716 Light Composite Coy (Airborne) RASC

Hi there - I am obviously new so please be patient

I have recently started looking into my wife's grandfather's service during WW2. We have completed the FOI request for his service records but that may take a while. In the meantime I have a few questions which I can't find anything on....

What I know
He was born in 1925 - died in '98
We have a record detailing him as missing in Western Europe in 1945 - then 'not missing' a month later. Unit = 716 Light Composite Coy (airborne) RASC. Rank listed as 'Driver'.
We have details of a telegram sent to him in Palestine - airborne (MELF) June 1947.
We have a photo of him wearing the maroon beret with the parachute regiment cap badge.
We have his para reg cap badge and a small GQ badge in plain metal (not enamelled).

What I've been told (not by him)
He was at Arnhem
He lied about his age to join a year earlier - assuming he was 17(?) this would be approx mid 1942
We won't know until we get the full record but as far as any of the family is concerned he was not sent to the far east, which I believe part of the unit was...

Questions
1. I understand the maroon beret as he would have been part of an airborne division (6th) but why the para cap badge if he was RASC? Looking at photos of this unit there are a mix of RASC and para cap badges. Was the distinguishing factor those that had done the full para course and completed 8 jumps? As I understand it platoons 1 + 2 were 'parachute' platoons, I'm also aware that there was a 'workshop' platoon?
2. If he was 716 (6th airborne) in 1944 then he couldn't have been at Arnhem as the 6th weren't involved. So assuming this isn't just mis-remembered / confused could he have transferred in from a different airborne unit?

 

Hi and welcome.

If you're happy to, please quote his full name and service number, that would really help.

Cheers,
John

 

Thanks John

Kenneth Arthur Hastings
14427818

 

Hello,

Noticed this entry in the 716th L.C. Coy war diary:

3rd April 1945
Unit leaves ALTENBERGE and proceeds to LADBERGEN. MR 000930 Sheet P.2. Scale. 1:100,000. 1 OR previously reported as missing with 314758 Capt. EOSR. Lewenhaupt. rejoins unit after having been taken prisoner and later repatriated by the Americans. He reported Capt. Lewenhaupt as P.O.W.

But it may not be related ... ?

Regards ...

 

Sorry, not really much to go on....and information that I think you already have.

Small bit about 716 on Paradata 716 (Airborne) Light Composite Company RASC | ParaData

Interesting though that you say he served in Palestine, do you have his medal for it? Only reason I ask is that the Palestine medal roll on FWR is pretty good, and I didn't get a hit. Now that could be because he claimed it late or, has never claimed it, in which case your family would be able to claim it.

I claimed in wife's granddad's Palestine 1945-48 GSM in 2010, it now sits proudly, with his WW2 stars on my office wall.

Best,
John.

 

Thanks for posting - I'll see what else I can dig up

 

Thanks John - yes I have these.
Interesting stuff on the Palestine medal though which needs chasing up. We have a telegram from his wife that was sent in 1947 from an RAF station (she was WAAF) so I am certain he was there

 

Capt. Lewenhaupt

Quite the chap:

Five Combat Jumps: Count Erik G:son Lewenhaupt - War History

But as previously stated it may not be connected ... ?

Regards ...

 

You could apply for his medal now.....if he didn't qualify, the Medal Office will soon tell you. Costs you nothing to apply.

Apply for or replace a medal or veterans badge

Best of luck.

 

Agreed - what a great story. Be great if it was but I'm not sure the dates are right?

 

Just curious, what dates do you have?

" ... We have a record detailing him as missing in Western Europe in 1945 - then 'not missing' a month later. Unit = 716 Light Composite Coy (airborne) RASC. Rank listed as 'Driver'. ... "

Regards ...

 

12 April 1945 - reported missing
1 June 1945 - "Now not missing"

I would have thought they would have noticed if he was missing for 12 days? Possibly not? There was a story about him being a POW but I was told that was in the middle east(?) I can't find anything on this either.....

 

Yeah the April dates don't align between the WD and your data. The article on Levenhaupt I find to be somewhat sensationalized, nor does the writer understand what a RASC unit actually does.

Regards ...

 

I asked my uncle (ex army) what the RASC were all about and he had an interesting expansion of the acronym
It looks like these guys were in the firing line more than others might have been.

 

Yo,

I should add that Capt. Levenhaupt was captured March 30th or 31st and liberated May 2nd with one failed escape attempt.

Regards ...

 

Razcol,

Welcome aboard. Just did an online search using: "716 Light Composite" site:ww2talk.com and that has id'd approx. eight threads here on the unit. At a glance some were @ Arnhem and the unit appears to have detached staff at times.

I have checked and his name or number have not appeared here before.

Some research tips next via PM and good luck.

 

Hi razcol,

I am the grandson of another member of 716 LCC called Robert Hayward and have been researching the unit out of personal interest since 2019.


Aside those you have listed above; Kenneth's details do not appear in any of the documents I have copies of or references for which relate to 716 Light Composite Company (LCC). This isn't overly surprising as despite the large number of documents published only 200 or so names of the at least 460 (probably closer to 1000) members of 716 LCC appear throughout them (so far). Nonetheless there is still much that can be looked into:



Casualty List:
The Date of the 1st of June is incorrect, unfortunately the actual date was not recorded (D.N.R) and so the date the record was published (1st of June) was used instead. All 3 of the members of 716 LCC who are listed on the 1st of June Casualty List under "Previously reported Missing now reported Not Missing" have D.N.R and no specific date listed. It is possible the same is the case for the recorded missing date although I would suspect less likely.

Interestingly, Driver Gregory (of the same casualty list may be the same Driver Gregory who was on the glider lists for CN (Chalk) 267 under a reconnaissance designation, this glider was part of Operation Varsity and was under the command of Capt S. Sutherland-Waite. Two drivers from this glider are not named within the glider list but the other occupants are, there is a small chance Kenneth may have been part of this same group (assuming they were all repatriated together) but more research on this is needed.

Note: a driver K.J Shelley is also 716 LCC and on the same Casualty list and does not appear listed on CN 267
(I have no references for this name in particular but Lewenhaupt's 2nd driver in Normandy (both of whom worked in a reconnaissance role for 716 LCC searching for new ammunition dump positions etc.) has a similar name J. "Kelley". This is potentially relevant as it is my understanding that changes relating to letter K and SH can occur easily with Swedish English translations and are similar to some other errors I have seen in the Swedish Sources for the Count's life).



Para Training
If Kenneth was a driver, he could have been in a transport platoon. There is confirmation that many of the drivers in these platoons did complete training at RAF Ringway. Nonetheless, this does not rule out para platoons, 1, 2, or 3 (Driver (Dvr) was also used to denote some parachute platoon members), HQ (716) or Workshops (WS).

Unit Composition

I have sketched below what I suspect but have not yet confirmed is the composition of the entire company, this is an area of active research on my part and the information below comes from glider loading tables. If anyone else here knows for certain what the platoon structure of a light composite company was it would be much appreciated if you could confirm this.


Fig 1 - Suspected Composition of 716 LCC.


Unit History
The overall history of the unit is well documented by Captain D S Bremner in a Reminiscence document. If you and your wife have not yet come across this it is well worth reading: A Brief History of 716 (Airborne) Light Composite Company RASC | ParaData



Malwood Camp
Whilst in the new forest (between September 1944 and Christmas Eve 1944) the unit were stationed in Minstead (New Forest). The Officers stayed in houses and the large stately home (Lodge) that is located to the Southeast of the village (now a charity and wedding venue). The rest of the unit stayed in wooden buildings located within the forest at a location known as Malwood Camp. This camp had previously hosted some Canadians who remained in Europe post D-Day until VE day. Attached is a photograph of what is believed to be the mess hall for OR's within the clearing at Malwood camp I have been to the area and found evidence of a hardcore road now buried in the forest connecting it to the Lodge as well as some flat areas of land on which the buildings likely stood. 2 of the men in the attached photograph are unknown as is the photographer, I presume you do not recognize Kenneth as either? (unfortunately, I have had to Downsize these photographs to ensure they can be uploaded to the site).


Minden
A location of note, if we assume the other date is correct the 12th was around the time the unit were traveling through the Minden in Germany, they may have been slightly further southwest at the time.

Did Kenneth ever mention anything about the River Ems? or mention working with members of 22nd independent para (pathfinders). I appreciate you may not have much if any accounts of his service as many did not talk about their experiences afterwards but thought it worth mentioning in case the above connection turns out to be correct as it would link Kenneth to the same events mentioned in some of the other posts above.

Most of 716 LCC returned to the UK in late May, I am therefore working to the hypothesis at the moment, that the casualty list was updated shortly after his return to the UK but potentially not when he rejoined the unit which might have been earlier. I am sure this will be revisited at some point.



Count Lewenhaupt connection?
I have also compiled a large document over many years detailing and referencing the actual facts behind the various Capt. Lewenhaupt story's. Most of these accounts have become slightly (in some cases more significantly) distorted in subsequent publications for various reasons although many are due to assumptions Writers have had with linguistical and military differences between our 3 (England, Sweeden, Norway) countries (unpicking this has been quite the effort) if this becomes more relevant (particularly if the dates line up in your war record), I will share more.

Part of the unit did get posted to the Far East. This included the Count although he was soon deployed to another unit, and historic newspaper articles in the Singapore archives have now proven this.


Palestine Photographs
Many of the photographs at: 716 (Airborne) Light Composite Company RASC | ParaData are taken in Palestine as well as duplicates of some at this link I also have a few others with family that I can PM you to see if Kenneth is present. I have attached one which hopefully is of general interest and shows 716LCC jumping into Palestine. It was likely taken in 1947.



Hopefully some of this information can help lead us in the right direction to finding more on Kenneth! Always a pleasure to meet somebody interested in 716 Light Composite Companys history, and I will do some searching in the meantime.

Best Regards,
SH

 

SH asked:

" ... If anyone else here knows for certain what the platoon structure of a light composite company was it would be much appreciated if you could confirm this. ... "

War Establishments

On this page go down to "AIRBORNE RASC",

Airborne services

And then down farther to "Airborne Light Company" for Parachute platoon structure. The "Airborne Light Composite Company" section below this doesn't include Parachute platoons unless I missed it.

Regards ...

 

Yo,

Here's the War Diary entry for April 12th since it's Kenneth Hastings documented "missing" date:

12th April 1945

1 O.R. TOS from 399 Coy, RASC (Inf Bde). 1 O.R. TOS from 398 Coy, RASC. 1 Cpl/RAMC Orderly att to unit from 195 A/L Fd Amb. A skeleton Comp Pl was formed to maintain a Para Bde. Information received that (288472) Lt. GB. Jose. previously reported as missing believed P.O.W. now known to have been taken prisoner after been wounded in both legs, later being repatriated by the Canadians.

There doesn't seem to be anything there that points to Driver Hastings. Lt. G.B. Jose was the glider commander (Note: not a glider pilot) of Chalk 276. Not sure when Lt. Jose was freed ... ? Others on his Hamilcar were captured on the 24th as well. Unfortunately not all the missing are listed in the war diary.

Attached are the "missing" Varsity WD entries, etc. collected in a PDF. Not sure if I caught them all. As for Capt. Lewenhaupt Dvr. Hastings would no doubt have known of him as both were with the paratrooper platoons of 716 L.C. Coy, RASC. According to the short potted history on Paradata no 716th Coy paratroopers dropped on Op Varsity.

Regards ...

 

Hi Chuck,

On varsity some of the RASC para platoons went in by glider on the 12 HQ Hamilcar's.

Agree they would all have known each other.

Good job with the missing entry’s.

BR
SH