I have my Father's Service Record but, as he spoke little about his war service, am having difficulty understanding it. My Father enlisted in Glasgow in October, 1939 in the Royal Engineers. The entries of his service record, in which I am paricularly interested, are as follows: 505 Field Coy - proceeded for embarkation on 28/01/40 - disembarked B.E.F. 29/01/40. 1. Depot Batt. Posted from 501 Field Coy 30/04/40. A Coy 2 (FB) DBRE. Arrived from "M" Co/DBRE. 13/06/40. Can anyone advise where he was and what he might have been doing in the period from 29/01/40 to 13/06/40? He was a sapper throughout this period. I would greatly appreciate any help anyone could give me. Thanks Nica
Nica, that period was war in France/Flanders/Belgium - ending with the extraction of hundreds of thousands of British soldiers from Dunkirk in late May/Early June 1940. 29/01/40 - disembarked - he arrived in France with the British Expeditionary Force - went with the 505 Field Company DBRE - I think is Depot Battalion Royal Engineers. This is him being moved around between different company's If you scan and post his soldier records some of the experts will be able to help you more - they will help to identify exactly which War Diaries you need for which company's and when, which will give you details about where he was and what they were doing. Wayne
Sorry to wet your appetite and run, I have the company war diary from Jan to May 1940 and it ends on the 29th May with them in what looks like a general retreat to Dunkirk whilst there current position on the 29th is Poperinghe. I suspect further clues may be in this war diary: WO 166/3771 505 Company Royal Engineers 1939 Sept.-Dec., 1940 June - Aug.
505 Field Company went to France with 50th Division in January 1940 (and stayed with them through until 1944). I'm puzzled by the 'posted from 501 Field Company' reference as they were part of 1st (London) Infantry Division which was only stationed in the UK. The only reference that I can find in the BEF establishment to 'battalion' within RE is to Stevedore Battalions. When did he go back to the UK ?
Thanks to everyone for the information. I note that on enlistment on 14 October, 1939, my Father was remustered with 501 Coy as Draughtsman (Arch) AIII. The next entries in his service record are as above. The last entry above was A Coy 2 (FB) DBRE. Arrived from "M" Co/DBRE. 13/06/40. With the addition of "Chatham". The following entries are as follows:. A Coy 2 D.B.R.E. Posted to O.C. Gaeles(?) Camp, Kilmarnock. 23/06/40. A Coy 2 D.B.R.E. Posted to B Coy 2 D.B.R.E. 21/08/40. Chatham. B Coy 2 (FB) D.B.R.E. Posted to No 3 (L of C) D.B.R.E. 29/08/40. Chatham D Coy 3 (L of C) Posted overseas 05/10/40. Do any of these futher entries shed any more light on his whereabouts during the first six months of 1940? Again, thanks for your help so far. I have already learned a lot. Nica
It might be useful to see a scan of the record. I'd hazard a guess that as an architectural draughtsman, he was seconded to 505 Field Company drawing pill boxes and fortifications which the British battalions were so busy constructing along the 'Gort Line' during the period of the phony war...only to leave them all behind when they advanced into Belgium on 10th May. 505's diary will tell you what they were doing and where (and probably how concerned they were by shortages of sand, gravel and tipper lorries).
Thanks for your reply. You have already been v helpful. (Had no luck attaching service record but I typed out the info above.) Nica
