postings

My wife has just received her fathers service record from MOD after waiting over a year she had a email asking if she wanted to wait for the full record or receive the quick one in 5 weeks so she took the quick one,but we cannot make sense of it. I have enclosed 2 jpegs and would be very grateful if anyone can make out where he served.
Thank you for looking.

 

Welcome Dave - I bet you couldn’t believe it when there was already a Dave55 .

My eyes can’t make out a lot of the detail on the record, sorry, but I think I can see the 103 LAA Regiment there, (103 Light Anti-Aircraft Regt), and I see from this thread here that the 7th Battalion, East Lancs Regt converted to 103 LAA:

Infantry battalions converted to LAA & other RA units

Also here on Derek’s site:

103 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA - The Royal Artillery 1939-45

Looks like he was then posted to 15 LAA Regt on 2nd February 1945:

15 (Isle of Man) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA (TA) - The Royal Artillery 1939-45

I’m not sure, but does it read 9 LAA some time in 1946? Doubtless better eyes and expertise than mine will be along to help you!

Best of luck.

 

Thanks Martin we are lost he gave us a list of places hed been befor he died but it says he spent most of the war in this country

 

Dave, rather than using ‘print screen’ try selecting the image with your cursor and right-clicking - this should provide a ‘copy image’ option. You can then paste into Paint or similar which will reveal the full image unconstrained by the pdf format and your PC's settings. It makes life much easier for the older eyes on this site, including mine.

 

Hope this helps:

Time served

Home i.e. UK 17/7/1940-12/12/1944 4y 150d
NW Europe 14/12/1944-20/3/1945 1y 97d
Home 21/3/1946-8/9/1946 192d

Enlisted 17/7/1940.
Posted 1/12/1941 7th Bn. East Yorkshire Regt.

Leave 20/6/1946-8/9/1946 (part of demobilisation process)
Placed on 'Y' List 28/6/1946;
Cannot read text about transfer to Royal Artillery.

Y list was and is the means of accounting for personnel who are not where they were initially posted: - in hospital, at reinforcement or holding units, being taken on or struck off strength, transferred to other units. From: https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/info-on-y-list-please.61446

Might later try the 2nd sheet, although the writing is very fuzzy and hard to make out.

 

Yes, as you can see from Derek’s site, the history of 103 LAA says it was based in the UK from its formation in late 1941 to March 1944, when it was disbanded.

The Lancashire Infantry Museum also confirms that 7 Battalion, East Lancs, clearly indicated on his record, converted to 103 LAA.

https://www.lancashireinfantrymuseum.org.uk/world-war-two

I can’t decipher too much else of the record, so I have no clue what it says he was doing between March ‘44 and the posting to 15 LAA in February ‘45. Then again, I’m only guessing he was posted to 15 LAA on 2 February 1945, perhaps he did go to 15 LAA in March the year before. This entry on Wiki for 103 LAA states in more detail how and when the disbandment occurred -

103rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery - Wikipedia

If he did join 15 LAA in March ‘44, then it’s possible that he had been in 341 Battery of 103 LAA, as it’s the men of that Battery who later went to the 15th. Just a possible, mind.

Clearly we can see he did go to NW Europe in late 1944 and it seems he remained there until early 1946, which would obviously explain his having been to a lot of different places, as he told you.

It may be useful to post his name and service number, as we may be able to find his medal card for you, although no guarantees. The card would show which medals he earned, but I’m assuming that’s on the record you have? I’m guessing that he would be entitled to the 1939-1945 Star, France and Germany Star, War Medal and probably the Defence Medal.

No worries if you’re reluctant to give out that info though, quite understandable.

 

East Lancashire I reckons, David, mind you, you can read a darn sight more there than me!

 

Daveh55,

Be mindful that as the threat from the Luftwaffe dwindled the need for LAA declined too and the army in NW Europe was short of infantry - so LAA units were disbanded. The RA also converted several units to infantry battalions, not for frontline combat, but as garrisons in occupied territory.

 

Thank you all for your help,we now know a little more

 

Thank you wobbler heres his details

 

No medal card, unfortunately, but I’m assuming you may have a record of that anyway on the documents you received?

However, his RA Tracer Card is available, quite a detailed one actually. It does seem to confirm that he was in 72 Troop of 103 LAA, when it began its disbandment, which means he had been in 341 Battery of that regiment, as I’d suspected.

Probably, therefore, G Troop of 341 Battery. If the history on Wiki is correct, and you have that link above, then the men of 72 Troop went to 1 Battery of the 15th LAA.

I think I also see mention of 150 LAA on the card too, for 29 October 1944, but I don’t find it easy to decipher everything on the cards, sorry (as you know, trying to read the service record isn’t easy).



(images from Ancestry)

150 (The Loyals) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA (TA) - The Royal Artillery 1939-45

I think, from the reverse side, that he may have spent some time in Ulster too?

 

Here you go Martin, and Daveh55.

The joy of OCR/human error/lack of checking snafu.

Catalogued/listed on F3 as "SLAN, James"! The errors never cease to amaze!



Medal Card Application (made by James' daughter) from 1994.





I hope James' medals are still with the family somewhere.

Kind regards, searching, always

Jim.

 

Ah, excellent, thanks Jim, I stand corrected. I saw that “Slan” and ignored it without looking at the bleeding obvious service number! D’oh.

I see that he doesn’t seem to have been given the 39-45 Star. The three listed are as I mentioned earlier here, but no 39-45 - I’m guessing that’s because he didn’t have 180 days overseas service between the specified dates?

I see they were issued to his daughter.

 

By the way Dave, is this man a relation? My only link between the two men being Warrington, so tenuous at best:


(image from Ancestry)

I ask only as this record is available on Ancestry.

 

thank you I Think James Patrick Solan was the cousin of our James Solan

 

Hi Jim yes we still have his medals always wondered why he never got 1939-45 one
Thank you for your help

 

Daveh55,

Back to the Tracer Card. I have put the entries in the two columns plus the reverse side in date order. The relevant orders have been ignored - they are no longer available. The actual date is put first. In italics additional information and sources

17/07/1940 Enlisted 4th Battalion (Bn) East Lancashire Regt.
01/12/1941 Transfer from 4th Bn.
22/06/1944 Xii List 21AG; Xii for all ranks evacuated on medical grounds (and the idea being that they would return to their unit of origin in due course); thus, X (ii) referred to soldiers awaiting transfer to a hospital, etc). See: https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/abbreviations-in-service-records-uk-army-wwii-for-ref.57233/ )21st Army Group, the command formation for British & Allied Force NW Europe
27/06/1944 72 Independent LAA Troop
06/07/1944 Xii List 21AG; explained above, 21st Army Group, the command formation for British & Allied Force NW Europe
14/09/1944 Y List; Y list was and is the means of accounting for personnel who are not where they were initially posted: - in hospital, at reinforcement or holding units, being taken on or struck off strength, transferred to other units. From: https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/info-on-y-list-please.61446
30/09/1944 (With) 'C' Battery RA Depot; appears to be a Holding Unit
29/10/1944 150 LAA Regt. (The Loyals)
12/12/1944 ditto
15/12/1944 Draft Serial RELVL; later is a convoy / shipping code and the date is when he embarked for NW Europe from the UK
16/12/1944 X (iv) 21AG 49 RHU; 49 Reinforcement Holding Unit - a few indications this was in NW Europe, 21st Army Group, the command formation for British & Allied Force NW Europe
29/12/1944 72 LAA Troop Independent (21AG)
02/02/1945 !5 LAA
No Date 103 LAA No source document shown either
21/03/1946 To UK Revert W.O. Control; War Office
05/04/1946 Ulster Regt. LAA; unit is prefixed 7/4, date?
29/06/1946 'A' Release

 

You’ve made more sense of it than me, David, cheers.