I'm trying to track down the Army career of the above gentleman. He enlisted on the 15th July 1940 and served with the R.A. as a driver; was transferred to the R.A.S.C in October 1944 and served in Italy for the remainder of the war. How do I find out where he was based in the R.A. prior to his transfer to the RASC (and why was he transferred?) All help gratefully received! Roger Brown.
Roger. You go to www.gov.uk and search for ‘How do I obtain a a Service Record’. Follow the instructions, pay the £30 and 8-12 weeks later you will have full breakdown of his time in the Army. Regards Frank
Hi, He may have a RA Tracer Card - available on Ancestry site - that may answer your query. If not I’m afraid you will have to apply to MOD for his service record - Get a copy of military service records As a general observation - a lot of RA Anti aircraft units were disbanded in late 1944 as surplus to requirements - as the German air offensive threat in Italy was reducing (plus infantry were chronically short of reinforcements). He may have been in light anti aircraft (Bofors) or Heavy anti aircraft unit (guns or searchlight). Supposition on my part as the answer will hopefully be in his papers. Steve
8 to 12 week delivery date might be a bit too hopeful Frank given the current emergency and reduced staff levels in Glasgow. Regards Steve
Hi I have searched the RA tracer card database on ancestry and found nothing by that number or name. However I have found him on FMP. Record Transcription: Royal Artillery Attestations 1883-1942 First name(s) Charles Last name Dennison Attestation year 1940 Service number 1591641 HAA stands for Heavy Anti Aircraft. In late 1944 the Allies had near total air superiority and therefore a lot of heavy and light anti Aircraft Regiments were deemed surplus to requirements, given a different job, like General Transport or disbanded all together and their personnel redistributed to units who desperately needed reinforcements. For info, RASC service numbers tend to be prefixed by a D (for Drivers) and T (for Artificers,Technicians and Driver Mechanics). If you believe T/159164 was definitely his RASC Service number, then it looks like they have left off the last digit on transfer. But to be absolutely certain, you will need his service record. Hope this helps Gus
Gentlemen, Many thanks for you help with this one. I now know a little bit more about Charles Dennison; the next step is to get his Service Record. Roger Brown.