Did any of your family serve during WW2; if so what did they do?

Father: tank driver with 24th Lancers and then 3RTR. Went through all that (D-Day to the end) without so much as a scratch but fell out of the back of a lorry a few weeks after the War ended and broke his arm. Must have been quite a party?!

Mum: Nurse in a UK hospital that took in both Allied and Axis casualties. Claim to fame: took an X-Ray of Guy Gibson's ankle and used to walk his dog.

 

My grandfather, Theodore A. Tauser, was one of the first men in his hometown of Annapolis Maryland to volunteer after Pearl Harbor. He was in his 30's with a wife and child and didn't have to go, but go he did. He was in the USNCB (Seabees), but when his unit was sent overseas he was left behind because he had specialized skills they needed for training recruits. He spent the whole war stateside, much to his regret. One of his wife's brothers, my great-uncle Jimmy, was in the navy. He was blown over the side of his ship into the water by a Japanese bomb hit, and the family story was that he was badly shaken up mentally as a result. My cousin Bucky signed up with the Marines at the age of 16; he was shot through the throat on Iwo Jima, but survived. One of my father's cousins served in the tank corps until he was killed near Sfax in the Tunisian Campaign.

 

Paternal grandfather brought his young family to England from Netherlands in late 1930's. He was a market gardener (and foreign national) so in reserved occupation. Interestingly I always wondered why we never had pictures of my fathers childhood, but due to regulations they were forbidden to own a camera. My fathers family therefore were nearly all in Occupied Holland during the war, my great aunt assisting resistance with message carrying and supplying food to downed aircrew. Her brother, my great uncle was an engineer in the Dutch East Indies, and as a civiliaan was captured by the Japanese. He was interned in a British POW camp. His wife, an Indonesian woman and 2 small children were imprisioned in a ladies camp, where 1 of the children died. My father remembers as a child seeing Hull Docks being bombed.
My maternal grandfather was also in reserved occupation, regional admin for the Ministry of Food, and I believe did give the authorisation for Harrogate's historic Stray to be 'dug for victory'.
My ex wifes father and uncle both were Royal Artillary, possibly Territorials, served in France, evacuated from Dunkirk and I believe served in Italy and ended the war in Austria
~ sorry all if but a little sketchy.
Finally.... although not a relation, I was at a dinner the last week sitting next to an elderly gentleman I have known for a few years, who suddenly stated he was sorry for being quiet, but it was this period in 1945 that he was flying in a Swordfish, spotting for the USS Texas during the landings on Iwo Jima, when they were shot at by a Japanese plane, the bullets only missing the cockpit because the pilot stalled the plane deliberately. He doesn't sleep much during this week. He then said he did the same job over Okinawa, and his ship, HMS Illustrious I think he said, was hit by a kamikaze. I am going to try and get him to talk about all of this for history, perhaps via the IWM. Obviously it is still very hard for him to talk about it.

 

My Great Uncle on my mother's side came from a long line of military men. He was in the RCAF for the Snowbirds I think and he died 1944. Another Great Uncle was a American G.I. who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. We have a book with his picture of him in it, he is looking into a car on the side of a road. I've tried to find the picture online but eh, no luck.

 

My father served as anti-tank gunner in North Africa, captured at Ruin Ridge 27/7/42, taken POW to Italy. Escaped camp with many others early Sept 1943 in the Vercelli area, and headed to Switzerland, crossing the alps to arrive 4 Oct 1943, having been helped along the way by brave Italian civilians, partisans, and smugglers. I am researching now, and have been for a year, to prepare a compilation of the stories of men who were alongside him 1943, hopefully to be published.
His brother, my uncle, served in BOrneo and Malaysia with the purple commandos.

 

Mum was in the WAAF, her first husband was in the REME - he died just after the war following injuries he suffered in service. My dad was in the Home Guard as he worked down the local pit

 

my uncle,thomas stanley warwick,1st airbourne was a gunner anti tank artillery he was killed in hartenstein in arnhem

 

my uncle FRANK served with the 8th army in the desert .blown up im a bren-gun carrier .shattered both legs ,, invalided out ..walked with 2 sticks for the rest of his life ...

 

2nd Cousin, James Johnson Sharrock, Glider Pilot Regiment.

Jim was killed at Arnhem on the 22 September 1944. He was named after his uncle - James Johnson Roberts of the Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment who was killed at the battle of the Somme on the 13 November 1916.

Thankfully his mother did not have to suffer the loss of her son as she had her brother. She had died in 1935 when Jim was just 10.

 

my father was in RAf - attached is a story you might like :-

 

my father was in RAf - attached is a story you might like :-

Lovely story.... Fate taking control as it often does.

 

Father TA 5/7th Hampshires POW 43 to 45 fought at sidi nsir
Grandfather was a fire watcher
Mother worked in welworthys in Lymington
4 uncles served in various campaigns one was in India
one was SIB and one was a cook who lost his eye in an assault boat crossing of the Rhine

 

My Dad was a medic in the 186th General Hospital, and then the 805th Hospital Center. I've just begun piecing together some of his exploits and hope to possibly find a link to his past on this site. I know that not long after he hit the beach at Normandy, his good friend and fellow medic took one to the head not eight feet from him. I believe he thought he would never make it through the day, but he just kept helping whomever he could. Obviously he did make it, enabling me to write this today! Note: He only spoke breifly about his service, so I only know what I was told from others. Any info will be eternally appreciated.

 

Peter sgt 2 nz ef, Egypt, Libya, Greece, Crete, wia, transferred to RNZAF cactus, green island, end of conflict, Rabul

George PVT 2 nz ef, Egypt Libya KIA

Gordon PVT 2 nz ef, egipt Libya Greece KIA

Graham PVT 2 nz ef, egipt Libia KIA

Sidney empire training, FS RNZAF RAAF canida, india KIA ( imphal)

Harry FS RAAF WO Egypt KIA

Harry FS RAAF France, BoB , mailta KIA

henry PO RNZAF France BoB, Minsk RAAF KIA

Emry PO RNZAF france BoB, Egypt, Stalingrad KIA

MY father, Korea Malaya

ME, forklands ( mainland) Afghanistan 88, Lebanon, Royal Thai border police 94-97, security contracts until 2008, now unemployable.

 

Grand father 5th W.A Light Bty 81st Div, later 2nd W.A Light Bty 82nd Div Burna

His brothers one work for Bolton Paul, another in the R.N

Other Grandfather Reserve occupation lock smith. his brother stoker in the R.N sunk 3 times.

Another great uncle was a sgt in the 23rd Hussars married a German lass at the end of the war.

My auntie Marg her father was KIA in Wellington Bombers

 

That's granddad middle row on the left during mobilisation in 1940.

 

Mother - Women's Land Army (briefly) and ATS.
Father - Commander in the Fleet Air Arm

 

Grandfather - RAF ground gunner in North Africa/Greece/Crete/Iraq
Uncle - Royal Navy in Med and Atlantic
Uncle - Royal Navy in Pacific
Uncle - Blackwatch in France, 8th Army, Sicily, D-Day, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany
Uncle - Home Guard
Uncle - Medical corps in South & North Africa
Cousin - 1st battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers
Grandmother - Live in Cook for lady Montgomery (Monty's mum)

and a few others that don't come to mind

 

My grandad who served with the gunners (efficiency medal being repaired )



My uncle who served with 1st SBS (picture of family recieveing notice he was POW and another of him on the run in Italy)




My great uncle Reggie, sadly KIA over Holland. He was part of a lancaster crew


and my great grandad served in the uk, i believe he was a Warrant officer in charge of a training establishment. He recieved the defence medal but im still to find out all the details. (picture is Great grandad Moss with his son Bill (above) on his knee. He also had an eventfull time in France in the first World War)

 

The only two photos i have of my grandfather.

one with the RWAFF the other in 1957 in Cyprus while serving with the prison service at Pyla detention camp.