George William elson.

Discussion in 'Searching for Someone & Military Genealogy' started by The Viking, Feb 26, 2022.

  1. The Viking

    The Viking Active Member

    Good evening all.

    If I could have help or advice on where to find records I have tried the popular sites but I can not find anything

    The lady on the left is my amazing nan and her husband George William Elson born 1924 in Canada. He enlisted in the Army in 1941 at the age of 17 and served with the Governor General Horse Guards and the Armoured Division in the Italian Campaign as a Non-commissioned Officer and Tank Commander so we have been told I have no proof of this.

    He then answered a call to the Priesthood in his later years and joined the church. he passed away in 2017. I think this may be the reason they are no records as I cant find anything on him in the military.

    He isn't my grandfather but I have permissions from is daughter for this post as she is 75 and would love to know more.

    Thank you in advance and any help would be much appreciated :)
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Feb 26, 2022
    travers1940 likes this.
  2. travers1940

    travers1940 Well-Known Member

    Hi

    I'm not Canadian based nor is the Governor Generals Horse Guards my special interest, but here are some ideas from the web, although I suspect you may have already tried some or all of these.

    I presume you or his daughter have tried requesting his records from the Canadian government on this link, with the caveat that they state that some Reserve soldiers records have not survived. Becoming a priest in his later years should not have affected the government retaining his records.
    https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/transparency/atippr/Pages/Access-information-military-files.aspx#tab2a

    If you still can't find any records & GGHG records have survived have you considered if he joined using a different name or dob maybe due to being underage. More common in WW1 than WW2, but worth considering if all else fails.

    Certainly the GGHG main body (Advance party arrived 1 Dec 43) were in Italy from 19 December 1943 (5th Armoured Brigade, part of 5th Armoured Division), until their move to NE Europe on 15 Feb 1945.
    The Governor General's Horse Guards - Wikipedia

    I note there is a GGHG Society
    The Governor Generals Horse Guards Society

    and a GGHG Association which has a chat room & regular newsletter who may post an article or appeal from you or information or would know about any difficulties in obtaining records. I see from here that you are searching in the regiments 200th Anniversary year.
    GGHG Association - Chat Room

    Online newspaper indexes for Canada could help or the local papers in his the home town.

    Travers
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2022
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  3. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Last edited: Feb 27, 2022
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  4. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Viking

    Unfortunately Military members who did NOT die during the war, their records are ACCESS RESTRICTED for 20 years AFTER their death. This means that his complete ww2 records would not be OPEN until 2037.

    Having said that, family members can get “limited data”…….so below is the rules…..and then a link to order his ‘limited’ data on line. His Royal Canadian Legion record above CAN be used to confirm his date of death, and his Service Number is also on that record.

    Important
    • For individuals still living: Personal information cannot be released without the written consent of the individual concerned.
    • For individuals deceased less than 20 years: Limited personal information will be released to an immediate family member (spouse, parent, sibling, child or grandchild) of the individual concerned if proof of relationship and proof of death are provided. Proof of death is not required if the individual died while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces.
    • For individuals deceased more than 20 years: Personal information will be released on an individual deceased for more than 20 years if proof of death is provided. Proof of death is not required if the individual died while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces.
    Please be sure to attach all relevant documents, photocopies if submitted by mail or fax, and electronic copies if submitted online..

    Note 1: The following are examples of documents acceptable as proof of relationship: newspaper obituary, baptismal certificate, marriage certificate, or a full-form birth certificate that indicates parents’ names. A wallet-sized birth certificate is not acceptable. Documents must clearly show the relationship between the service member and the requestor and both names must appear on the document.

    Note 2: The following are examples of documents accepted as proof of death: death certificate, newspaper obituary, funeral notice or photograph of the gravestone.


    Go to the link below, it has a on line document you can download and then submit for his limited records. Fill in the form as best you can, but don’t worry if you don’t have all the info. They just need to confirm the “right man” and you have his full name, his Service Number etc. They will contact you directly if they need more info or need to confirm anything.

    BE ADVISE, this can take MONTHS AND MONTHS (in fact sometimes OVER 1 year) to get the records

    https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/transparency/atippr/Pages/Access-information-military-files.aspx
     

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