162806 Major Thomas Coulson CLARK, RA (H.A.A.)

Looking for some help with this unit. 31 D.C.U.? Can anyone tell me what D.C.U. stands for please?

Major Thomas Coulson Clark looks to have served with Heavy Anti-Aircraft, Royal Artillery, in Italy and North-West Europe. He married Elizabeth Lee in 1940, who apparently later became a senior commander in the A.T.S. but I need to confirm this.

 

DCU = Disbandment Control Unit

See: Subseries within WO 171 - DISBANDMENT CONTROL UNITS

 

31 Disbandment Control Unit – GHQ Troops/Line of Communication/2221 PW Camp 25 May 45 to 24 Aug 45
Vilvoorde-B north-east of Brussels 18 Jun 45

21st Army Group later British Army of the Rhine (under construction)

 

Granted Commission as 2nd Lieutenant on 28th December 1940 (images below Courtesy of The London Gazette, pages 542 to 544).

Good luck with your research.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Welcome aboard.

His Service Number is 162806 (the system and Google cannot read attachments, so I've added it).

The RA became a corps with a million plus members, so individuals rarely appear in online research - unless they got a medal, wounded and died.

Neither the subject’s name or number have appeared here before your thread.

We always recommend applying for the subject's full service record. Yes, it may take a year to arrive - either from the MoD or National Archives (TNA). It is not available online and is the definitive record. There is nothing you can do about the wait.

If the subject is Royal Artillery please post up his Tracer Card, which is available online (££ may be req’d) and the experts here may be able to help interpret the scrawl. usually someone will add this.

If you search online with his unit(s) if known or later, so for example: "XXth Anti-Tank Regiment" site:ww2talk.com that may identify threads mentioning them, at a glance without adding much. If you drop the 'th' more may be found.

Searching the National Archives for the subject or unit(s) can identify those who were awarded honours / medals and the existence of War Diaries – which rarely mention individuals soldiers. They do give context and details of activity.

Some research tips next via PM and good luck.

Very little online, so it might be worth asking a local history society @ Thorner. See: Thorner Historical Society – Thorner and local area history

A genealogy site suggests he was born 15/10/1908 in York and died in Norfolk in 1995.

 

Possible records for his wife Elizabeth:

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 14 OCTOBER, 1941. Page 5943.
WOMEN'S FORCES.
EMERGENCY COMMISSIONS.
AUXILIARY TERRITORIAL SERVICE
The undermentioned to be 2nd Subs.: —
Mrs. Elizabeth CLARK (196870).

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 29 JUNE, 1943. Page 2944.
WOMEN'S FORCES.
AUXILIARY TERRITORIAL SERVICE.
The undermentioned relinquish their commns.: —
17th May 1943: —
War Subs. Subaltern E. Clark (196870).

 

Again, a possible relevant record and reason for Elizabeth relinquishing her commission, if, indeed it is the same person. The birth is registered in Leeds, the same locality as Major Clark’s in 1945.

Births Oct - Dec 1943
Surname: Clark
First name(s): Victoria J
Mother: Lee
District: Leeds
Vol: 9b
Page: 231

Source: www.freebmd.org.uk