AE's in the RAOC

Hi,

New here, need some expert to fill me in on some info if possible:


WO1(Cdr) H Chamberlain Chamberlain 1940 Sub-Conductor - who joined the RAOC in Dec 1937.
Reclassified as an Ammunition Examiner Class 1 in 1939 and posted to Burscough, Bramley and then to 3 BAD in the same year.
No 7589866 1941 Sub Conductor RAOC.

His service records show him being evacuated from France on 26/06/1940, 1 day after Operation Ariel, but was posted to 6 BAD from BEF on 28/05/2015. Confusing.
His service records show him being posted to 6 BAD (I am told that 6 BAD moved to St Nazierre on 16/6/1940, marched into the Port on the 4am on 17th and were to embark on the Lancastria but as it had no billets so it was decided to switch to the Oransay -------- the Lancastria was bombed in the pm of 17th - they boarded the Oronsay and it arrived in Plymouth on 18th)
Prior he was in 3 BAD in Rouen, was appointed War Substantive Srgt at 21 BAD, later transferred from 26 BAD to 6 BAD. All over the place, i guess like many others at that time.


So any ideas what he would have been doing? Blowing things up? Making ammunition left behind redundant? Was he on the Oronsay?


Thats part 1.

Part 2:
He was part of 6 EADCU re-designated to 306 EADCU RAOC (Enemy Ammunition Depot Control Unit RAOC) – Lt Col WG Wilton RAOC then SOS to 306 EADCU Soltau from 08/06/1945 to 12/09/1945.
What was he doing there? I know Bergen Belsen was in that area, and i remember, as a child, him mentioning this (I'm sure he talked about a lot of other interesting things as well, he did like to talk, but at that age, regretfully, i wasn't really paying attention).
Ive read somewhere that V2's were in that area, and in 1943 he had completed a 27th CW Course Qualified (Chemical Warfare) course.
Anyone information about what these EADCU were doing there?



No I am sure this is all family difficult to find out (hopefully I am wrong), so any references to WO docs, other resources, pointers, anything that could help flesh out this mans possible work would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

Very few members have discussed the EADCU. My own father was in the Heavy Artillery for most of WW2, but was posted to 3 BAD, ROAC in June 1945 and attached to 308 EADCU near Lubeck in north Germany. He was released from service in October 1945.
I have some photographs of the weapons they were dealing with and a few group photos of the unit.
Any new information would be very helpful. The Army Service Record is not much help.

 

This might help

308 Unit | The National Archives
Reference: WO 171/6792
Description:
308 Unit
Date: 1945 June - Dec.
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Closure status: Open Document, Open Description

Subsubseries within WO 171 - Enemy Ammunition Depot Control Units

TD

 

Thanks Tricky for that pointer, I guess I will have to ask Kew for a copy of that War Diary.

David

 

Dont ask Kew - they are expensive

Site members on here offer a very competitive service

member Psywar.org is one and the same as Archive Research - Archive Research - www.arcre.com

Member Drew5233 is a second one who enjoys the TNA http://ww2talk.com/index.php?members/drew5233.6786/


TD

 

Hi David, I have all the EADCU war diaries. There are 2 for 308, covering the period June 45 - June 46. I also have all the 3 BAD war diaries. Message me with your email and I will send you what you need.

Regards, JB

 

Hello Joroti, do you by any chance have the 306 war diary? Possibly 1945-1948. They were @Munster/Kohlenbissen and, I think, Dannenberg.

RFC01: If you are still about, please find some photos attached (courtesy of Sgt O.W Jacques) showing some of what they got up to. ie blowing lots of things up! Sgt Jacques was also in France 1940 and I remember him telling me he lost many of the mates he trained with when the Lancastria went down..

 

Hi RFC01, re your' Part2' : please see my reply above to Joroti.

 

Hi,

As RFC01 hasn’t signed into the forum since May 2019 I have sent him a PM to alert him to your post.

Steve

 

I have all the 306 War diaries from 1945 to 1948. Please PM me with your email address as they are very large files. JB

 

Joroti, have replied via 'conversation'. Hopefully that is a PM! K

Thanks.

I take the point made earlier that EADCU is something of a minority interest, but if anyone wants sight of other pics of post war 40's life, while exploding bits of Munster fields, Sgt Olly Jacques would, I think, be happy for me to share!

Regards

 

Thanks for the info.

@Jaroti, Ive PM|ed you.
Keith999 Are there more pics? I would love to see.

 

Hello RFC01, here's a few.

Keith999 Are there more pics? I would love to see.[/QUOTE]

 

Thanks for these.
I see I spelt Joroti wrong :/.

Seeing as they spet alot of time blowing things up, I do know that My Uncle Harry was had something to do with the big ammo dump up by Gretna Green, and also something around Preston I believe. He used to drive around with a bucket of sand in the back of his car where he would 'throw' explosives into. He was a Major at this point, so obviouly knew what he was doing. He was also in Nigeria in the 60's and stationed in Hong Kong for some time.

But it's this direct after war stuff that appears the most mysterious and challenging part of his career.

 

Joroti - obviously only if you have the 306 war diaries.

 

Hi Joroti, many thanks for the 306 War Diaries.

RFC01, I recommend the 306 war diaries from Joroti.

I've just finished reading them all. I found them fascinating. The first one should cover the period when your uncle harry was with 306. It includes the itemised assembly of 306 and 'road route' of entire unit (@20mph!) from Donnington> Atherstone> Stevenage>Tilbury>Ostend>Temise> Borken >Munster/Kohlenbissen (pic pj12-01 above of destroyed plane) which made it real for me. And then an advance party went on to Dannenberg... and sgt O.Jacques took those pics (PJ12-02 &03 above) of the VI

But reading the others as well give, to my mind, a good idea on what was happening to the unit's people. Together with the pictures I posted, there's also quite an insight into the living conditions. PJ12-04 above probably shows the sgts mess in the same month RFC01's uncle left and I guess he'd have known most of the 10 blokes pictured.

For myself there was also a small moment of 'connection' when I noticed the initials at the bottom left (by the CO's sig) of many of the War Diaries : OWJ : which I'm almost certain, given his later career, are those of Sgt Oliver Wilfred Jacques, my Uncle Olly!

Keith

 

Yea I look forward to getting them from Joroti and having a read through. Plus I can pass it on to his son, who was estanged from him, and is the reason im researching this family member.

 

I've heard nothing from Joroti, . I hope he is ok and just busy or something.

 

Sorry Joroti, I missed your kind reply until seeing it today.....I would very much like a copy of the 308 war diaries, only really need Jun 45 to Dec 45 period.
I am a complete novice on this site and have no idea how to private Message my email to you.

 

Hi Dave,

in the absence of Joroti, if you still want sight of Jun 45 to Dec 45, I have, following my discussions with him, a retained copy. Let me know.

Keith