Hi All I need a little help [SIZE=12pt]I just received a letter from MOD office stating my Grandfather was only entitled to [/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]WW2 1939-45 STAR + ITALY STAR + DEFENCE + WAR MEDAL[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]I was told by Family Members that he Contracted malaria when he was Fighting in BURMAGH would that stint not entitle him to a Burmagh Star and he also fought with Blair Mayne against the Italians and was in Egypt and Malta and the dodecanese would that entitle him to The Africa Star ?[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]His army no is 6984253 and was with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers then formed in the 5th when he got to England [/SIZE]
Hi Hammy, Was the letter from the MOD medal office? Have you applied for copy service records yet? The info from both should tally, and records will be the way to prove entitlement and confirm one way or another about where your Grandfather served, when and for how long. The dates as well as the location are important to satisfy the criteria particular to each Star.
Hammy Discount completely any thoughts that malaria would have been a deciding factor in the entitlement to any medal. As suggested above, his records will reveal all and you would need them to query any wrongful decision. Didn't know much about the Royal Inskillings so looked them up here: http://www.inniskillingsmuseum.com/history-of-the-inniskilling-fusiliers/ Ron
Hi DBF yes it was from the medal office I'm still waiting for his service records to come through yet.My uncle said he might not have claimed the medals but he was in Burma and had to be rescued by the Gurkha's and they gave him a Gurkha Kukri knife, He was enlisted by Blaire Mayne after that and was in the SAS would they give you details of those movements in hi service record ? He fought with Paddy in the raid at Tamet on 14 December 1941, where aircraft and petrol dumps were destroyed. Ron I know he caught malaria when he was in Burma he was dug in for a week or more before the Gurka's rescued him, He joined the Royal Inskillings in Northern Ireland then when he was shipped to the UK they joined the 5th Infantry and I think he went into the 8th Army with mayne and the the first SAS still gathering as much info as I can from My Uncle, His Brother was Clled Jimmy Hamilton and he got the Victoria Cross and OBE still researching him though they were friends of Blair Mayne, I'm trying to find the insignia my Grandfather wore my uncle said it was dagger with a lightning bolt and 3 drops of blood any info would be great
Hi Hammy Service records from MOD will detail where and when he served and you can work out qualification for each campaign medal from that. Medal entitlement should be noted somewhere in the paperwork and perhaps if they were ever issued. Then, should there be a discrepancy between the information on the service record and that supplied by Medal Office (who usual check the same sources), you can contact them again. (It is this office which deals with unissued medals anyway.) What Ron was saying in relation to your mention of malaria actually relates to qualifying criteria - just because some was in a Theatre at some point does not mean that they were entitled to a campaign medal - it has to be within certain dates. Ron would know - he has explained how he himself fell outside the qualifying criteria for a Star Clasp despite being in the Theatre of operations. So again the service records will be of help to you in sorting it all out. All the best. Start a new thread for each relative, that should help keep things simpler.
Hammy Diane is quite right in mentioning that I have tangled with the authorities, although the query was to do with the award or non award of a Clasp to the Africa Star. It is worth reading if only to understand the complexities of such awards. The posting is actually on this very thread: http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/51086-ww2-campaign-stars-medals-info-thread/?p=598979 Ron
Cheers Ron I will keep you posted how I get on would the service records have details of his monements in the SAS or do I have to contact another department ?
Hammy His service records will show all his movements from one unit to another but NOT his movements within an individual unit. To see the type of info available, have a look in the Members Gallery at my own records but be aware I was fortunate in getting a full set. http://ww2talk.com/forums/gallery/album/5-rons-army-records/ Ron
Hi Ron the Medal Office got back to me today they are going to request my grandfathers records again when I mentioned his SAS service would this be the norm ?
Hammy You need to understand that that my personal experience is limited to applying for and then receiving my own records but your own situation sounds promising and you wil have to just wait and see what gets sent to you. Good luck ! Ron
Hi Ron Got my Grandad's records even noticed that they took the African star away God knows why hard to tell where all he was I have attached a copy of the records of his postings found out he was in SBS the last 2 are marked as unknown would that have been the Burma ???
Perhaps this will explain or help resolve the questions - Medals: campaigns, descriptions and eligibility - GOV.UK TD
H, He's a cut and paste of some element of his service track when he was (presumably) with 2 Skins in 13 Brigade/5th Infantry Division (Thomas Cook)...looks like he went training for SBS and left 2 Skins before they set out for Egypt.. The "unknown destination" is likely to be mainland Italy... 5th Div: "On its return to the United Kingdom, the division was re-equipped before the 13th and 17th Brigades were detached for the invasion of Madagascar in April 1942. The rest of the division went to India, where the units were reunited in August 1942. The division was only in India for a short period, leaving on 20th August 1942 to travel by sea to Iraq. On arrival on the 28th August 1942, it came under command of III Corps in Iraq, later moving to Persia. It left on 31st January 1943 to travel by land through Syria to Egypt,..." best
Dicky see the service casualty record he was granted leave in Egypt and he said he was in Malta during the war ??
Thanks for that info Richard just seemed weird that they put the africa star on and then scored it out he had told us he was in Burma too but have no idea how to prove that to get a burma star ???
If you read the link it states: The Africa Star is awarded to personnel who served in North Africa, Malta or Egypt between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943 If you read the service record the first date he was in that region was 24 Oct 1943 - so he was not eligible TD
Medals: campaigns, descriptions and eligibility - GOV.UK The Burma Star is awarded for operational service in Burma between 11 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. Those serving in Bengal and Assam in India and China, Hong Kong, Malaya or Sumatra between other specified dates may also qualify. To apply for the Burma Star, you must have: 1 day of operational service in the army 1 day of operational service as ground crew in the RAF 1 operational sortie as aircrew in the RAF 1 day afloat in operational areas in the Royal Navy already qualified for the 1939-45 Star The colours of the ribbon represent the sun, British and Commonwealth forces. If you also qualify for the Pacific Star, you will only be awarded the first star earned. You will then receive a clasp with the title of the second star earned which is worn on the ribbon of the first. TD
what happened after 24th October 1943?.. if he had stayed with 2 Skins, I think he would have got an Africa Star. It was the fact he transferred out for training that probably initially "confused" the powers that be..clearly he "suffered" with the rest of the battalion with the Paiforce but then left them..
