does anyone know what royal engineers would of been based at hampstead during ww11

Discussion in 'Royal Engineers' started by tjnzok, Jun 14, 2010.

  1. tjnzok

    tjnzok Junior Member

    hi

    still trying to find my grandad the elusive samuel or Sidney morofsky as previously posted,some new documentation has been discovered,its not alot but there is mention of him serving in the army query royal engineers hampstead surname of lewis. (lewis apparently some of his siblings started calling themselves during the war). we have previously tried to obtain his service records but they were unable to help us,can anyone tell me what regiments were serving out of hampstead,as previously mentioned he was an electrician by trade and served in the landings,we know he came back from the war in 1946,and then disappeared,we now know that prior to the breakout of war he took his three children from my grandmother and placed them in a jewish home in highbury in dec 1938,paid for there keep for 2 weeks and nomore,the lcc subsequently adopted them and he was officially declared husband and father deserter and a warrant for his arrest was issued,in oct 1939!! my grandad has never been found and during my family tree project have been on such a rollercoaster,have united family members all over,but my grandad is still missing!!we imagine he married again and had further children,we know there are more relatives out there..any help much appreciated. thanks
     
  2. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Hi,

    Service Records are your best bet. Did the MoD say why they couldn't help you?

    The Royal Engineers have a rather good website and museum in Kent. I would consider trying them too.

    Regards
    Andy
     
  3. Peter Clare

    Peter Clare Very Senior Member

  4. tjnzok

    tjnzok Junior Member

    hi

    thanks for the replys,i will get onto them in the morning,how can i confirm what regiments of the army were based in hampstead?the mod could not find my grandad service records family name morofsky we also gave them variations at the time,but because we have just unearthed documentation that he deserted his wife and 3 children before the war,we are now assuming he entered the army under a different name,recent documentation from 1946 mentions my grandfather being in the army try royal engineers hampstead under name of lewis,this info was given to l.c.c as they were trying to trace him for deserting his family.
     
  5. Algee

    Algee Very Insignificant Member

    A small lead here,
    103 BD Sec, 5 BD Coy Based at Hamstead, London. Sailed from Southampton on 10th July and disembarked on the 11th July at Arromanches. Based at Coulombs.
    108 BD Sec, 1 BD Coy Based at Hampstead, London. Marshalling area camp D, Southampton. Sailed from Southampton on 5th June 10.35 hrs and disembarked on the 6th June 1945 at Juno Beach.

    BBC - ww2 Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal in WWII

    *BD sec stands for Bomb Disposal Section
     
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  6. LesCM19

    LesCM19 "...lets rock!"

    By 'Hampstead' was that Regent's Park Barracks NW1 or the one up Ordnance Hill NW8 (The King's Troop are leaving there in 2012 to turn it into housing)? Just curious, can't think of anywhere in NW3 except T.A.:)
     
  7. Algee

    Algee Very Insignificant Member

    By 'Hampstead' was that Regent's Park Barracks NW1 or the one up Ordnance Hill NW8 (The King's Troop are leaving there in 2012 to turn it into housing)? Just curious, can't think of anywhere in NW3 except T.A.:)


    From what I know of WW2 BD units it would have been a section of 1 officer, 1 sgt and 30 men in a section and a Coy HQ of 5 officers and 26 men (15 of which could be pioneers) so they would use whatever buildings were available, not necessarily in Barracks. They were also very mobile and would move to wherever the Air Raids were concentrating on.
    If you read The Lonely War by Eric Wakeling it has a first hand account of a BD section commander.
     
  8. KevinBattle

    KevinBattle Senior Member

    Seems to me that dealing with his family problems would have been much less hazardous than defusing UXB's.
    Were Bomb Disposal Units RE or RAOC?
    You could also try contacting Hampstead library local history section either local books or newspaper archives might detail which Army units were there.
     
  9. tjnzok

    tjnzok Junior Member

    hi

    thanks for all the info,i contacted royal engineers at kent today,they couldnt tell me who was based at hampstead,i dont know for sure if my grandad was in the royal engineers the only info i had was he was in the army and served in the landings,the recent documentation suggested to london county council was try royal engineers hampstead, and try the name lewis,thats why i was trying to see who was based there,service record people in scotland said they may be able to help us more if we knew what regiment he was in,i know its a long shot,just cant seem to put this down,i need to uncover my grandad!!all details below

    born samuel morofsky lots of different variations(morofski,morvasky,marfosky) (jewish) 12th april 1912 mile end
    son of louis and sarah morofsky.
    siblings jacob,abraham,wolf.

    he was an electrician

    married rebecca aspis 3rd dec 1933
    they had 3 children david (1934) helen (1936) lionel (1938).they seperated early 1938.

    possibly used surname lewis as some of his brothers did during the war,first name he could of used sidney instead of samuel.

    his last known address was stamford hill, left there july 1st 1939,mainly lived north london kilburn,cricklewood,stoke newington etc.

    thanking in advance.
     
  10. Algee

    Algee Very Insignificant Member

    Seems to me that dealing with his family problems would have been much less hazardous than defusing UXB's.
    Were Bomb Disposal Units RE or RAOC?
    You could also try contacting Hampstead library local history section either local books or newspaper archives might detail which Army units were there.

    BD officers were from all three services, represented by the RE for the Army and Armourer branch for the Air force. Navy Ordnance disposal are currently clearance diver branch but I'm unsure about the WW2 heritage.
    RLC are currently the Army's IED (Improvised Explosive Device) Specialists although there are some RE trained in IEDD at Kineton. The RAF Armourers and CD's from the RN also train there for IEDD

    Responsibilities still lie in specific areas.
    If a bomb is still on an aircraft or on RAF property, then call the RAF, if it's below the low tide mark on a beach or on RN Property you would call the Navy. Anywhere inbetween it's down to the Army
     
  11. bdmalta

    bdmalta Junior Member

    I have some information though I'm not sure it will help. There was a RE bomb disposal unit based at Hampstead during WW2 and there are war diaries (some of which I have used for research). However, unless your relative was an officer, he would not be named in them. As an electrician, his skills would have been useful to bomb disposal, so he may have served with REBD. However, there are no lists available of who served in which unit. The Army Records Office is your only route, I fear, but for that you normally need a full name and indication of where served, with preferably an Army Service number.
     

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