James Beresford, RA

Discussion in 'War Against Japan' started by Sniper617, Jan 17, 2015.

  1. Sniper617

    Sniper617 Member

    Hi All,

    I am trying to find out what happened to James Beresford, 5 Searchlight Regt, RA.

    I have found him on the COFEPOW website http://www.cofepowdb.org.uk/cdb/Controller.jsp?action=showfepow&id=3290

    There is an attachment to this page which is a military form.

    Firstly, i would like to know what this form is?
    Secondly, i would like to know what camps he was put in as i can't quite read them and someone with a better eyesight than me maybe able to tell me.

    What i do know is he was part of the Saigon Btn and was left in Saigon when 700 were sent to the Burma Railway.

    Family legend has it that he survived the war and sent a postcard to is wife saying he was fine and would soon be on his way home, he never arrived. I cannot find him on the CWGC website which means his death, [if indeed he died] went unrecorded or he decided to stay in Australia or New Zealand and start a new life.

    As always any help would be appreciated

    Regards
    Mike
     
  2. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Service Records?
     
  3. BFBSM

    BFBSM Very Senior Member

    The form is the Questionnaire completed on his release, the original can be found at Kew, as can the Japanese PoW record card which would detail his camps, etc.

    The camps shown are: Kinsire, Malaya; Tamuang, Malaya and the last is Changi, Singapore.

    Mark
     
  4. Mr Jinks

    Mr Jinks Bit of a Cad

    Gnr.
    Beresford. James.
    1629572
    5 Search/Light
    13bty RA
    Born Congleton.13.9.11
    Father: James. Mother: Harriet.
    Wife;-Mrs J. Beresford, 4 Hill Fields, Congleton, Cheshire.
    Enlisted 17.10.40. Captured 15.2.42. Released 30.8.45.
    Camps:
    Kinsaiyok. Nov 43. Col Lilley.
    Tamuang. July 44. Col Lilley.
    Singapore Changi Jail. Sep 44. Col M F S.
    Sabotage:
    In Saigon Dec 42, put sugar, dirt, sand in petrol barrels

    Source

    http://www.fepow.org/uploads/4/3/1/3/4313799/final_saigon_party_database_optimised.pdf


    Kyle
     
  5. BFBSM

    BFBSM Very Senior Member

    According to the Royal Artillery Attestations database on FindMyPast he was discharged on 12.9.46 under Para 390 (xvi) of the King's Regulations. No detail is given of where.

    Mark
     
  6. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    His birth details:

    England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 about James Beresford
    Name: James Beresford
    Mother's Maiden Name: Skelton
    Registration Year: 1911
    Registration Quarter: Oct-Nov-Dec
    Registration district: Congleton
    Parishes for this Registration District: View Ecclesiastical Parishes associated with this Registration District
    Inferred County: Cheshire
    Volume: 8a
    Page: 516

    TD
     
  7. Sniper617

    Sniper617 Member

    Thanks guys, i have found him on the Nominal Roll compiled by L/Bdr Reuben Kandler for the Saigon Btn but there seems no mention of his camps when he was there. Would he of missed those camps on the form on purpose?
    I guess i'll have to bite the bullet and get his service records but first i may try an ad in the local paper to see if anyone saw him after his discharge.

    Thanks guys you have really helped me a lot in tracking him as far as 1946.

    Regards
    Mike
     
  8. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Hi Mike

    I have been searching for more info on him from Ancestry, but it seems only his birth cert details as above are available.

    I would suggest you obtain a copy of his service records, as that is the prime official source of information and the best starting point to any research on someones military service.

    TD
     
  9. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    390 (xvi) is a medical discharge so he certainly wasn't in the best of health but that doesn't explain why he didn't make it home, especially as he seems to have been alive as long as a year after his release. Service records may show where he was discharged. Is there anyone who could be termed next of kin ? They may receive more information relating to medical conditions etc....but not being able to provide a death certificate may be a problem unless it has been recorded in the records.
     
  10. Sniper617

    Sniper617 Member

    Thanks for that Rich, his next of kin is now dead but the family have asked me to see if i can find out what happened to him. I think a trip to the British Legion office in Congleton is my first port of call to see if any of the veterans there remember seeing him after the war. Failing that an ad in the paper and last i'll get his service records.

    Thanks again

    Mike
     
  11. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    Mike, UK law doesn't define 'next of kin' but it wouldn't stop at spouse / children / grandchildren / siblings etc. In the same way that inheritances etc. can follow complicated routes, for instance the grandchildren of siblings could be next of kin.

    The problem here, I fear is that without a death certificate, they could work on the assumption that he's still alive and refuse to release under data protection. That said, he was born more than 100 years ago so the chance is negligible that he actually is.
     
  12. Sniper617

    Sniper617 Member

    Your right Rich, guess i will have to try the first two and if nothing comes of it leave it unless i can get one of his grandchildren order the records. Give it a couple of years if not and then i should be able to get his records.
     

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