My wife’s granddad is a WW2 veteran, who married a Ghent girl. During the years my mother in law lost contact with her father, since he left back for the UK, somewhere in the 50’s. We suppose he must have died because of age. Because of my interest in WW1 and 2, I am eager to find out more information about his whereabouts during the liberation campaign in my country Belgium. His name is/was: John Richard Holmes Born: july 15th 1925, West Bromwich. Military number: ? Unit: ? We know he was stationed in Ghent after the war, and we have a nice picture of his marriage. Please help us?
Welcome to the forum. Other will be along soon to advise on the military aspects of your wife's grandad, how to obtain his service records, his uniform etc, but for the moment here is the result of searching the England & Wales Birth, Death & marriage indexes on ancestry. There is only one birth registration for a John R Holmes in West Bromwich Registration District for 1925: Name: John R Holmes Registration Date: Jul - Sep 1925 Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep Registration District: West Bromwich Inferred County: Staffordshire Mother's Maiden Name: Wiltshire Volume Number: 6b Page Number: 1429 and sadly there is also a possible death registration which may match: Name: John Richard Holmes Death Age: 74 Birth Date: 15 Jul 1925 Registration Date: Aug 1999 Registration District: Stourbridge Inferred County: West Midlands Register Number: SC12F District and Subdistrict: 0661C Entry Number: 17 You can place an online order for cert here on the Uk government website (free to register). Cost is £ 11.50 each & takes serveral weeks at the moment to arrive by post. https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ You can search to see if he left a will & order a copy for £ 1.50 here: Search probate records for documents and wills (England and Wales) Sorry it's not better news. Travers
They coloured that shield incorrectly. They've done it with a red cross which was First Army. It should be a blue cross for Second Army. Arm of Service strip for Recce Corps should be green & yellow , if I'm reading the shoulder tite correctly. It ends ..CE so can only be Reconnaissance or Intelligence Corps. Reconnaissance Corps (RECONNAISSANCE) WW2 Printed Shoulder Title
If that is their wedding photo you probably know the date, but the shoulder title with the single word 'Reconnaissance' was introduced in June 1943, the previous version included the word 'Corps'. ps. Remember that you do not need any military details to get his service records.
John Richard Holmes is on an ancestry online tree, and have now via ancestry & electoral rolls put Peter Lammens in contact with one of John's second cousins in the UK, and they are exchanging information.