Hi everyone,let me introduce myself my name is Bill,I found this amazing site by shear luck,as i am no computer boffin just started to learn to be honest,anyhow i thought i would try find out some information about my late farther William Howe,he lived in Penshaw tyne&wear all his life,as like most Prisoners he never spoke much about his ordeal there, all i no about him was he was in the Durham Light Infantry, i think he was taking prisoner at Dunkirk, i no he was in stalag 1vc as i have a group photo of him along with one of his mates David Nicholson,also from Penshaw,he worked in the mines in Poland i think and i don't no if he was in any other camps he was Prisoner up until the end of the war,sorry i haven't much to go on so any help would be much appreciated. Bill
Hello, You need to try and find out what battalion of the DLI (Durham Light Infantry) he was in as there was six battalions of DLI in France, 1940. I have all six battalion war diaries from 1940. If you want to do some serious research you should apply for a copy of his service records from the army. The link below will give you all the info you need. Army Personnel Centre - British Army Website Regards Andy Ps I would edit the title and add DLI and PoW to attract the experts from those fields.
Hi Bill and welcome to the forum. Great advice from Andy, get a copy of your Father's Service Record. It will cost you £30 but will tell you a great deal. Obviously as he was a POW there might not be much between capture and release but it might give a POW number which you can research with the Red Cross. The record will tell you all about his pre-capture service and that, together with Andy's War Diary info will be a goldmine. As you know his POW camp I would also suggest you start researching that online. If you get a chance please try to upload any photos you have, putting a face to a name makes research somehow more interesting. Best of luck mate, keep us informed. Mike
cheers to you both for your quick reply, ill send off for his records,one thing i forgot to mention he was in the Territorials before going to war.
Billfish4853 Welcome aboard ! If you act on the advice given above I promise you wonderful days of research ! Ron
Bill, I suspect that these are the POW details for your father and his friend. ADM199 might be able to shed some further light on both men. Name: W. Howe Rank: Private Army Number: 4453285 Regiment: Durham Light Infantry POW Number: 3887 Camp Type: Stalag Camp Number: IV-C Camp Location: Bystrice, Czech Republic Name: D. T. Nicholson Rank: Lance Corporal Army Number: 4454637 Regiment: Durham Light Infantry POW Number: 3886 Camp Type: Stalag Camp Number: IV-C Camp Location: Bystrice, Czech Republic Out of interest their POW numbers are concurrent.
thank you Pill,this does sound like them, its coincidence that thou their POW numbers are concurrent,but with this bit of help i may be able to further research
just learnt today from a relative on farther side and he said he was in the 9th battalion.sending off for his service records tomorrow.
Bill, Hello and welcome to the forum. I have read the posts with interest and wish you well with your research. National Archives link. The National Archives | The Catalogue | Full Details | WO 224/13 Stalag IVC Regards Tom It certainly sounds like you are on the right track.
Long shot I know but I'm one of David Nicholson's grandsons and have started to learn what my Grandad went through. I know little about his capture he always said "couldn't run fast enough" and that was it. I was hoping that this message gets to billfish4853 as I would love to see the picture he refers to. Here's hoping
Hi Andy Welcome to the forum - it looks as though bill.... hasnt been here recently. Perhaps in the meantime you can apply here - Requests for information about people held during the Spanish Civil War or the Second World War: Quarterly limit reached TD
Welcome to the forum, Andy. Send Bill a private message, as this should result in him getting an e-mail telling him someone has posted on his thread. It's still a bit pot luck as Bill may not have lodged his e-mail or changed it since, but if you don't try try you won't find out... if you need instructions on how to do this just let us know. Have you had a look at this site: http://durhamlightinfantry.webs.com/those-who-proudly-served-2 Jim, who runs the site, used to be a member here. Excellent bloke (even though he supports Sunderland - I'm Toon), who will help you if he can. Say 'hello' from me! Best, Steve.
Cheers TD and Steve, thank you for the welcome and direction. Sorry Steve, i'm a Sunderland fan too (dad and Grandad influence)
Nobody's perfect, Andy... Believe it or not, Sunderland are my second favourite team. Good luck with your search. Do get in touch with Jim and say 'hello' from me to him. Come back and tell us how you get on! If your Grandad was 9th Bn Durham Light Infantry, you may want to have a look at the book 'The Gateshead Gurkhas' (Harry Moses), which will give you some background on what your Grandad did before being taken PoW. Keep in touch... Best, Steve.
Gents, thanks again for the pointer to Jim (Steve - he sends his regards back - he also said you're a "Good bloke for a Mag "). He was able to send me 4 records of my grandad, him on a missing report, then POW (previously missing) then 2 around the time of his release. He was also able to fill me on the events around his capture which was both amazing in terms of knowledge but at the same time unimaginable as I try and picture the scene as a group of men who were building an airstrip had to defend themselves against the 8th Panzers with rifles. He did highlight there is a gap in his record as he was captured on the 20th May 1940, yet Stalag IV-C wasn't opened till Feb the following year. He mentioned "an enquiry to Drew on WW2 Talk to see if your Grandfather filled in a PoW Questionaire" might help - I am going to see if there is anything on the Red Cross too as highlighted above. Do either of you know who Drew is? I shared the details with my Dad, who had no idea of what went on, but he does know of Bill Howe and his dad William, so hoping he can reach out via relatives to see if the picture can be tracked down.
Andy, Jim's not bad for a Mackem! Sounds to me like your Grandad was not 9th Bn, but more likely 1st Bn Tyneside Scottish; which were the duplicate or second line of the 9th Bn Durham Light Infantry. Drew is up there at Message # 2 in this thread. He masquerades these days as a Yorkshireman (Leeds), but actually hails from a place in 'Sarrf Landon' called 'Catfood' or similar. I think it's like Peckham without Del Boy, Rodney and Trigger. Be careful... Seriously, Andy (Drew) is our 1940 expert (there are a few actually, but Andy champions that place). Best, Steve.
Surprised no one has mentioned it but have you applied to the Red Cross for his POW records? They've started processing a limited number of inquiries every quarter so you need to be fast - the April batch is already full but sooner or later you'll have a list of all the camps he was in from capture to repatriation. Requests for information about people held during the Spanish Civil War or the Second World War: Quarterly limit reached.