Looking for: C.S.M. Courtney (6909168), The Rifle Brigade, Siege of Calais, POW

Looking for: C.S.M. Courtney (6909168), The Rifle Brigade

Company Sergeant Major Percival Frederick Courtney seems to be an elusive chap! This seems particularly odd given his position as “C.S.M. in The Rifle Brigade” at a significant moment in WW II history, that being the Siege of Calais. Odd that I cannot seem to find much on him, and only one small grainy photograph, taken post-war. Also no Liberation questionnaire on record at TNA. He went on to serve in the Yeoman of the Guard for 19 years after the war.

Reason I’m looking...

He was in a POW Camp with my Polish Grandfather (RAF #784818, Stanislaw Konarzewski, POW#90062) and I *think* he is the Group POW Hut photograph. This photo (below) is anticipated to be taken between approx. Sept./Oct. 42 - July/44, at Stalag 383. We have tentatively identified the men circled in red, with Stanislaw being second from left in the front row. So is the elusive CSM Courtney one of the remaining men? If anything, the tiny grainy photo looks vaguely similar to the man in the front row, at the far right end, but….

CSM Courtney’s entry in my Grandfather’s (In-Law) notebook is also shown below, and states:

6909168 CSM F. Courtney
Rifle Depot, The Rifle Brigade, England

So I *think* we are looking for this man: C.S.M. Courtney P.F. (Percival Frederick) reportedly POW#9435 at Stalag 383 Hohenfels.

From a link describing his medal auction, he was born at Aldershot, Hampshire on 18 September 1903.

But that is all I have, even after trolling through numerous in-depth write-ups about the Siege of Calais. I just cannot believe there is more out there about a C.S.M. at Calais!

Side Note: Is it "standard practice" to write it as C.S.M. or CSM....?

 

I think you've found quite a lot actually. It's unusual to see reference to individuals other than commissioned officers in British army war diaries. Even the singular R.S.M. will hardly be mentioned, and there were five C.S.M.s in a normal infantry battalion.

In Calais, the defenders were spread out with communication difficulties. Much of the action would not have been known in detail by battalion HQ and there were no contemporaneous diaries at all...Everything written up later.

Correct usage is with full stops, but modern internet convention generally ignores. We even tend to write "BEF" without !

 

As Rich Payne states, you seem to be doing well so far. Just to add the article that you refer to:
349 - Four: Company Sergeant-Major P. F. Courtney, Rifle Brigade, who...

What I found before I saw the medal link!
Percival Frederick Courtney
Born 18.9.1903 Aldershot
Baptised 29.10.1903
1921 Stationed in Ireland with the 2nd Rifle Bde
1928 Q3 Married Ada Shaw, Hendon
1939 Ada @ married quarters Tidworth Camp, dob 16.5.1908 with assumed son Frederick J Courtney dob 30.6.1935
1967 Q1 Percival died, Rochford, Essex
1990 Ada died 1990 Southend

 

Thank you gentlemen. After quite a bit more poking around, we managed to find this "known" picture of Courtney (he is on the left).

Comparing it to my POW Group pic. (Stalag 383, between Sept. 42 - July '44), he bears a solid resemblance to the chap in the middle of the front row. Also, not entirely unlike the other pic we have of him, assumed to be late in life.

 

Found a few more, including this one (date unknown) which seems to support our initial hypothesis.

Plus, all sorts of info. about his Yeoman of the Guard service, including video! How did you get video of this fella you may well ask....because he was beside the Coronation Coach with QE II in 1953! Plus, there's a group photo of them all on the steps with the Queen.