Searching for two WW2 ancestors with very little info - Help required.

Hello, sorry if this post is placed within the incorrect thread but I'm searching for more information regarding two of my WW2 ancestors. I've gained as much information from living relatives as I can, which if truth be told is pretty much nothing.

However, this is what I have thus far.

Soldier A) Peter Joseph Harold Frank Brooks (b) 30 June 1926 - Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire.
Lived in Wiltshire.

Soldier B) Ernest Owen Brooks (b) 17 Aug 1928 - Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire.

Both men are brothers and served in WW2. Their parents were: Harold & Fanny (nee Ayre) Brooks.

I can only assume that both men served in the Staffordshire Regiment but that's a HUGE assumption due to nobody in the family knowing who they served with. The photos that I have provide very little information regarding rank slides, cap or regimental badges but please feel free to take a look.

Would anybody here be able to shed any more light upon these chaps and help me find out who they served with. Any assistance would be very much appreciated.

Regards,

Lee.

 

Wow! That's great. OK, on Owens photo (wearing the side cap) I contemplated his cap badge being a grenade but I couldn't be certain. The photo of Monty inspecting the troops is signed, was this common?

 

Sorry to state the obvious

but apply for their service records
Get a copy of military service records

£30
Date of birth
Death cert
required
A long wait at the moment though but its the only way to go

 

Possibly,

14497381 Pte. Peter Harold BROOKS 6th Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers ?
Transferred from Royal Fusilers 14.2.1945
Transferred to the Cheshire Regiment 2.7.1946

 

Wow! That's brilliant! OK, so now we have a regimental number and regiment. I noticed on the image that you've provided that it states Royal Fusilier and not Royal Welch Fusilier.

I Google searched the 6th Battalion RF and cannot see that one was formed during WW2. However, I do see that the 6th Battalion RWF was a territorial regiment that took part in The Battle for Normandy and Operation Jupiter (Hill 112) as part of in 158th (Royal Welch) Brigade assigned to the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division.[

Would you say that with the information provided thus far, we're on the right track?

 

I think you're misinterpreting the entry. The entry is from an RWF Register so it reads:
14.2.45 Transferred from RF to RWF (6th Btn.)
2.7.46 Transferred from RWF to Cheshire Rgt.

Tim

 

Thank you.

 

Thank you for finding this document. I figured that it could be from a genealogy site and managed to locate it on: 'Find my Past" for £1.50.

However, I still cannot locate the second soldier: 'Ernest Owen Brooks'. I don't suppose you've come across him anywhere, or know where I could attempt to locate anywhere I could find his regiment or service number?

Thanks in advance.

 

Hello Lee


As Guy suggested "possibly"
best bet as advised for both of them is to apply for their service records

date of birth
death cert
£30

the sooner you apply the sooner you will be able to start building a bigger picture of their service and not go down the wrong persons path.

regards
Clive

 

Lee,
I believe the Royal Welch Fusilier attestation is for your relative Peter Harold J.F. His birth record lists his second name as H (Harold). His marriage record also confirms his initials as Peter H.J.F.


The first portrait of Peter you posted was taken by a German photographer in a studio at Helmstedt,Germany. This could confirm that he was with the 6 R.W.F. at the end of the war.


The soldier in the second portrait appears to have a Fusilier cap badge, can you confirm what is written at the bottom of the photograph, is there any further information on the reverse?
Guy

 

Thank you, I'll take a better look at what's written on the photo and try to get access to the other photos that another family member has.

 

I'd almost forgotten that I have 2x more photos of either Owen or Peter Brooks. I think it's Owen but sadly I don't have direct access to the photos and need to rely on images from my mobile phone.

Are there any further indicators on the soldiers uniform that could reveal more details about his regiement?

I can see that he's already received a medal ribbon, so does that mean that this is post WW2.

Any further help would be very much appreciated.

 

Hello,

Please could I ask if you'd know when Peter's army number was issued?

Was 14497381 a new Welch Fusilier number, or would Peter have had a previous number with the Royal Fusiliers?

Just attempting to discover when Peter actually enlisted and was deployed to Europe.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

Hello, I hope that you're all well. I'm currently researching my granduncle:

Peter Joseph Harold Frank Brooks 14497381 Royal Welch Fusiliers.

I believe that he started off with the Royal Fusiliers and then: 14 Feb 1945 transferred to the 6th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers and then: 02 July 1946 transfered to the Cheshire Regiment: .

What would have been the date of his enlistment? Just trying to find out when and where he would have served during WW2.

Thank you.

I also have this document for Peter Joseph Harold Frank Brooks 14497381 Royal Welch Fusiliers.

 

Did you get them?

 

Thank you for all your assistance on this forum in searching for my two granduncles, but I may have come to an understanding regarding their WW2 involvement. A few weeks ago I attended a relatives property where I had the opportunity to view my great grandfathers WW1 medals. When the box was opened it contained his WW1 Victory medal and strangely enough a WW2 Italian Star.

Today the penny dropped...

Soldier A) 14497381 Pte Peter Joseph Harold Frank Brooks (b) 30 June 1926 - Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire.
Lived in Wiltshire.

Soldier B) Ernest Owen Brooks (b) 17 Aug 1928 - Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire.

I cannot find anything that indicates Ernest Owen Brooks served during WW2 and then I realised that he'd only be eleven years old at the start of WW2 and seventeen by the end of WW2. So, I don't believe that Ernest Owen Brooks served in WW2 at all.

The Italian Star must have belonged to Peter Brooks during his time with the Royal Fusiliers (Italy) and before his transfer to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (France). Peter would have been seventeen during the Battle of Monte cassino, but would have been eighteen towards the end of the Italian campaign.

My next step will be to get his WW2 service records, but I'll need to get his death certificate first.

 

Is there any wat to find out what year Peter would have enlisted during WW2? If it was possible I'd do as per my WW1 ancestors records and attempt to find a soldier with similar historical info. However, with WW2 details, I have very little to go on...

His number was as follows: 14497381