HI Struggling to find anything to identify which unit the following officers were with in Greece in late 44 and early 45. Been on all the usual suspects (TNA, London Gazette, FMP, Ancestry, Google Books etc.) and found nothing. So I'd thought I'd put it to the forum. Died SCRUTTON Leonard Muir Captain 105852 Royal Army Service Corps - 15/03/1945 - SIB diary states body found in passage between 19 and 21 Amerikis street, Athens, having fallen from a fifth floor balcony. Wounded Lieutenant Evans Evan David Tegfryn 293560 Royal Welch Fusiliers WIA 03/01/45 (no RWF in Greece) POW 162290 Captain PAXTON Francis Clark Hastings Royal Scots POW 11 Dec 44 (no Royal Scots in Greece) 147435 Major WELCH Thomas James Lyndham Royal Army Ordnance Corps POW 11 Dec 44 Thanks in advance Gus
At the time of Alamein (1942), there was a Lieutenant F C H Paxton serving with 5th Battalion, The Seaforth Highlanders: Source: Battalion You'll know, I'm sure, whether or not that unit was in Greece.
This man was a chartered accountant pre-war (vital stuff I'm giving you here). He lived in Radlett, Hertfordshire. Source: Roll of honour See printed roll here: https://www.icaew.com/-/media/corpo...ting-history/rollofhonour_1939to45.ashx?la=en And later in London: Mr. Leonard Muir Scrutton, Chartered Accountant, of Adelaide House, King William Street, London, E.C-4... Source: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34653/page/5564/data.pdf The London Gazette says he was a temporary major (from a private/acting corporal in 1939!), and there's another Major Scrutton who was a commando. Is it conceivable he could be the same chap? The third source below mentions that he was R.A.S.C. (T.A.) - and that he was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in Jan 1940. (Given rapid-ish promotion from the ranks and method of demise, I shouldn't be surprised if he was an intelligence officer of some kind). Ranks Here: Page 10 | Supplement 34764, 29 December 1939 | London Gazette | The Gazette Page 1594 | Supplement 36456, 4 April 1944 | London Gazette | The Gazette https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34764/supplement/10/data.pdf That might be worth chasing.
Hi Thanks for this A lot of officers were posted to Greece in late 1944 under the "military liaison" umbrella. And mostly for their pre-war skill-sets, eg. accountants, civil engineers, agriculture experts, greek language speakers etc. The only thing is their war diaries/sitreps, etc more or less dried up by November 1944. Gus
As you can see, there are quite a few RASC units and their Indian equivalents in Greece at the time of his untimely death. 5 Indian Field Bakery, RASC 13 Port Detachment, IASC 26 Field Butchery and Cold Storage Depot 38 Indian Field Butchery 236 Petrol Depot. RASC 2 Mobile Petrol Filling Centre, RASC 1595 Workshop Platoon 5 Greek General Transport Company 6 Greek General Transport Company 177 Indian General Transport Company 18 Company, RIASC (MAS) B Platoon, 64 Bulk Petrol Company RASC 690 Company (Corps HQ Car), RASC 331 Company RASC 520 Company Royal Army Service Corps (Inf Bde) HQ 4 Indian Infantry Division RIASC 4 Indian Divisional Troops Transport Coy 4 Indian Divisional Troops Transport Section 11th Indian Infantry Brigade Transport Coy 5th Indian Infantry Brigade Transport Coy 7th Indian Infantry Brigade Transport Coy 220 Detailed Issue Depot (DID) HQ 4 Div RASC 473 Coy RASC (Inf Div Tps) 21 Coy RASC (Inf Bde) 2 Pls 3 Ton 44 Coy RASC (Inf Bde) 2 Pls 3 Ton 509 Coy RASC (Inf Bde) 2 Pls 3 Ton 561 Company RASC (Infantry Brigade) 1595 Independent Workshop Platoon RASC Gus
Hi, I realise I am late to this thread but am also looking for more info on Leonard Muir Scrutton (my grandfather). Did you get anywhere? Thanks.
Boba, Gus was here earlier today, though unlikely to view this thread unless he flagged it. I will send him a message to look next. Have you applied for your grandfather's service record? Does anyone in the family have any letters etc for his time in Greece? Questions that Gus is likely to ask.
Hi there and thanks for the response. Yes, we have his service record but it's fairly basic and doesn't provide any info on the circumstances of his death. His wife destroyed all correspondence from him after his death and my father had tried to research as best as he could until he passed away in 2019. I have visited Phaleron and my grandfather's grave a few times but Gus's thread above was the first time I learnt of where he was found dead. Ironically, my mother, brother and I went to Athens to inter my father's ashes at Leonard's grave (with full authority from the CWGC!) and were staying less than 100 metres from where he died. Any info Gus could provide would be appreciated. Thanks again.
Hi Boba Sadly I have nothing beyond what I found here: Corps of Military Police: War Diaries: Central Mediteranean If you post his service record here I will see if I can establish what unit he was with when he died. Regards Gus
I am not an expert on military procedure, but spent time researching a NZ military suicide post-war in England. There was a court of enquiry held and I easily obtained the NZ records. During the war I expect coroners inquests came to a halt, so that is not an option. Yes, I know some have had success getting access. The RMP War Diary (in 1945) has two passages: From link in previous post. It is possible that 212 Area has a war diary and records exist. I expect it is the British Army local command for Athens and was still in existence in February 1946. See: ADJUTANT GENERAL'S VISIT TO ATHENS Alas nothing readily found. Using "212 area" distorts Google as it thinks you mean a dialing code for New York city. Is the address where the body was found within the earlier perimeter held by the British against the Communists (ELAS)? I found this description on a Greek site: From: https://visitplaka.com/athens-during-world-war-ii/
Hi Baba Your grandfather's records confirms that he was part of Military Liaison (Greece) (ML(G)). I therefore believe that the enquiry in to his death was held at the HQ of 212 Area in Athens. I believe you should approach the MOD again as they should be supplying you with more than a one page summary of postings. I do not have a lot on ML(G) but here is what I have. This map shows how Greece was divided up into Military Districts. Extract from my book "Op Manna" - published in Greece in 2014. All aspects of the distribution of relief and aid was the responsibility of the Deputy Commander 3rd Infantry Corps and General Scobie’s right hand man, Brigadier General Percy Lee Sadler, US Army under the guise of Commander Military Liaison (Greece). But he barely had any transport infrastructure to work with. Only 416 of the 1664 miles of railway in Greece was not destroyed by the Germans. The roads were not much better. Gen Sadler. Another shortage in Greece was clothing. The American Red Cross along with a group of ex-pats known as the ‘Greek War Relief Board’ sent some 7,400,000 items of clothing available to Greece between October and December 1944. In the PIRAEUS anchorage were 5 Swedish UNNRA relief ships waiting patiently with the first instalment of 600,000 garments including 235,000 pairs of boots and shoes. 31,662 tons of relief supplies would reach Greece by the end of October and by 8th November 1944 that had increased to 60,000 tons. It was hoped that some 780,000 tonnes of Anglo-American relief supplies would arrive in Greece over the first six months with a total value of 30 million pounds sterling. To allow Brigadier General Percy Lee Sadler to administratively control and provide relief for the whole of the country, he divided Greece up into Military Districts and sub-divided into Regions, each under the control of a Military Liaison (ML) formation. HQ ML Greece (ML(G)) was located on the 4th floor of the Metokhikon Tamion Building in ATHENS and staffed by 20 Officers and 253 troops with 14 vehicles. Here are the main players, extracted from a 23rd Armoured Brigade Staff List from Oct 1944 I have a few Situation Reports September to November 1944. If you would like them please supply me with you email address using the private conversation I sent earlier. Hope this helps Gus
