Hi, My name is Maggie and I do have some information regarding my dad from the 2nd World War. I had to research this as he would never talk about what happened to him. He was injured on the 21st May 1940 with shrapnel wounds to his shoulder and legs. I am led to believe this was in La Bassee but not really sure. He suffered all his life from the shoulder injury and often got blood poisoning. Funnily enough I have a copy of a letter from the surgeon from Bartholomews Hospital dated the 11/11/1940 where he underwent a long recovery. How weird is that. I even have copies ( I gave all the originals to my brother) of the shipping label etc with blood stains. I would like at some stage put the photos of the information I have on this site. It would be nice to chat to anyone who had a relative in the same regiment.
Welcome to the forum. Might be worth starting a thread in the 1940 section of the forum as that is where all the nerds hang out who can supply you with info on that campaign.
Welcome Maggie. Have you applied for your Dads service records yet? Find my past military records are free this remembrance weekend and your Dads name appears twice in the casualty lists findmypast.co.uk
I was referring to Andy , Rich et al that frequent the 1940 area (I hang out there too) 1940 ''The Campaign in Belgium, France and Holland' - 1940 and all that - Same war, but almost a different era.''
No problem Maggie. Download the info to your computer when you find it and watch out for the auto renew subscription box or they might start charging you. If you are going to spend money, pay the £30 to get his official service record from the MOD and upload it here for interpretation and help. FMP & Ancestry always have occasional free weekends so don't waste your money there and defo do not use Forces War Records.
Thanks for that amazing info, just had a look at the record and took a screen shot of the casualty list it was quite emotional to see his name there. I will write to the MOD because I want to know if my dad got a medal at all for being in the war. Don't know if they gave them out in those days to privates. I am and ex military wife and also worked for the MOD but don't know much about the 2 world wars but I do know how grateful I am for all those who gave their lives so we could live in a free country.
I do have his signing on papers and noticed he put wrong date of birth on there, don't know why. I also have the letter from the surgeon to my grandmother regarding his injuries, and his field medical card which is blood stained, so I have bits and pieces. The only thing my dad ever told us about the war was when he was injured he said he was taken to a convent or Priory and given the last rites because they thought he was going to die. He also said about being found in a field where poppies were growing......not sure about that though but would love some more information. Also how do I put photos and documents on to the site? Thanks
Hi Maggie, just press the Upload a File button. You shouldn't have any problems if the file/photo size is under 2Mb (megabytes). Looking forward to seeing your collection.