Hi Can any one help me in respect to my Grandfather, I am hoping to obtain his military records though having trouble with this as it appears they are held at Barnet possibly and there is no website or contact details, just an address (so will be making a visit as soon as I can). I am looking for any info on Trooper A F T Garwood, I have come across book which he is mentioned in twice, first being an injury and second his capture, he was at Fallingbostel, Lower Saxony, Stalag XI-B we know, but we don't know if he stayed there, or was moved on etc.... he was POW to end of war April '45 being taken prisoner on the Thursday after jumps at Arnhem we have managed to put together so far, but the reports I have been reading on Fallingbostel are very grim and not sure if there are diaries or anything that are available. As am interested if he was sent out to work, he was injured and was much to his disappointment discharged when released I know due to injury and loss of use to right hand properly, from newspaper clippings and from what we have been told, unfortunately he died age 24 when my was a baby, after coming home he was very ill and died in 1948, Reading Remember Arnhem which he is mentioned in has helped my mum understand the dad she didn't know's life, but to get more info would be great, but its knowing where to start, it has taken me 18 years to get this far Thank you Tracy
If I am looking at the same AFT Garwoord, his service number is 6920748 and his POW number was 118627. He was Royal Armoured Corps??? Have you tried to apply for his service records from here? https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records Can take up to 12 months but this will give you a lot of information and should be your first port of call. You could also try liberation questionnaires. these are held at the National Archives but one of the chaps here can retrieve these for you Also you can try the Red Cross and, if they can find it, they will give you a list of his known locations. http://www.icrc.org/web/forms/webforms.nsf/F_Archive?OpenForm&ParentUNID=FC2FA71E2991A657C12572E200322DD7 Then when you have these locations there is typically lots of reading and interviews with ex-POWs in each camp which will give you an idea of what it was like.
Tracy I can't add much more than Dave has said above apart from the fact that I have viewed all of the POW Liberation Questionnaires at The National Archives and extracted details of those taken POW at Arnhem. Unfortunately there is no report for your Grandfather. I have sent you a PM about another potential source of information. John
Hi As general background there is a Red Cross report on Fallingbostel at Kew http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=C168860
Hi All Thank you for your responses and what looks like a great help, I am very grateful to all assistance . Dave and John - Yes that is the same A.F.T. Garwood and is his service number that is on paperwork my Nan had, (which was to be honest very little over the years). I have looked on MOD link and made a start there thank you to both of you, I maybe making progress in right direction rather than the complete wrong routes and you seem to have cut out a lot of time wasting for me , and probably disheartening searching, thank you. I will look into Red Cross too later tonight thank you very much. Also thank you John for PM and will look into that too, very much appreciated. Thank you Very Excited Tracy
Hi Tracy welcome to the forum. This site has an overview of 1 Airborne Recce http://www.justordinarymen.org.uk/page_1212317739671.html Cheers Paul
Hi Paul Thank You did look at that site also www.paradata.org.uk both very addictive sites and will be continuing to look through them for more assistance I did come across a diary that was quite emotional but unfortunately am still looking for it again as I lost it and hadn't finished reading it , but I am determined and will find it again Thank You Tracy
Tracy have found a family tree on Ancestry with picture of your Grandfather. Here is the link http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/9304273/person/1036111141/mediax/1?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid%7CpgNum
Hi, sorry to hijack this thread, but i have a similar inquiry. My grandfather was in the 1st Battalion Border Regiment and was wounded i think on 24th September 1944. He was in a medical station taken by the Germans and was taken to Stalag XI-B Fallingbostel. His service number is 3602861 and his POW number was 118824. He passed away in 1994 and i never had a chance to ask him about his time in the Army. I have sent off for 'When Dragons Flew' which is an account of the Border Regiment throughout WW2 and i will look at all the links posted on this page, but if anybody has any more information to help me i would certainly appreciate it, thank you.
Welcome to the forum Paul, My post above with the link to the service record application will be your key piece of information. Can you post his name? Dave
I can't believe I didn't post his name! He was called Edwin Metcalfe and his rank was Private. My mother is his next of kin, but is very poorly with terminal cancer and I would need her to sign the record request form. I have used the system before when obtaining my own fathers military records, but at that time my mother was in better health. Thank for your reply
Paul I think that you might find the attached of interest - it seems to confirm what you know although the date of capture is different. I would certainly urge you to consider joining the Arnhem Fellowship (http://www.arnhem1944fellowship.org) where there are a large number of people with an interest in the battle. John
John Thank you ever so much for the attachment, it's very kind of you to help. Oh and yes, it seems i have the date wrong, i cant remember whether i was told the date or i read it somewhere. I will have a look at the web-link you posted also, it sounds very interesting. brilliant Paul
HI Paul, From When Dragons Flew there were 2 Metcalfes in 1 Border at Arnhem - I remember from a veteran I used to know that he mentioned a "Chips" Metcalfe but I'm not sure if that would have been your Grandfather or the other one - do you know if your Grandfather rejoined the Battalion and went to Norway? Cheers Alistair
Hi Alistair, I spoke to my mother yesterday, but unfortunately she doesn't know, which is a shame. I know he was called Peter by his friends rather than Edwin and my mother says he had shrapnel injuries in his leg from when he was parachuting into Arnhem. She did say that he was in Africa too. She is very poorly and so i don't want to mither her too much and will probably wait for her to pass on before attempting to send for his service records. Regards Paul
Looking at the second edition of When Dragons Flew (I'd looked my first edition before) it has a picture With S Metcalfe (the other one) and a different photo with "Chips" (I have the same photo from Jim Swan) and it looks like he is the same person so looks like I have a false lead with "Chips"<br /><br />Sorry<br /><br />Alistair
