Hi all, Does anyone know what Bn this chap served in? Believe he was at Arnhem and was Para Regt Just need a Bn to set me off...........
He was wounded in 1943 and prisoner at Arnhem in 1944 both are noted as with 1st Parachute Battalion edit to add he is noted as Hale note Hales
AB64 - Many thanks for the quick response......... Hmm, maybe I have the wrong service number? His name is defo Hales and I am led to believe he escaped at Arnhem rather than prisoner
What information do you have about him that may help us do a little more digging and confirm if it is him (with a possible misspelling) or to find the right gent? Looking at Ancestry Births between 1905-1925 which seems a likely range for Arnhem see a Hale but not a Hales - I can't see him in the 1939 census but I he could already have been in the Army (the number suggested would have enlisted early 1938 I think)
Sounds like that may be him if the subject of the original question got back - I believe his Army Number was 6351419 - might be hard to work out his part in the Battle as signallers were all over the place doing their bit
All, Thanks again for all your help. I don't really know much, I am researching him for a friend. Apologies for not being more clear with what we do know............ Apparently he was Worcester Regt or Sherwood Forester then went Para. (But don't know when or what Bn) May have been Cpl He told his grandson he escaped Arnhem by swimming the river. His DoB is: 25/05/23 I may have been mistaken when I looked for him and found the Regt number for Pte Hales and assumed it was him. Doubt the Signaller is him.
He was originally conscripted into the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment. He was also a prisoner of war, no.92054, incarcerated in Stalag XIIA.
I did guess as much. My grandad’s number was 5948546 from 1933 into Beds and Herts. Any idea if he was 1st or 2nd battalion?
The George John Hale from 1 Para with the Service number 5989841 gave his date of birth on his POW Liberation report as 14/3/1922. On this he shows that he was captured on the 26th September going first to Stalag XIIA, then Stalag IVB and finally a work camp at Dresden from 7/11/1944 to 20/4/1945
The Signallers number (6351419) indicated Royal West Kent's enlistment around June/July 1940 but other than that I'm struggling for any info on him - he could still be our man, but it could be a struggle to know for sure if he is or isn't Looks like we can write off 5989841 thanks to Horsapassenger providing his Date of Birth
6351419 Signaller G J Hale was on a parachute course at Ringway in March 1943. He was listed as Para Bde reinforcements. He is on the list of signallers who were at Arnhem and is shown as returning across the Rhine. Hope this helps Cheers Arnhem