hi Marky and welcome. The guys here will answer most, if not all, of your questions very quickly. Your GF sounds like an interesting bloke, looking forward to seeing the story unfold. I wouldn't worry too much about the charges etc, few blokes were perfect soldiers, make it all a more 'human' story if you know what I mean! Mike
Marky Welcome aboard ! Charges ?.......you weren't a soldier unless you'd been on one ! A5 size ?......... fold them carefully in half, then scan both halves. Good luck ! Ron
I don't know much about Army 'stuff' but if he is Artillery of some description The Royal Artillery Museum at Greenwich might be of interest. Went there earlier in the summer and the guys there were very helpful. Might be worth taking a trip there, or at least giving them a call
Hi Marky, welcome. The first entry relates to his posting to 66 Anti Tank Regiment Royal Artillery who were in Crosby, Lancs as part of 55 (W Lancs) Division. The second entry records his posting to 264 Battery within 66 A/Tk Rgt. The third entry is a mystery because the S/L normally means searchlight but there were no Searchlight units with either of those numbers. I would read those numbers as 129 Bty, 220 S/L Rgt but the highest numbered S/L Rgt was 93. Also the only S/L unit on Gibralter was 3 S/L Bty. Guess we will have to wait until you post his records.
Flickr: janesback's Photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/56214496@N05/5201277171/ Ive posted the ones that seem to have the details of where he was. I believe to begin with he was on an anti aircraft station in Farringdon, Sunderland where he met my Nan. Ive had a bit of trouble, had to buy a scanner and even read the "destructions", then edit the scans to make them fit on the site that family set up to "host" them. I hope its all the right stuff for anyone to help. Seems he spent most of the war in Gibralter, then went to India after it for a time. Thanks for any help that can be offered.
certainly 86th Anti tank regt gets a mention, as does 22o searchlight 'unit'. RA, plus 3 s/l battery on Gib. Looks like he was posted to Royal Inniskillen Fusiliers prior to being demobbed. Pete
certainly 86th Anti tank regt gets a mention, as does 22o searchlight 'unit'. RA, plus 3 s/l battery on Gib. Looks like he was posted to Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers prior to being demobbed. Pete He lost 28 days pay and got 28 days field punishment in Gib by the looks of it. I daren't look to deep into why.....but it really makes him seem....real, I know it sounds daft, but my grandfather at 25 must have been a whole lot diff to the man with a home and car and kids etc to what he was in the prime of life....... Guess we all wish we could have met them when they were young and carefree men with their life in front of them. No doubt ours will feel the same......but without the life defining circumstances....well, for some of us anyway....for the others, make the most of it to bond as it the best chance anyone can ever have.
I'll deal with the first bit for now and have a look at the rest later. He started in 66 Anti Tank Rgt RA and was then posted to 220 Searchlight Training Rgt in Yeovil. He then appears to have been transfered to 216 SL Trg Rgt at Abergele. He then moved to Gibralter to 10 HAA Rgt before being transfered to 3 Search Light Bty. It is possible that 3 SL Bty being independant may have been attached for admin purposes to 10 HAA hence the initial posting to that regiment. He doesn't seem to have been with 10 HAA for long and it seems an odd posting for someone who had just finished a course at a SL Trg Rgt.
Got my Grand fathers service records on Monday it says he was reprimanded for AWOL, docked 7 days pay. Next time was severely reprimanded as he went directly to a C.O for a transfer, instead of going through the proper channels. Next time away in Marcepolis or something he went AWOL for three days...he was under close arrest and docked 3 days pay...yeah that is a soldier. When I was in the army in South Africa that was normal to AWOL and go to civvie life and chase the girls...the whole sport was not to get caught, especially by them nasty MP's ha ha ha Cheers
He did have a spell in Hospital, but unfortunately the records sent for that were someone elses, so I dont know why yet. There seems to be a bit says Depot. I assume that is like stores? Is 59/40 the 10HAA you refer too?
The Depot means the HQ of the Royal Artillery at Woolwich. It was normal for soldiers being posted from a UK unit to an overseas one to pass through the Depot. Here their documentation would be brought up to date and any kit needed i.e. tropical clothing, issued. They would sometimes be held there for a while until sufficient numbers had been gathered to make up a draft for the particular destination. Sorry, don't know what you mean by 59/40. I will look to see if I have anything on 3 SL Bty a bit later.
Thanks again for your help, its greatly appreciated. Ive uploaded 29a (im having to crop them as the file sizes are to big.) This is the one that shows his punishments and also an admittance to hospital. I think it is an injury sustained on the 3searchlight. One thing I have now seen is that on 17/5/40 he was posted, and it is signed by The Major RA Commanding 27th Heavy Battary (Lloyd's Company)RA I named my son Lloyd..... talk about coincidences.
Think I've solved the mystery of the posting to 10 HAA Rgt. This Rgt consisted of 9 and 19 AA Btys and a searchlight Bty. By the time the regiment moved to Malta, 3 SL Bty had arrived in Gibraltar. The Bty had 90cm projectors (lights) but not their full allocation. The searchlights allowed predicted fire at night instead of relying on barrages. This means that individual aircraft could be engaged instead of just throwing up a mass of shells over the target to force the enemy to fly higher or around the barrage. On 21 August 1940 an Italian S79 bomber was brought down with the aid of the searchlights. Due to there no longer being an air threat to the island, in Feb 44 3 SL Bty was reduced to a Troop.
