I'm looking for info on my Grandfather, Norman Gill (T/S 287283) RASC. He served with the following units 12ST - Catterick 605 C(M)T - Catterick 41 C(M)T - Catterick 189 C(M)T - Ascot 4 BPFC - ? 51 RHU - ? 45 RHU - ? 231 Petrol Depot - Antwerp Any info on teh above units much appreciated Thanks Chan
If the above info is from his Army records, can you post them up please? We will take a look and try to help Lesley
Hi Lesley, Hopefully I have attached the main parts of his war record. Any thoughts most welcome Chan
Oh and some family anecdotes.....which may or may not be true! Norman Gill Apparently caught Pnuemonia on the beaches of Normandy.......Though not sure about this as he was posted to X-List and 51RHU on 10 June 1944. Lived with a family in Antwerp in 1945 whilst with 231 Petrol Depot Had a photo taken in front of the Eiffel Tower - date unknown and picture not found I have attached 2 photos........Location, dates and names of other soldiers unknown Pic1 on the left Pic 2 in the middle Thanks Chan
29/2/44 RASC, 4 BPFC =Bulk Petrol Field Company 10/6/44 to 51 RHU = Reinforcement holding unit 14/6/44 RHU X4 = awaiting transfer back to unit 4/9/44 Embarked to BLA = British Liberation Army 24/12/44 X4 list 24/6/44 Transferred from X4 list to 51 RHU More info on X lists here http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/15663-x-lists-service-records/ If you want more information, I suggest you get the war diaries for 4 Bulk Petrol Field Company, RASC February to June 1944. Sorry not to be of more help Lesley
Well, thanks to Drew I have been passed records for a few units that my Grandfather (Norman Gill) served with. I now have the ones in bold. I’m not too bothered about the others as he was only at them for days and they were training or holding units. 12ST – Catterick - 1942 605 C(M)T – Catterick - 1942 41 C(M)T – Catterick - 1942 189 C(M)T – Ascot - 1943 4 BPFC – ??????????????? 51 RHU – Bordon 1944 45 RHU – ? 1944 231 Petrol Depot – Antwerp 1945 So…..here’s my next problem……….4 BPFC According to Norman Gill’s Military records: ------------------------------------ 27 Feb 44 25 PS [Personnel Section] SOS [Struck of Strength] this unit on posting to 4 BPFC [Base Petrol Filling Centre] RASC wef 29 Feb 44. Authy ADST ST 4839 dtd 27 Feb 44 ------------------------------------ 2E21/9242/44 4 BPFC [Base Petrol Filling Centre] Posted to 51 RHU & SOS this unit 10 06 44 ------------------------------------ 44/935/44 51 RHU [Reinforcement Holding Unit] TOS x4 List from 4 BPFC 11 06 44 ------------------------------------ So, from this I’m assuming that between 27 Feb 1944 and 10 June 1944 he was posted to 4 BPFC. Drew got me the following records from the National Archives Petrol Supplies: 4 Base Filling Centre. War Office: Central Mediterranean Forces, (British Element): War Diaries, Second World War. ITALY. ROYAL ARMY SERVICE CORPS. Petrol Supplies: 4 Base Filling Centre. Held by: The National Archives - War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General, and related bodies Date: 1944 Reference: WO 170/2333 Unfortunately there is a minor discrepancy between the National Archives title “4 Base Filling Centre” and the unit name on the Actual paperwork which reads “4 Mobile Petrol Filling Centre”. So, Question…. Are 4 Base Filling Centre & 4 Mobile Petrol Filling Centre the same thing? I’ve looked through all the records I can find and can find no 4 Base Filling Centre in 1944. Do I assume that this was his unit? The other problem I have is that 4 Mobile Petrol Filling Centre were in Sicily during Feb to Jun 1944, but my Grandfather was only awarded the war medal and the 1939/45 Star (FRANCE) medal. And no-one in the family remembers being told of any service in Italy/Sicily. Any help appreciated! Oh, and if it says “HOME” in the Place of Casualty Column on his record, does that mean he was sent home for that particular period? Thanks for any thoughts/ assistance. Chan
Chan The link below is to a thread that was discussing the complexity of naming for petrol units that was running a few months ago. http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/56958-7th-bulk-field-petrol/ I would assume that the service record entry for 4 BPFC is likely to be correct and sufficiently well written to unlikely to have been confused with 4 BPSS or 4BPSC, ie Storage Section or Storage Company. Unfortunately you may just be unlucky and the diary is simply missing. There is, however, a diary for a 4 Petroleum Installation for Dec 43 (Home Forces) (WO 166/12946). Its a long shot and a few months too early but you might find there is a similar mismatch between catalog and file and it could just be the 4 BPFC you are looking for. [SIZE=10.5pt]I have a diary reference that would suggest that 4 MPFC were [/SIZE]still[SIZE=10.5pt] in Italy in August 44.[/SIZE] Also, don't dismiss the diaries for units that he may have been in even for just a short period. I've often found entries recording men joining and leaving, sometime (although rarely) their names but more often where they have come from or where they are being sent to. If you are happy to get these diaries on the off chance there may be something like this recorded you may be able to add the links to join up the whole narrative! Graham