Hi all, I am after some help researching my Grandads experience of WW2. I have his account of the battle of Boulogne but nothing of his majority of service in Burma. I have small detail from a draft letter of his intended for Joanna Lumley during her campaign for Ghurkha veterans. It details "i served in the famous 19th Indian Division, 5th Ghurkhas, 1/6 - 4/6 - 6/6 (Ghurkha rifles)". Can anyone explain what it means and of anyone has any knowledge of what they may already know or where i might be able to find out more? Thank you, Olly.
It's taking a while at the moment, but the first thing you should do is apply for his service records from the MoD - they are the only source. For a full name, date of birth and £30 you will almost certainly get chapter and verse on who he with and when, from that you can work out the where. Assuming Boulogne was 1940, it's not impossible he ended up 'in' the Gurkhas, but it's more likely he was in a British unit in 19 Ind Div alongside the Gurkha battalions listed.
Have a peek at: 19th Indian 'Dagger' Division A current thread on the division. There are just over thirty threads on the division, which can be captured using this when searching Google: "19th indian division" ww2talk.com site:ww2talk.com Only one thread found that mentions a 6th Gurkha unit: Frank Baker Brocklehurst R.A.V.C
There were two battalions of the 6th Gurkha Rifles that served with 19th Indian Division in Burma. The 4th Battalion 6th Gurkha Rifles (4/6th Gurkha Rifles) served under 62nd Indian Brigade and the 1st Battalion 6th Gurkha Rifles (1/6th Gurkha Rifles) served under 64th Indian Brigade. I have the regimental history of the 6th Gurkha Rifles in WWII. What is your grandfathers name? I can see if there is any mention of him in the history.
Hi, thanks for helping. His name was Ronald Morey, dont know rank or service number yet unfortunately. Kind regards, Olly
If he served with the Gurkhas, he was most likely an officer. I am out now. I will check it out when I return home.
I could not find any mention of a Ronald Morey in the list of officers for the 6th Gurkha Rifles 1905-1948. I also checked the 1945 Indian Army list and there was no entry for any Morey or Ronald Morey. I think that you need to obtain a copy of his service record. See the following link. Get a copy of military service records He may have served in another unit in the division. Based on your quote at the start, he mentions the 5th Gurkhas, which did not serve in the division, and the 6/6th Gurkha Rifles, which never existed during the war. If he had been a serving member of a 6th Gurkha Rifles battalion, I think that he would have been aware of which battalion he served with. The only way to clarify his service is to obtain his service records. Once you have them, the forum members will help you interpret them. Good luck in your research. Other members may add to this discussion with more information.
