Hello. I am from Australia and I am searching for any which way I could find out information on my Grandfather who served under the KOSB in Arnhem where he was taken as a POW for a number of years before luckily being released. His soldier number was 14211260 and his name was Thomas A Rowan. He moved to Australia in 1952 and all of his records never came with him including medals. I am desperate to know more about where he served and if he was eligable for any medals and what he did in the War or if there are any records anywhere. He died a long time ago when I was just a child, and never spoke of the War. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've contacted several War agencies and to no avail unless I post over money and I'm happy to do that its just I wasn't confident they were pointing me in the right direction. Thank you very much.
Hi Missrowan and welcome to WW2Talk. You can apply for your Grandfather's service record from the British MoD. It will cost £30 and can take up to a year for the record to arrive due to a large backlog. Be sure to ask for the full record, not just a summary. Ministry of Defence | About Defence | What we do | Personnel | Service Records | Making a Request for Information held on the Personnel Records of Deceased Service Personnel Good luck and keep us informed. When you have further details many members here will be happy to provide more information. Mike
Hi missrowan and welcome to the forum. Thomas Rowan was a Corporal in No.6 Platoon of B Company 7 KOSB at Arnhem. He was taken POW and held at Stalag 12A (Limburg) as prisoner number 15466. If you don't already have them, I would strongly recommend that you try and get hold of these two books: Off At Last, ISBN number 9090104496. Nine Days at Arnhem, ISBN number 9080471879. Both are by a guy named Robert Sigmond and deal with the 7 KOSB at Arnhem. I have attached pics of the books for your reference and also a pic of Thomas. All the best and good luck with your search.............
Hi missrowan, I can add to Paul's post his Army Number was 14211260 found this also for you missrowan which might help you with your research... Cheers Tom
Hello and welcome to the forum - just shout (click the red link below) if you want a copy of his units war diary. Regards Andy
Hi missrowan, I can add to Paul's post his Army Number was 14211260 found this also for you missrowan which might help you with your research... Cheers Tom Looks like there's a mistake on this list Tom. Cpl Rowan is shown as "DOW" but we know he was taken prisoner and survived the war............ All the best....
Dear missrowan, "Diary of a Red Devil" (To Arnhem by Glider with 7th KOSB.) (ISBN 978-1874622130) by Albert Blockwell is a personal account; Albert was taken prisoner, so his story would probably closely match your grandfather's experiences. The book is available on Amazon. In 1945, many Arnhem veterans returned to Holland to re-enact the battle; the resulting film - "Theirs is the Glory" - is still in print and is also available on Amazon. Wherever possible, the producers used individuals to play themselves, so it is quite possible that your grandfather appears in the film. A large part of the TA element of 7th KOSB was raised in SW Scotland, where I live; I was lucky enough to meet one of the veterans - Archie Carruthers - who escaped across the Rhine from the Oosterbeek perimeter on the night of 25th September 1944. My father flew Stirlings during the war, and his aircraft was one of those shot down at Arnhem during the disastrous re-supply mission of Tuesday 19th September 1944; his log book also shows that - during the work-up to Market Garden - his aircaft was often involved as a tug in the same glider exercises as Archie's unit. Archie and I therefore had a lot to talk about, and I spent several months writing down his experiences. They were an astonishing revelation to his sons and daughter! Archie died six years ago, and is buried in a local churchyard. Your grandfather would probably have told his story in much the same way as Archie did to me, and as Albert did in his book. If we can come up with some way of exchanging addresses without compromising them, I'd be delighted to forward you a copy of Archie's experiences.
To all who have posted. My most heartfelt thanks. I never received any notifications of these responses and thought no one replied. This is the most wonderful news. Thank you all
Thank you so much. If this offer is still open i would very much so love to have a copy and read this.
