I've been searching for the war records of my Gt Uncle. Pte H.Cox 3391039. He served in 1st Battalion East Lancs Regiment, British Liberation Army. He survived the war but died about 20 yrs ago. Sadly I've not found anything that proves he was in this regiment except his letters sent home have these details on them and his album with all his war photos and regimental photos. (I don't doubt you uncle Harold !! ) The last letter is dated 24/10/1944. He talks about seeing 'rocket firing typhoons' , shooting down german planes and destroying tank and gun emplacements. Then he goes on to talk about 'slit trenches'. Sadly there's no details of the location. I would love to find out where he was at the point of writing the letters and also the rest of his war record. I was wondering how much info I should be able to obtain right off the bat. According to the national archives, not being next of kin I'm only likely to get name , rank, d-o-b, for 30quid, and I know all that already. Any help would be most appreciated.
Hi Robowen, Do you know his next of kin and are you able to contact them? The service records will provide you many details other than what you already know. I and many others on this Forum have obtained relatives service records and feel it has been £30 well spent. This is an example of a service record is one of the Forum Member's Gallery:- http://ww2talk.com/forums/gallery/album/70-ernest-illingworth-army-records/ Just click on the pics to enlarge them. Cheers Rob
Well his Army Number 3391039 proves he enlisted into the East Lancs. East Lancashire Regiment 3377001 - 3433000 http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/4837-army-number-block-allocations/
Welcome to the forum, robowen. As Rob suggests you should apply for his 'FULL' service records; link: https://www.gov.uk/r...service-records NB. If it is over 25 years since he died you do not need to be next of kin to apply, otherwise the application should be via the next of kin. I can confirm that his service number is from the East Lancashire Regiment allocation. Best, Steve.
Hi Robowen, welcome to the forum, I can only echo Rob's advice, because after getting my father's records Rob and the other guys on the forum where able to guide me through his records, the information they have given me has been invaluable. The cost has been time, patience the odd bit for post and of course a drink or two. Wish you well with your research. Lotus7
At 1700hrs on October the 19th the East Lancs arrive at Berghem and are about to take part in the Battle for Hertogenbosch which started on the 22nd October. There were six distinct phases according to the regimental history and the one on 23rd/24th October was the Night attack on the Northern Outskirts of Hertogenbosch. Forum member Stolpi will probably be able to tell you more and the regimental history by Burden on this subject is excellent including some fantastic maps.
Ha ! I can confirm he was with the 1st Battalion East Lancashire Regiment from their landing in France to the end of the war and to go one better I can tell you that he was in HQ Company He gets a mention on a nominal roll in the Apr-May 1945 war diary.
Hi Drew. Thnx for your reply.......and everyone too ! Would I be able to get a copy of the nominal roll easily ? Looks like I'm heading into new hobby ! I'll have a go at getting the service records. I am not in contact with his daughter. Tbh neither was uncle Harold when he was aLive. They had a falling out many years ago shortly after the war ended. She refused to attend his funeral so it must have been something major.
Hi Drew, If I asked you to copy the war diary for the whole period of the war, how many pages would we be looking at do you think ?
Do you know when he joined the battalion? There were other East Lancs battalions and he could have moved from one to another. From the nominal roll I posted it is safe to say he was with them from June 1944 to the end of the war. Regards Andy
No not sure yet. I'm trying to get in contact with other family members in the uk to see what they know about him. I'll try to apply for his service records. Not being next of kin might hinder me. His daughter won't be interested in helping even if we could find her. No one knows where she is. She may not be alive. Steve's link to the service records is no longer valid. Also, I can't get to the application form on the gov.uk website, for some reason the file crashes explorer. It does the same with chrome and firefox. Is that the only place I can download the file Andy ?
Hi Robowen, just a thought if you have time you could try and ring MOD Glasgow they have a help line, you do have to be patient as you might be passed from one office to another. It's worth a call if you are struggling to contact the family. Wishing you well with your research, following this thread with interest.
If he died over 25 years ago you won't need NoK approval. You will need proof of death. https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records
