78th British (Battleaxe) Division

Discussion in 'Searching for Someone & Military Genealogy' started by rinaston08, Feb 2, 2014.

  1. bexley84

    bexley84 Well-Known Member

    Lorna,

    ouch - doesn't look right at all..did you pay £30/£35 for that ? I see you got this in 2000 so things might have been different then

    Where did the "getting wounded in Bologna" come from ?

    An expert on what you might now expect from Kew will tell you what is missing - to give you an idea, my Dad's service records are about 50 pages in total.

    My Dad was a sales assistant and 5ft 4 inches tall and 111 pounds in weight on enlistment so that's something our fathers had in common - small men (says the 5ft 6 inch giant).

    best
     
  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Reapply for them as now you'll get copies of the actual documents.
    If you still live at the address on that letter I suggest removing the attachment from the foum .
     
  3. rinaston08

    rinaston08 Member

    Hi Richard

    Yes I paid £25 for it. The "getting wounded in Bologna" came from my Mum, who unfortunately is no longer with us. Is the MOD the only place I can go for the rest of it, as I don't particularly want to pay for it twice! Thanks for taking a look.

    Kind regards

    Lorna.
     
  4. rinaston08

    rinaston08 Member

    Hi Owen

    I had problems getting it on to the site, how do I delete it?

    Many thanks

    Lorna
     
  5. bexley84

    bexley84 Well-Known Member

    The records office are now in Glasgow - the only place to get hold of them. If you kept the receipt, there might be a way of appealing for a cost waiver or a reduced fee.

    You would think, even in this summarised form, any wounding in April 1945 would be highlighted (wouldn't it ?) - he was discharged in 1947, well after the period of action so he must have been "fit enough" to sustain himself as a private for two post war years.

    Here's the link for Glasgow..you can, at least, speak to them, if you wanted.
    https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records

    good luck.
     
  6. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    I've removed it for you.
    If you rescan it, make sure you put a piece of paper over your address.
     
  7. rinaston08

    rinaston08 Member

    Thanks very much Owen I really appreciate it.

    Kind regards

    Lorna.
     
  8. Tony56

    Tony56 Member Patron

    Lorna,
    You may find the attached overview of 36 Infantry Brigade of interest. Bear in mind it is very high level so the dates will not necessarily tie up precisely for every regiment.

    View attachment 36 Inf Bde.pdf
     
  9. Staffsyeoman

    Staffsyeoman Member

    Good luck with that (sincerely) as the records are actually stored by a private contractor who charge the MOD to retrieve them. The charge to the public is actually now £30 I think. But the contractors charge MOD more than that. So next time there is a complaint about the cost...
     
  10. sanchez

    sanchez Patron Patron

    hi all'
    im currently reading "monte cassino ten armies in hell" by peter caddick-adams and he infers that freyberg was thinking of prolonging the 3rd battle by sending in the reserves (78th division) against the 1st fallschirmjager and it was only the facts that if there was a breakthrough by the new zealanders there would be no reserve to exploit it and that he also had pressure from his superiors to end the battle. does anyone know if there is any truth that the battleaxe were nearly deployed or was it just one of the very many options freyberg would have looked at .it also says that he only used the battleaxe division to hold the castle at cassino does anyone know what regiments of the 78th were holding the castle .
    cheers
    dave
     
  11. Humphrca

    Humphrca Member

    Hello All

    I've been researching my father (1892072 Cpl HUMPHRIES CA ( (Clem ) Royal Engineers) for a number of years. Although I've got his badges and medals, I only just realised that he was in the "Battleaxes".

    He landed at Bone North Africa 12 Dec 1942 and was discharged from S.Veit Austria circa Feb 1946.

    He was attached to the 561 Army Field Company RE.

    I've been unable to find any info on his Coy., apart from a list of places he 'visited'

    Any information would be appreciated.

    I've got some photos of the Coy and his section If anyone is interested.

    Thanking you in anticipation

    C. Alan Humphries
     

    Attached Files:

  12. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    Alan.

    If you know his Engr Coy, you need to link up with drew5233 and ask him to get you the War Diaries for that Company from the National Archives.

    He runs a really good service.

    Regards

    Frank
     
  13. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    Alan.

    The Engr Coys in 78 Inf Div were:

    214 Fd Coy RE
    237 Fd Coy RE
    256 Fd Coy RE
    281 Fd Park Coy RE

    561 Fd Coy RE were part of HQ Eighth Army Troops RE. These Cys were controlled directly by HQ Eighth Army and may have been sent to support 78 Inf Div at some point. These Coys tended to be generalists who were alloated to road building, road maintenance.

    FdeP
     
  14. Humphrca

    Humphrca Member

    Thanks for the Info.

    Alan
     
  15. 4jonboy

    4jonboy Daughter of a 56 Recce

  16. Humphrca

    Humphrca Member

    Lesley
    Here are some of his docs.

    The last photo is his 561 Field Coy RE Chuiseforte, Italy
    The word doc is a list of where he "visited"

    Alan
     

    Attached Files:

  17. Humphrca

    Humphrca Member

    Forgot

    His badges.

    What was the 49 for ??????



    Alan
     

    Attached Files:

  18. bexley84

    bexley84 Well-Known Member

    Alan,

    The service record, of course, summarises - about 7 lines to cover 2 1/2 years of service from Dec 1942 in North Africa to July 1945 in Austria (8 weeks away for hospitalisation in late 1943)...but v.v.v pleasing to see the MiD. You should be very proud.

    May I ask where you got the list of (familiar for men of 78th Div/1st/8th Army) locations that he "visited" - were they amongst his papers?

    By the way, although some of the flashes might have been picked up/exchanged along the way (shamrock), plenty of Welshmen supported and/or served with 38 (Irish) Brigade... Mervyn Davies and Ted Griffiths are two of the names that come to mind.

    best
     
  19. bexley84

    bexley84 Well-Known Member

    Alan,

    You might want your own thread for your research tips?

    Chiuseforte is on that rather nice road from Udine to Tarvisio, much travelled in early May 1945.

    best
     
  20. 4jonboy

    4jonboy Daughter of a 56 Recce

    He was only posted to 214 Field Company in January 1946 - so that explains the Battleaxe patch.

    Crusaders shield and sword is 1st Army for North Africa
    http://www.petergh.f2s.com/flashes.html

    (I should know others but cannot bring them to mind at the moment)
     

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