Which platoon?

Are there any Army company records which list the specific enlisted men assigned to each platoon? In other words, is there any way possible for me to determine which platoon my WWII relative served in?

Many Thanks!

 

In unit war diaries no. On service records it may show which company but not as finite as platoon.

 

As Alex has already noted, it is rare indeed to get the "lower levels" named in war diaries.

Through the generosity of certain forum members I have extensive war diaries of both of my units and have scoured them thoroughly looking for mention of ORs I knew personally but, I have to say, in vain.

One particular thing that rankles is when I see that officers, when killed in action, are named but OR's are never.

Ron

 

Good Morning
Warning long post !!

It probably depends on the unit(s) in which your relative served. If he served in a smaller formation (e.g. a RE Field Company), then there may be a possibility.

I have copies of my dad's war diaries, and in one of the Unit Diaries, there are copies of the daily Part 1 Orders (i.e covering daily routines, postings etc.). On one of those Orders my dad's name is listed as part of a group of soldiers attending a "Practice Camp" (unfortunately this does not show his platoon) - see attached. This was after Dunkirk, during the period when most units were based in UK on Home Defence duties.

However if you hold your relative's Unit War Diaries, you could try cross referencing entries in them to try and determine his platoon (e.g. if you have, say, copies of Part 1 Orders as an attachment to the Diary and they list your relative along with an Officer/SNCO, look for an entry in the Diary mentioning that Officer/SNCO - maybe a copy of an Exercise/Operational Order - and see if a Platoon is mentioned).
By way of an example, dad was later cross posted to another Unit and eventually sent to North Africa; family folklore suggested that dad was wounded at El Alamein, patched up and continued on his way. Whilst checking the unit War Diary (a separate 7 page section!), the following entry appears:
"EL ALAMEIN - 23 - 22.00 Zero. Arty open barrage against enemy F.D.L.’s.
No 1 Sec advanced 1&1/2 miles by stages behind infantry and detected first enemy minefield, came under enemy mortar and shell fire. Made enough gap to get carriers through. F.O.O.’s carrier had joined section (...........) while gapping this, were subjected to intense shellfire, shells were falling so close that 2/Lt S.E.H. FORD and party had to clear second half of field lying on their bellies and crawling forwards. 4 men became casualties during this period from shrapnel wounds, two of these serious, the other two carried on after attention. (..............) Section then carried on after clearing this field and leaving party to mark same. (..............)"

From the above I am fairly confident that I know the section (platoon) to which my dad was attached during the Battle of El Alamein.
Unfortunately, officers & men could be/were cross posted between Companies / Platoons / Sections so it is possible that your relative (and indeed my dad) may have moved around within the unit due to platoon manning shortages / spreading experienced soldiers around etc.

Again apologies for the lost post.
Steve

Edit - have now seen Owen's post (and the ww2f thread) - so above unlikely to help SPsteam directly, but may help others.

 

Hello Ron

I have diaries of 116th LAA and all casualties are noted in the dairy


regards
Clive

 

Clive

Good for the clerk at the 116th !

Thanks for that

Ron