Since posting on this site several years ago, and following the helpful comments that were made then, I have now done a lot of work with the various published and unpublished war histories trying to pin down my Dad's war experiences as a DR attached to 1 Corps Signals from 1944 to 1946. This has involved quite a lot of "thinking outside the box" (sorry) because 1 Corps was attached to the First Canadian Army shortly after D Day so a lot of the information is contained as a by product of Canadian war histories which naturally concentrate on what the Canadians were doing. As an aside may I mention that the Canadians' courageous role in WW2 in NE Europe has not had the appreciation that it deserves. The title of the book "Cinderella Army" by Canadian military historian Terry Copp says it all. Sorry for the long preamble. The reason I have done this post is to ask for information about the process whereby soldiers were discharged from the army. I have a attached a copy of part of my Dad's service record and would be most grateful for any information you can provide regarding what happened when soldiers were sent back to the UK for final discharge from the Army. You will see that he was in BAOR Iserlohn on 11 Jan 1946, he disembarked on 13 Jan and there is a stamp for No. 6 Mili???.......tion (presumably something like "No6 Military Discharge Station" at Strensall on 14 January 1946. Strensall is near York and there is still a major Army presence there. Any comments would be welcome but what i am most interested in is how my Dad would have got from Iserlohn (Northern Germany) to Strensall in a day (it seems) - would he have flown or would this have been an overland journey say to Antwerp or Rotterdam and then a sea voyage to ??Hull (may be) and then overland to Strensall. OR is this interpretation of events simply wrong in the sense that he would not have carried his army service record with him (or would he?) to get it stamped like this. Is it more likely the service record stayed in one place (see the foot of the page ref Signals Records at Caversham) but bits of paper would have been generated at the various stages of the discharge which were then sent to a central point for an office clerk to make a formal entry on the service record. The second attachment has a stamp on it which says "POSTED Y LIST E" - any idea what this means? Finally in the third attachment you see that he was "released to Z(T) TAR 1/4/46" What does this mean - was he still physically in the Army until 1 April and if so would he have been i n barracks until that date? What I am really trying to get at is the approximate date when my Dad actually set foot on English soil and secondly when he arrived home. Would it have been on 14 January 1946 or some days after this date? Thank you for any help you can give.
Your Dad's details are identical to my own. Same Age & Service Group and his Regiment were also 1 Corps Troops, (until they went to Germany as part of the occupying forces), First Canadian Army, etc. My Dad was also posted to the Y List E on 13 January 1946 and his service record indicates that was the date he he arrived back in the UK, having left Germany on 10 January 1946. Basically he was struck off the strength of his Unit and started to go through the process of being demobbed, which took a couple of months. He was also posted to the Z Reserve on 31 March 1946, a day earlier than your Dad and this was the day he left the Armed Forces. Z Reserve meant that he was posted to the Territorial Army Reserve and could be recalled to serve in the Armed Forces up to the age of 45 years of age. Do you have the attached page, which shows that extra information? What happened to the paperwork along the way I don't know. I believe my own Dad returned from Germany via the Hook of Holland in the Netherlands. This route home was probably taken, as he had married a Dutch citizen who resided in Delft, a short distance away from this port. Your own Dad may well have flown back. Regards Rob
Thanks for your quick reply Rob. This clearly establishes that my dad's demob was a routine one so if anyone reading this has any more detailed information about how their dad got from Northern Germany to the UK as part of the demob process and how long it took I would be very interested. I also have my mother's diary of her life from 1939 but it finishes half way through 1945 so the last bit before dad came home is not there. The only other page I have got that mentions the "posting" to TA reserve more or less repeats the one that I posted but does not have as many stamps on it as yours. Incidentally I note that I have mentioned NE Europe in my first post when, of course, it should be NW Europe. All the best Will
Cromwell Nothing unusual about your Father's discharge as I was also discharged at York - after being sent back from Austria to the original Tank training camp at Barnard Castle for few weeks as I was time served overseas - then to York on the due day-on the Y list (unemployed) - with an exit interview as to how the Army could help in settling back into Civvy street - and as I had been due for University before call up - I asked for a University Course which caused a great deal of laughter - I was then offered a six week course on how to mend boots and shoes - which I declined - so along with everyone else I was discharged with "Exemplary " Conduct- the train trip from Austria took three days - with little food Cheers
Thanks Tom It sounds like your demob experience was something of an anti climax after your war experiences. I have since found a book on demob experiences (see below) so will post anything that I think may be of interest. All the best http://www.amazon.co.uk/Demobbed-Coming-Home-After-World/dp/0300168861
