H Force

Discussion in 'Royal Signals' started by clivefarmer, Nov 17, 2015.

  1. clivefarmer

    clivefarmer Member

    I am researching a signaller Dennis Taylor 2586957 . His records show 30/6/1943 'moved Egypt to H Force ' . I can find 2 references to H Force , one was a group of POWs sent to work on the Burma railway ,which is clearly not relevant , the other is a naval unit in the Mediterranean .. Is it likely that an army signaller would serve on a warship ? . I have found that during the invasion of Sicily (Dennis Taylor was wounded on the first day incidentally) Navy ships were firing on German/Italian positions so clearly there would have been a lot of signals traffic between the ships and invasion forces . Can anyone help please ?

    Clive Farmer
     
  2. Lotus7

    Lotus7 Well-Known Member

    Hi and welcome to the forum Clive, good luck with your research


    David
     
  3. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Hello Clive and welcome

    if you could attach his service records to your thread I am sure forum members will be able to assist further


    regards
    Clive
     
  4. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    As I recall - seems to me that "H" force was a Naval Unit which took on board some Army signallers and Anti aircraft gunners prior to the Invasion of Sicily - and

    were absorbed into the Navy at a later date - so NOT a fighting unit such as Porterforce later in Italy…..

    Cheers
     
    brithm likes this.
  5. clivefarmer

    clivefarmer Member

    My namesake suggested I should provide copies of Dennis Taylor's service record - 4 jpegs attached . They are full of acronyms and abbreviations and difficult to follow . I am especially interested in the 'H Force ' reference on jpeg 3 , but comments on any of the entries would be greatly appreciated .

    Clive Farmer
     

    Attached Files:

  6. Steve Mac

    Steve Mac Very Senior Member

    Hello Clive, welcome to the forum.

    I recall that we researched this question for another member of the forum two or three years ago and it also involved another signals bod.

    The 'H' we determined stood for 'Husky', as in Operation Husky - the invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943.

    Whether these men were part of a 'combined operations unit', as Tom suggests, I do not know. He would know better than me, as he served in that theatre... There were combined ops units involved in the D-Day landings less than a year later, but these were manned by Navy signals ratings working on land with Royal Artillery officers in a Forward Observation role and calling in naval gun fire.

    Best,

    Steve.
     
  7. clivefarmer

    clivefarmer Member

    Hi Steve many thanks for that .

    Transfer to Operation Husky would fit well .He was in Egypt at that time and the transfer was noted on 30th June , ten days before the invasion (he was wounded on the first day) . Ten days seems a bit short for training for a seaborne landing but maybe he was actually transferred earlier and the record entry followed later .

    Your symbol is, I think , that of the 50th Infantry Division , Dennis Taylor's records show he was transferred to that Division in Dec 1944. I haven't researched that period of his service yet but I am guessing it was in the Holland /Belgium area . Any comments you could make about that period would be welcome

    best wishes Clive
     
  8. Steve Mac

    Steve Mac Very Senior Member

    Hello Clive,

    The 50th (Northumbrian) Division was at that time the most battle hardened and experienced British Infantry division of WWII.

    On 30 November 1944, whilst it was on The Island in The Netherlands, it was announced that it would be returned home as a Training Cadre. The old boys that had survived the fighting with (possibly) the BEF, in the Western Desert, Tunisia, Sicily, D-Day and NW Europe, would form that cadre.

    Two battalions, 9th Bn Durham Light Infantry and 2nd Bn Devonshire Regiment, would be transferred out of 50 Div to the 131st Infantry Brigade, 7th Armoured Division. These would largely be made up of men selected by the Battalion OC's and their boot strength were those not forming part of the cadre returning home. Those of the other seven battalions and Divisional troops not returning home as part of the cadre or transferring to the 9th Bn Durham Light Infantry or 2nd Bn Devonshire Regiment, were transferred to other Divisions.

    Conversely, two battalions from the 131st Infantry Brigade, 7th Armoured Division, were transferred to the 50 Div cadre, as were some men from other units who had served overseas a long time. It may be that Dennis was in this category?!?

    I'll have alook at his service record and see if there is any useful information in this respect, in which case I will revert!

    Best,

    Steve.

    Edit: He actually joined 50 Div Signals on 26 November 1943 in the UK - both 50 Div and he had just returned to the UK from Sicily. He remained with 50 Div until 8 December 1944 when he was transferred to the 53rd (Welsh) Division, on the break up of 50 Div.

    There is a thread on the forum about a 50 Div Signals man (actually 1st Bn Hampshire Regiment Signals Platoon) that transferred to 15th (Scottish) Division at this time - the name of the soldier was 'Holley'; link: http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/30929-looking-for-more-information-on-my-uncle/?hl=holley
     
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  9. Bronni7

    Bronni7 New Member

    Hi,

    I am currently writing up my fathers stories.... he wrote these at my prompting as he told his stories often in the latter years of his life, and I knew we would lose them if he didn't write them. I have delayed tackling this project for many years. (He died in 1998)
    I found this handwritten note amongst his papers yesterday: "H Force was the intelligence unit covering underground operations in Italy, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia and Greece"

    As regards the link to the British navy, I am copying these extracts from his notes:
    "Freddy troop were in the desert near Baggush when a message came through for Freddy troop to go to Eritrea. When they arrived at Alexandria it was discovered that this order had been a mistake as it had been intended for Freddy troop of the British Royal Horse Artillery. General Freyberg had issued instructions that no New Zealand division was to be detached and sent into action until the entire division was intact. The NZ 2nd Echelon (the 5th Brigade) was in England stationed against the threat of an invasion. So they were swapped for an English battery just arrived from India, who in turn was transferred to Eritrea. This left NZ Freddy troop (about 80 men) in Alexandria, where they took over the guns belonging to the departed English battery and the defence of Alexandria harbour.
    The Royal Navy supplied Marine guards and signals, and they found themselves under naval command.

    My fathers name was John Richardson and he was at the time just mentioned the captain of Freddy troop.
    He was captured late 1941, and imprisoned in Italian prison hospitals and camps. (Bari, Parma, Camp 82, Modena, Altamura).

    The code he had established with the British naval officer at Alexandria was used by the underground in Italy to contact him, initially while he was a prisoner in Camp 82.
     

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