Hello all hope you are well. My grandad was in The Royal Engineers in World War 2, he died in 2014 at the age of 93 and now i have a million questions i would have liked to have asked him. As far as i no, he was in The Faroe Islands, with the 125 Quarrying Company (i think) he was helping build the runway, from there i think he went to The Isle of Wight, and helped lay the 'Bambi' section, to France and he went to Caan and i think he may of been in Paris around the time of the liberation. We also think he may have been building bailey bridges, and we know they had generators pumping fuel for the D.Day effort. After this we believe he was sent to Egypt. He was also involved in building the hospital under Dover Castle but i'm unsure where this fits in the time line, he contracted Measles and ended up in the hospital, his unit was then deployed to Burma and they promised him he would join them when he was better, but he never did. Thank you for reading, i am looking for any information anyone has got. Cate
I suggest spending 30 quid & sending off for his service records from the MoD . Then you will know what units he was in & then you can get copies of the unit war diaries. Requests for personal data and service records: a detailed guide - GOV.UK
Thanks for your reply I knew service records would be my first port of call and I've just sent the forms. I didn't even need to spend my £30 because my Grandma is still alive and she's requested hers too. But I was told there wouldn't be much on them anyway, so I thought I'd try here but obviously it's not the place to ask Thanks again
Shame you were told that. The records are the main key to sorting out any service personnel's path. Armed with confirmed details of units and dates, as Owen says, you can then check the relevant War Diaries archived at The National Archives.
For an example of what services records look like see my album here. Pte S Attley 14685855 4th Wilts Service Records | WW2Talk Once you know his units & the dates he was with them , the members can help more. There are a few who will copy the unit war diaries for you for a reasonable fee. I don't know what answers you were hoping for but research like this takes a bit of time.
I was just looking for general information about what happened in the areas my Grandpa was in, I knew that I wouldn't get person specific information here! I did a history degree so yeah I'm aware research takes time! I really just wondered if anyone else had any family in the same areas and knew a bit about what was going on! Plus I always like reading people's stories! I actually found my grandad online in someone's photo they posted of the Royal Egineers in The Faroe Islands and I hadn't got that picture so other people's stories can be a huge help too! Thanks again! Cate
Cate, you are probably well aware, but PLUTO was ‘Pipeline under the Ocean’ and, if you ever visit Shanklin in the Isle of Wight you will find that part of it still remains. I remember this well from family holidays, when we walked through Shanklin Chine on the way to the beach - happy days. https://www.combinedops.com/pluto.htm PLUTO Pipeline segment in Shanklin Chine http://www.iwhistory.org.uk/RM/shpumps/home.htm Best of luck with your research.
My father was based in Dover Castle, he was in the Signals for his HQ and was part of Fusag and Operation Fortitude South the whole of its time. Many of the tunnels under the Castle were used for this decpetion plan and obviously barracks for the men and women involved. Worth a visit if you are passing TD