My father, now 96 and still going strong, was at Dunkirk. Afterwards he was in hospital for a while as a result of swallowing diesel oil when swimming away from Dunkirk beach. He was later transferred to Northern Ireland for 3 years before being shipped back home ready for D-Day. Understandably there are a few gaps in his memory which he would like filled so here's the first question. Dad was in the RASC and stationed at Thiepval Barracks where he was driver to a Brigadier from the Royal Engineers who he says was 2nd in command, Northern Ireland. This was 1941 -1944. Dad can remember the Adjutant was a Major Rowbottom, but can't remember the Brig's name. Can anyone help? Thanks, Brenda
Brenda - getting a copy of your Dad's army record is a good idea (I am sure a link will appear soon giving you info on how to do so). In the mean time, could you please post your dad's details on here? Full name, date of birth etc - you never know what odd bits of info turn up when someone starts searching. I had a quick look through the London Gazette for Rowbottom and the most likely officer was Ronald Edward Rowbottom 151417, Royal Artillery. Most of the other officers of that name were too junior in 1943/4 or were in the RAF / RN. This officer was a 2nd Lieutenant in 1940 and was a Major (Temporary) in late 1945 when he received an MBE. For some reason the MBE suggests to me a training / support role, which would tie in with a NI posting. Unfortunately, the best I could do using him as a starting point was to work out that he had a distinguished Police force career post-war. No leads on the Brigadier he might have worked for.... The only other help I can offer so far is this link - The War Room - Allied Forces which gives a few names of Major / Lieutenant Generals in Ireland during the war years.
British Home Forces 1 July 1943 HQs British Troops Northern Ireland (BTNI): Lieutenant General Sir H.E.Franklyn 45th Division: Major General J.K.Edwards 134th Infantry Brigade - 9th Dorsetshire 135th Infantry Brigade - 7th Wiltshire 136th Infantry Brigade - 12th Hampshire & 10th East Surrey 96th Field Artillery Regiment 142nd Field Artillery Regiment 171st Field Artillery Regiment 90th Anti-Tank Regiment 205th Royal Engineer Company 259th Royal Engineer Company Field Stores Section 45th Division Signals
badges on Flickr - Photo Sharing! This image includes a patch with the "Irish Gate" on it, which was most probably worn on your Dad's uniform as a driver with the HQ NI. British Army Officers 1939-1945X -- H This includes a link to David Harvey Haugh, who was a Brigadier on the General Staff, British Troops Northern Ireland 12.12.1942 to 10.05.1943. This officer received a Military Cross in 1918 for gallantry in action during WW1. Maybe your dad remembers his name or the wearing of the MC..... print And here is a memoir of a female driver from NI who would have been there around the same time as your Dad - might mention some things of interest.
Thanks for all your help Dave. Dad is Alexander William Elwell - DoB 16.6.1914 Army No T/59700 He was in the Territorials (RASC) from 17.2.36 and embodied on the outbreak of war 1/9/39 in 574 Coy. I do have Dad's army record but it's quite difficult to read. Especially when you don't know the terminology and some entries are quite faint. I can just make out an entry for what looks like 1/7/40 Posted to HQ 6 Corps This is when Dad says he was sent to NI. Does this help. I can photo the page and e-mail it to you if you PM me your e-mail address. Thanks
Thanks for all your help Dave. Dad is Alexander William Elwell - DoB 16.6.1914 Army No T/59700 He was in the Territorials (RASC) from 17.2.36 and embodied on the outbreak of war 1/9/39 in 574 Coy. I do have Dad's army record but it's quite difficult to read. Especially when you don't know the terminology and some entries are quite faint. I can just make out an entry for what looks like 1/7/40 Posted to HQ 6 Corps This is when Dad says he was sent to NI. Does this help. I can photo the page and e-mail it to you if you PM me your e-mail address. Thanks Brenda, if you want the chaps & chapettes to help interpret the bits of record that aren't clear, just scan them in, or photograph it, and get the pictures up here. Safe to say they're not bad at this kind of thing... I think they may even enjoy it. Photo uploading guide here: How to Insert Pictures. Or just email the scans/pictures to me at ww2talk(at)googlemail.com and I'd be happy to upload them for you. Cheers, Adam.
Thanks Adam. I was a bit wary of uploading Dad's record as he is still alive and going strong, so I have cropped out the relevant section. Here is the uploaded extract from Dad's Army record. The line which is faint says POSTED TO HQ 6 CORPS and appears to be dated 1/7/40
According to the OrdersofBattle website VI Corps - Infantry Corps - Briefly existed in Northern Ireland in 1940 Which doesn't do much besides put him in Ireland. I'm guessing that VI Corps became HQ BTNI - confirmed 5 minutes later by looking at the War Room link I used in my first response - "Following the evacuation of Dunkirk, all forces in the UK including Northern Ireland, were placed under command of G.H.Q. Home Forces. With this in mind, the VI Corps HQ was set up at Lisburn to deal with any threat to Northern Ireland. On July 12, this HQ was reformed into HQ British Troops in Ireland (BTI). However, it was quickly changed to British Troops in Northern Ireland to prevent any adverse concerns from the press and the Irish Government. "
I am coming to this very late (9 years)! However, for the record Ronald Edward Rowbottom RA, my grandfather, did not serve in Northern Ireland and was not the GOC's Adjutant (I think the Adjutant Rowbottom would have been with Brenda's father's RASC unit rather than directly working to the GOC). Ronald Edward Rowbottom picked up his MBE as Assistant Provost Marshal in Trieste. He did go on to a distinguished post-war police career.