Hi, I am new to this site and wonder if anyone can help me. I have just started to research my Grandads ( PTE. ALFRED HUNTER, SERVICE NO 3318352) time in service during the war between 1939 and 1946. I know I have a long way to go as I dont have alot to go on and do plan to apply for his Service record. He served with the Seaforth Highlanders attached to 9 Cameronians and served in North West Europe, not sure what battalion he served in - was there more than one Seaforth battalion served with the 9 Cameronian? I have his discharge papers which states he had been a storeman during his time in service and that he had been discharged in 1946. My Grandad passed away in 1994, but was reluctant to talk about his time spent during the war when he was alive. My family and myself often wonder about his seven years as a soldier and would be most grateful if anyone can help. Thanks Lesley.
Hi Lesley, Ref attachments to other units he will/should show up on the battalions (9 Cameronians) war diary in the Field Returns. If you're really lucky he may be mentioned by name but the worst case scenario should be 'storeman'. I suspect no one will be able to answer your question regarding Seaforth Bn's attached to 9 Cameronians as it is usually just a few men pulled from here and there to make up a units numbers or to fill a vacancy that they don't have someone qualified to do. If you know when he was 'from and to' (dates) with 9 Cameronians I will post the war diary details for you that are held at the National Archives near London. Welcome by the way
We have a booklet from the Thanksgiving Service on conclusion of The Campaign in North West Europe dated 6th of June 1944 to 5th May 1945. At the time of my Grandads discharge from the army he was still recorded as being in the Seaforth Highlanders attached to the 9 Cameronians. Please correct me if I am wrong but I am sure the 9 Cameronians served in North West Europe and I now wonder if he had been with them from 1944-1946. If I were to look up the war diaries for the 9th Cameronians for these two years would this mean looking through a huge amount of files? Thanks Lesley
There are three diaries covering 1944 to 1946: WO 171/1275 9 Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 1944 Jan.- Dec. WO 171/5168 9 Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 1945 Jan.- Dec. WO 171/9219 9 Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 1946 Jan.- Mar. Diaries vary greatly in thickness so its hard to impossible to predict accurately how many pages will be in each. As a rule the more pages the better as that will mean more infomation and detail. Cheers Andy
There are a lot of possibilities. One of which is that 7th Seaforth were in the same infantry brigade as the 9th Cameronians, 46th brigade of 15th Scottish Division.
Thank you, this is one possibility that I have come across often, the 7th Seaforth and 9th Cameronians are mentioned together alot as you say they were on the same infantry brigade. If I find that my Grandad was in the 7th battalion this I hope may make things easier to trace. It does become quite confusing though for someone who has no Military background, but I will keep going to try and find out as much as I can. Lesley
