Arthur Mansell Pte 3961650, 6th KOSB Normandy 1944 - Injured 1st July 1944.

My Great Grandfather's service in the war was an enigma for some time. I understand he did not speak at much length of his time in the war with relatives.

He was Arthur Mansell, army number 3961650

I made a request for his information with the MOD who have came back to me, but I'm afraid I'm a little stumped on where to go from here as his documentation reveals that he served with both the 1/5th Btn Welch Regiment and the KOSB 6th (King's Own Scottish Borderers?)

He was injured on the 1st July 1944.

I am interested in any information or direction that might help me find out about the action that led to his injury, and any information as to why he might have been listed with having served with KOSB 6th.

I have attached two documents that were shared with me that might help! (Is it normal for parts of a service to be redacted like so?)

All help and direction appreciated, thank you!

 

Hi,

Unfortunately the redaction is part and parcel of TNA/MoD's process. Although I'm surprised they saw fit to redact his trade on enlistment, that's a new one on me.

Regards.
John

 

Hi,

Wecome to the forum.

If MOD sent you any other pages can you please attach them as there may be other clues in them.

In simple terms it wasn’t unusual for the army to transfer men between regiments as shortages in fighting battalions needed to be made good. That is likely why he was marked for reinforcement draft in the days before 6th June 1944.


As for redactions by MOD - yes it is quite common as they apply FOI rules.

Im sure a member with knowledge of 6 KOSB activities in Normandy will be along shortly. They landed on the Normandy beaches on the 15th June 1944, and took part in the battles around Caen and the River Odon.

6th KINGS OWN SCOTTISH BORDERERS (KOSB)

You will find the war diary here -

https://www.15thscottishdivisionwar...d/29af12_6dd6e73210794d179d9fec343acecdfb.pdf

He was likely injured in the aftermath of Operation Epsom -

Operation Epsom - Wikipedia

Good luck.

Steve

NOTE TO MOD

Thanks for updating the topic title.

 

Hi,

Thank you both for the swift replies! I do have a number of additional documents that were sent. I did not know if they were entirely relevant as he was a member of the Territorial Army before the war, seemingly discharged in 1939 because of being "urgently needed in employment in civil life" before re-entering service shortly thereafter; at least as far as I can surmise from the documentation in that regard.

I'll attach all of what else was sent to me here.

 

Hi,

Your great grandfather's medal index card, regards, John.

 

Thank you so much, John!

I did talk to my grandmother again about what little she knew of her father's time in the war, with these new revelations. His medals are seemingly something that have been lost through time. One curious point she made mention of is that he related having briefly been in Orkney.

From what's been mentioned here and perusing some helpful threads I can at least paint some sort of picture where he was posted to a Reinforcement Holding Unit labelled RHU 3(?) on the 1st June 1944. He was embarked on the 10th and transferred to the 6th KOSB on the 23rd June when they were stationed near Brecy before moving on to Bretteville as part of Operation Epsom. He was wounded at Grainville as a result of a counter offensive undertaken by the II SS Panzer Corps (I assume elements of the 9th Panzer Division or supporting Panzergrenadiers from my amateur perusal).

From what my grandmother relates, he was injured by mortar shrapnel when kneeling along a hedgerow. Of what persisted after the war, he lost the ring finger of his left hand and suffered serious hearing damage to his left ear.

I suppose a question I have is if it's at possible to learn what company he may have been part of within 6KOSB? And if any details of his incident of injury would be available? I realise those might be long shot hopes given how much soldiers might be moved around and anything more specific in medical terms would perhaps still be confidential.

 

Hi, reading the War Diary, quite possibly he was with C Coy but, as Steve (Tullybrone) said above, hopefully someone with knowledge of 6 KOSB activities in Normandy will be able to help you further.

On a personal note, I found it quite moving when I found my granddad's medal Card. He died over 40 yrs ago but the card was definitely in his hand writing, which was extremely similar to my dad's handwriting, who sadly passed away in December last year.

Best of luck with your research.
John.

 

Hi CC, welcome aboard.

Regarding medical records, have a look at this thread, it may be of some help to you.

Apply to MoD for Medical Records of Deceased Service Personnel

The form:

Medical records for deceased service personnel

I’ve not applied for those myself, so no idea about the process etc, but the thread should be well worth a read. Good luck!

 

Hi,

Thanks for attaching the additional papers but as you say they adds nothing to his wartime story.

Sorry for this delayed reply. I don’t log on as much nowadays due to the habitual forum fault of regularly logging members out.

Steve

 

Hi CC
The relevant extract from the battalion history, The 6th (Border) Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers 1939-45, by Captain Baggaley, M.C., if you don't have it already and which incidentally also has a mention of my grandfather, Padre Sawyer: