Hello, I am looking for some help in translating through my grandfathers WWII service record. His name was Thomas Reid from County Londonderry, N.Ireland. He signed up with the Highland Light Infantry in July 1936. Transferred to the Royal Irish Fusiliers in June 1937 and then transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps (25th Dragoons) in Feb 1941. For some reason the service record on goes into detail after he transferred into the dragoons. I've attached the two sheets i need help with Thanks to anyone who can help. It will be much appreciated. Mark
Hello Mark, You are right about the service records only covering the time after transfer to the 25th Dragoons on 2 February 1941, albeit at the top of the 2nd page it shows that he disembarked India on 12 February 1938. It looks like you only have part of his service history. I wonder if the Army lost his earlier history; hence the reference to the date he arrived in India? Did they send his attestation, etc. from his time of signing on? Regardless, you will need to get back in touch with the Records Office about this and find out if there are any other service records, or reasons why not?! Best, Steve.
Hi Steve, Thanks for your reply. In regards to the service and casualty forms (B108), they were the only two sheets that went into the specifics of his service. There were other forms such as the B200 , which ive attached in this reply, that make reference to his time in the HLI and RIF, also the section on service home and abroad. I have all the papers on his attestation, i actually even have the original from my Grandads things. I will get in contact with the MOD to see if theres anything they've left out. Can you or anyone else help with the papers i've attached. I can make out most of the writing but alot of it needs explained to me, not just the abbreviations but the military language as well. Thanks, Mark
Hello Mark, Most of it is just army jargon for authorities/orders, etc. The main bits appear to be that he was in: 1. UK (Home) until 11 Feb 1938 2. Malaya - 12 Feb 1938 to 25 Oct 1938 - Ist Bn Irish Fusiliers (Fusilier) 3. India - 26 Oct 1938 to 4 Dec 1943 - Ist Bn Irish Fusiliers, then 25th Dragoons (Trooper) from 12 Feb 1941. During this period he underwent a lot of training, gaining qualifications. At Sialkot (?) from 3 Feb 1941, attached to Glous Dhaku (?) from 18 Sept 1941, at Risulpur (?) from 7 April 1942. 4. Entered Theatre of Operations i.e. in the Field - 5 Dec 1943 to 25 April 1944 - 25th Dragoons (Calcutta) - actually in Field from the 21 Aug 1943 but training for just over 3 months. 5. UK (Home) - 26 April 1944 to 25 March 1946 - Embarked for UK on SS P.U. in Bombay having qualified on time served overseas for rotation home. Home service for the duration (Catterick, N Yorks). 6. Thereafter a reservist for a couple of years. NB. He gave blood on 15 July 1944, blood group 'O'. Best, Steve.
Majones - Steve makes the point that he did lots of training and one course he did was "Driving and Maintenace" D&M - plus he was 2nd in the Mathematics course - which would put him above what a normal infantrymans qualifications were at that tim - hence the transfer to the RAC and the Dragoons - BUT - he was then regraded to A2- which appeared to put a crimp into further active service as by that time he has done 8 years service - an old soldier in fact - so base wallahs jobs for him and finally released onto the "Y" list ( unemployed) and not the usual Z(T) reserve available for recall - he had done enough . Cheers
Thanks again Steve and Tom. It appears from wikipedia that Sialkot, now in Pakistan on the border with India, was under British rule during the war. Similarly, Risalpur was under British control at the time and according to wikipedia, 14/20th Hussars were garrisoned for two years at Risalpur until 1933. The Royal Horse Artillery were also stationed at Risalpur. Risalpur cantt is also known for its good quality education institutes. By 1940, Risalpur had become both a training and an operational base. During the Second World War, Risalpur became the main fighter conversion base. Going by this, would it be fair to say that these were the locations for his training with the RAC? I was also under the impression from his war stories that he drove tanks. Would these DM qualifications back up that story or would it be more of logistical support driving? Also, was his period of operational engagement limited to the times stated for theatre of operations? And what does being regraded to A2 actually mean? Many thanks again, Mark
Mark - in those days there was no such thing as Pakistan and was a apart of India in the British Empire until partition in 1947 The Dragoons were an Armoured regiment and so it would be fair to say that he would have driven Tanks - plus the A2 category meant that he was no longer A1 and thus did not qualify to be in the fighting area with Tanks etc Cheers
