Middlesex regt questions

Kn1

This is becoming very interesting as your Father would appear to have joined the army via the KRRC - transferred to 1/7th Middlesex - joined the 51st Highland Division and went with them to the Mid -East in time for El Alamein - across the desert still with the Highlanders in 8th Army into Tunisia where they met up with 1st Division also in Tunisa -from 1st Army- somehow - as you say he was not wounded but it is reasonable to assume that he was hospitalised in Tunisia and after recovery finding that 1/7th had gone home - was transferred to 2/7 Middlesex in order to join 1st Division at Anzio - NOT Cassino-to relieve the 7th Cheshires....and prior to the wars end went with 1st Division to Palestine.....which is my take on this case but ONLY the service records will prove the facts - which you understandbly cannot afford - so send me a PM and we can sort something out on that.
Cheers

 

thanks for that I will get back later.
He definately was not wounded and he never mentioned hospital, in fact he would have avouded it like the plague; He did get malaria though, and he may have been sent back home for leave after the death of his sister although no proof of that yet.

I found out abot the 51st, I never knew of that but he always had good words for the Scots as mates. We must have a Scots branch of the family as I have a pic of his cousins grave at Tunis, from a Scots regt.




Courtesy John Mcoughlin again, more chaps of the 9th platoon August 1944

I have names for most, but need to do some nifty editing

 

kn1.

Insert South Italy in one box which shows British Cassino and the two letters that you want are rF.

Regards

FdeP

 

Whoops. I meant British Cassini.

 

KN1
If a serving soldier contracted malaria - he went to hospital for at least two weeks - and then was liable to be charged...

We had a few Wives/Mothers being killed in Air Raids- the husbands - brothers - uncles - sons - cousins .....did NOT go home !

Cheers

 

Supposition only Tom Canning; As I have said what he told me about his time in the kate occupied less than a total of 10-15 minutes over my lifetime.

A one time tale was of him vaulting over a hedge hearing a bomb coming; I was under the impression that was a V1 but relating the story back to the event it seems very early on in his service. At another time he said he felt safer in Italy than at Home during the V1 raids. So there must have been some home leave somewhere.

Knowing him as I do, a tough little bugger as he was, I would not have put it past him, if it would have had him charged, to have avoided hospital by any means. Don't ask me how. Supposition again.

He did once claim to have extracted a loose tooth with a pair of pliers and a tank mirror; he said an 8th army dentist scared him more than the Germans.

I do not doubt it.

I never knew him to go to hospital in all my lifetime, and I was 40 when he died nor a dentist either.

I don't want to appear rude, Tom but as a London lad I can assure you we all knew about civvy air raid casualties, that part of London where I grew up looked like a battlefield aftermath into the 50's. Got masses of V1 V2 hits as well as blitz.

 

KN1
I don't think you are rude by any means as I just happened to work in both Coventry which was a battlefield - and Birmingham another battlefield but bigger - before the Army so I do have some aquaintance with air raids and bombing and such - just perhaps a little bit confused with your fathers exploits as if he was in the 2/7 Middlesex then there is no time during that period in Italy that he ever heard a V1 or a V2 - nor did any Tank in which I served ever have a mirror - probably a carrier rear view again ...? so sooner the records are called for - the clearer things will become

Cheers