3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) Nominal Roll.

Sorry for the delay, I'm easily distracted

3,779,899 BENSON, HAROLD
3,780,248 POOLE, CHARLES
3,780,374 FLETCHER, JOHN

 

Much appreciated. Many thanks. I will try and find out if any of them served in Burma.

 

"B" Squadron, 3rd Carabiniers, Risalpur, India, January 1946.

 

I can't believe I found this forum after many attempts at tracking down my grandfather's records! So happy.

Not sure what to post as all I have are his medals and a pic of him with some mates at Dorchester in 1940. He is Cyril Henry Bond 5729857. He is 2nd from the right. Does anyone here know what the red triangle cloth patch is with the black markings?

He didn't talk much about Burma when I was young sadly and he passed away in 1995 and both his surviving sons (my dad one of them) and his wife (my granny) also are now deceased.

I wish I knew more about his time there and what he did. My mum seems to remember he said was a batman. But I'd love to know more of anything really. We used to visit Bovington alot when he was alive so I guess he never lost the love of tanks. He owned and ran a small local grocery store in Bath for many years called Bonds and had a street named after him in Twerton in Bath for his service to the community there. I have very fond memories of him he was kind and patient and I imagine he saw some rough things as a trooper in Burma.

Any information on him and his unit I'd love to hear.

 

Here is your grandfather's Burma Star Association membership application form. His service number would suggest that he first enlisted into the Dorsetshire Regiment.

• Dorsetshire Regiment 5718001 - 5763000

Thank you for posting his photograph and badges. The cloth badge at the lower left is that of the 254th Indian Tank Brigade and is scarce and worth quite a lot of money, the other one is that of the 14th Army.

 

Thank you so much for the information. I hadn't ever even considered selling the medals or badges I'm so proud of them. Want to get them mounted one day in a frame or something. There is a Dorset badge as well so makes sense about the Regiment thanks for confirming.

I also have his Burma Star medals and a receipt from his membership and a small box they were sent in. Will post a pic of that shortly just out of interest but I'm sure everyone here has seen all that before which is why I didn't post it up. Just the ones I wasn't sure about. We also used to have a small box of his stuff which he had a bullet casing and a pocket bible but sadly I don't know what happened to it and I live in Australia now so not easy to track down.

I noticed from reading other posts that one person who had created a detailed pdf on badges and colours (fire and fury for models) the 254th Indian cloth badge was yellow not red. Any reason for that do you know? And he had it depicted the other way up to my photo (tracks going down not up). I'll study that a bit more carefully anyway.

Thanks again. I'm so happy to have this information and put a bit more together of what he did during the war.

 

Chaz,

I wasn't expecting you to part with any of your items, I was just letting you know that that particular one has a much higher monetary value than the 14th Army one. It is the correct colour.

It is described thus:

The Brigade's badge was a geometric design in black set on a red inverted triangle, the design represented tank tracks and three drops of blood, significant of the Brigade motto, 'Blood on the tracks'.

Simon.

 

Thank you so much Simon. Yes of course, sorry I wasn't implying that you implied that! I just meant I'd never even thought of it. It wasn't a rebuke sort of thing. Lost in a forum post meaning

It's super helpful of you for all this info and I'm eternally grateful. I've waited a long time to find this sort of information. My mum only posted me all his medals a year ago to Australia, before that I had nothing to go on at all hence couldn't find any info as had nothing but his name to go on.

I've spent the last hour or so reading a few sites about the 254th and now have a much better understanding of what they were involved in and their colour patches including the "blood on the tracks" version with the drops under it.

Again - so very helpful of you and I really appreciate your replies. I already know so much more than I ever did before thanks to you and this thread.

 

Thank you for your kind words but I am by no means an expert on the 254th Indian Tank Brigade or the 3rd Carabiniers. There are several other forum members with a far greater knowledge and who have studied their war time experiences in far greater depth than I have.

There are also some very interesting threads on the forum if you put 'Carabiniers' into the search box, but be aware that not everyone can spell Carabiniers and they often shorten it to '3rd Carbs'.

You should also search for Numshigum.

 

Does anyone have idea how can find out which squadron my grandad was in? It does not say in his military records or tracer card and I can find no mention of him in the war diaries. He wasn’t in a tank it seems, he used to tell us he was a scout and used to go ahead of the rest. Does that mean he was in a ‘scout troop’ attached to A,B or C squadron?
Any pointers gratefully received.

 

Re. Norton Anthony Gammidge - 117497

Shown in post #19 above...

A few refs. in the 24th Lancers War Diary including...

Posted to the 24th Lancers in January 1941.

Then...

Keldy Castle
4/8/41 2/Lieut. N.A.Gammidge posted to HQ 29 Armd Bde.

A few refs. in the London Gazette...
Notices | All Notices | The Gazette...

N. A. Gammidge (117497), from N.Somerset Yeo. (T.A.).

And...

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 8 MAY, 1945 p2394 has... ROYAL ARMOURED CORPS. 3rd D.G. War Subs. Lt. N. A. GAMMIDGE (117497), from 24th L., to be War Subs. Lt., 10th Aug. 1944. retaining his present seniority.

Part of a long list here...
3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) Nominal Roll.

With... 117497 Lt. Gammidge Norton Anthony C

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/genealogy/records/norton-anthony-gammidge-24-15krsbz

Has...
Born in Epsom, Surrey, United Kingdom on 6 Jul 1915 to Henry Arthur Gammidge and Margery Alice Wheatly. Norton Anthony Gammidge married Eileen Winifred E Seacome. He passed away on Oct 2001 in Taunton, Devon, Somerset, England.

View attachment 302293

 

Not sure if there would be much re. Major Edward (Ted) Ronald Pettit MC - with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards)

24th L - War Diary - has...
19/1/42 Major E. R. Pettit posted to 1st Lothian & Border Yeomanry.

Various pictures etc. : Edward Ronald Pettit - Ancestry.com

And...

Pettit, Edward Ronald - TracesOfWar.com

Biography and other details including...

Career:
August 29th, 1929: 9th Queen's Royal Lancers;
September 28th, 1935: Colonial Service;
September 1935 - March 27th, 1938: ADC, Commander in Chief, Nigeria;
September 1st, 1939: Regimental Duty, 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers, United Kingdom;
December 1940: Squadron Leader, 24th Lancers, United Kingdom;
1942: Second in Command, The Lothian and Border Horse, 36th Yeomanry Regiment, United Kingdom;
October 9th, 1943: 26th Hussars, Meerut, India;
October 1943: Squadron Leader 3rd Carabiniers, Prince of Wales’s Dragoon Guards, Burma;
April 1944: GSO1, AFV, Headquarters 14th Army, India.

A MOORLAND EXERCISE IN NORTHERN COMMAND
IWM H13053
Object description
Original wartime caption: Major Pilkington, M.C. (left) and other officers.



His signature - E.R.Pettit...

 

My Grandfather is on your large list on the previous page.

I have a picture and a few bits and bobs, would you like me to share them?

 

Yes, please. What was your grandfather's name?

Simon.

 

Sergeant Robert Campbell Macdonald.

My mum will get the originals to me next week so i can HD scan them. For now here are some photos she just sent me.

 

Note the interchangeable spelling of MacDonald and McDonald. Officially he was a Mac

 

Alan,

many thanks for uploading the photographs. I must add some more research to this thread but I have so many Burma - India related projects on the go that some inevitably get left behind.

Simon.

 

If you have any information on his unit/regiment etc id love to see it.

Are you writing a book with all the information you collate?

When he died early 90s we found his 303 enfield and rounds that he mustve smuggled back. We held on to it for a while thinking we could donate it to the war museum but then Dunblane happened and in a moment of panic we reluctantly handed it in during the armistice that was issued shortly after that dreadful day. Hopefully it's hanging on some wall somewhere.

 

Some medals to 3 DG (Carbs) just sold on EBay - but another to add to your list.

ANTHONY John David Trooper No: 14328002
Served from enlistment Cardiff 5 Nov 1942 to 21 Aug 1947
With 'C' Squadron from Feb 1944 as Gunner/Loader throughout Burma Campaign

 

Thank you for posting the pictures it was an interesting group with all the paperwork. I was the under bidder and planned to up my bid at the last minute but got distracted. I am still kicking myself