Hi I have just joined your Forum and so hello to everyone, I have looked at information that you have posted for a while now and found it very useful so many thanks. I wonder if anyone could help me with further, I am looking for information on the 2/5th West Yorkshire Regiment May 1940, my father served with them and I know very little other than what he told me. I know that he was in 11 platoon and was in the Leeds coy but could anyone tell me the letter pre fix of this company was it B coy. I have recently returned from France and visited some of the sites in the Tim Lynch book 1940 and I am almost sure that he is on the photograph of B coy although the quality of the photograph is not that good I also know that he knew Albert Porritt, who was killed on hte 24th of May because he mentioned him and that they buried him in an orchard any information would be very greatly appreciated.
Welcome to the forum. I've moved your thread to the 1940 section of the forum. Hopefully Andy will see it there & be able to help with war diaries etc etc
Hello and welcome. I'm away all day tomorrow but have some free time coming up over the weekend. I'll have a look and see what I can dig up for the 24th May. The war diary only has field returns for May and June but I have a few other sources that I can check when I get time. Cheers Andy
4540324 Private Albert Victor Porritt 2/5th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) :Poppy: http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2773428/PORRITT,%20ALBERT%20VICTOR
I'm just waiting to collect the Regts official history from another member on here. When I get it I'll post what it says about the battalion on the 24th May.
Hi I'm looking for any information on a pre-war regular soldier who I think may have been serving with the 2/5 Bn in 1940. The chap in question is 4533672 R Wright. He was a Cpl in 1940 and was awarded a Mention in Dispatches in the London Gazette of 20 December 1940. I know he served with the 2nd Battalion in Palestine in 1939 and possibly in the Sudan at the start of 1940. Any info appreciated. thanks Daz
Hi Daz You are correct: R Wright in the UK, Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1949 Name: R Wright Campaign or Service: Palestine Service Date: 1936-1939 Service Location: Palestine Regiment or Unit Name: 2nd Battalion The West Yorkshire Regiment Regimental Number: 4533672 TD
TD Thanks, Im trying to work out where he got his Mention in Dispatches and hopefully what his first name is and his date of birth. That way I might be able to ask the MoD for his service record. I'm guessing that he was in his twenties in 1940, given that he was a JNCO then, so probably born around 1915 -1920. I don't know if his MID will be mentioned in the War Diary? The others mentioned with him were: Capt. A. J. DUNCOMBE-ANDERSON. Lt. A. B. BROWN. Lt. (Qr.-Mr.) W. H. GOODWRIGHT. 2/Lt. D. MCLEAN. 4541493 W.O. Ill (P.S.M.) B. P. NABEY. 4529859 W.O. II (C.S.M.) A. E. WRIGHT. 4606543 L/Sgt. R. RADDINGS. 2568699 Cpl. L. GRAINGER. 4533672 Cpl. R. WRIGHT. 4540204 Pte. S. M. ELLIS. 4540152 Pte. R. LAMOND. 4540597 Pte. T. WHITEHEAD. So far I've confirmed Capt Duncombe-Anderson as 2/5th Bn and that the QM, William Henry Goodwright was commissioned into the West Yorkshire Regt Reserves in 1939 having previously been a WO1 in the A.E.C. Thanks again Daz
Daz If you have any other details about him, place of birth, parents names, marriage info etc etc then it might be possible to find the info you are after. TD
TD Sadly, no further details, I was given his medals by a friend who knows of my interest in all things WW2 military, hence my search for information. I'd love to know more about him and what happened to him, but with a surname and initial I don't know how easy its going to be. Regards Daz
I'm hoping that there might be reference to him in the War Diary which might give me some sort of clue. I've checked the army records of personnel born before 1901 and he's not there so his DOB must be somewhere between 1901 an 1920. Daz
Well searching for R Wright born 1900 - 1920 gives 922 results - refining that by those only born in Yorkshire results in a total of 78, now this does include females as well but as the system has difficulty in differentiating between male and female names the only way to reduce that is to look at each & every entry - however as we only have an initial to work with .............................. Unfortunately military records tend to only record the initials and not the full names of a soldier, so other routes may be more beneficial. Working the other way around do you know when he died etc. I assume this is not a relation - can you say where the initial info came from?? TD
TD The initial information that I have comes from his General Service Medal for Palestine, which I have; the Medal Roll and the London Gazette entry for his Mention in Dispatches. I have no idea on his DOB or death. Daz
Hi, a bit of a long shot this; but I'm trying to find out a little bit more about my Great Grandfather, Harold Beverley (26 Sep 1904 - Halifax, Yorkshire). The only information I have, is from my grandmother, that he was rescued from Dunkirk in 1940. He spent some time hidden in a cellar with a pal, and because he was short, 5'2", and couldn't swim, he struggled to get out to the rescue boats. I've not been able to find much other than a record of an H. Beverley (4738663) of 2nd Btn The West Yorkshire Regiment, receiving the Palestine campaign medal. Which is what led me to this thread. I would be very grateful if anyone could provide any more information. Dan
There were two battalions of the West Yorkshire Regiment that served in France in 1940, the 2nd/5th Battalion and the 9th (Garrison) Battalion. Here is a brief summary of the service of each battalion: 2nd/5th Battalion, The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales’s Own) (T.A.) 137th Infantry Brigade – 3 September 1939 to 13 June 1940 The battalion was raised on March 31st, 1939 at Knaresborough with HQ Company at Leeds, ‘A’ Company at Selby, ‘B’ Company at York, ‘C’ Company at Wetherby, and ‘D’ Company at Knaresborough. It was embodied on September 1st, 1939. It left for France with the brigade on April 28th, 1940. During May 1940, the brigade was split up by enemy action during the move forward to north of the River Somme. Only the brigade HQ and the battalion arrived at Dunkirk while the other two battalions remained south of the River Somme. The battalion left France on May 31st, 1940 and arrived in England on June 1st. The brigade HQ did not function for the period from June 14th to 18th, 1940, when it was reformed in the Manchester area. 137th Infantry Brigade – 19 June 1940 to 19 July 1942 The battalion served under the brigade in the United Kingdom. It was converted to the 113th Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps on July 20th, 1942. 137th Armoured Brigade – 20 July 1942 to 25 September 1943 The regiment served in the United Kingdom. GHQ Home Forces – 25 September 1943 to 7 February 1944 The regiment was disbanded in September 1943 when the brigade reformed as as the 2nd Armoured Delivery Regiment. It was retitled as the 2nd/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment on February 7th, 1944 and placed into suspended animation. 9th (Garrison) Battalion, The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales’s Own) The battalion was raised at Ripton on November 9th, 1939. It comprised of reservists in the 35 to 50 age range. Leeds supplied most of the men but there were also recruits from Bradford, Wakefield, Halifax, Doncaster and Hull. GHQ Troops, BEF – 16 February 1940 to End May 1940 It went to France on February 16th, 1940 on line of communications duties and was located in the Arras area. It served in France under GHQ BEF. After leaving France at the end of May it reeassembled at York and was disbanded there on June 17th, 1940. To really find out about your great grandfather's service, it would be best to request his service records. Check out this link: Get a copy of military service records
Thank you for the information, it's really useful. I would say that the 9th Battalion is the best fit, as Harold would have been 35 at the time, and being from Halifax. I'll speak to his next of kin if they'd like to request his service records.
