Hi, I wonder if anyone could help. My Dad served in WW2, was evacuated from Dunkirk after days on the beach and then later in the war was evacuated from Crete where he was wounded in the arm. He never spoke about the war to me, but my Mum said that he used to shake when he heard the noise of Stukas on news films. She also said that when he was wounded his mates carried him for a while but then decided to leave him as the retreat was so chaotic they though he'd have a better chance with the German doctors. However, some locals found him and took him by back paths to the harbour avoiding all the jams/queues/chaos and he was evacuated. And kept the arm .. he became a bus driver! But she's not sure what regiment he was in. I always assumed the East Lancs, as he was from Accrington. Bit she says it was a Warwick regiment as he was working away when called up. His name was William Henry Holden. What's the best way to find out what regiment he was in. Anyone know if either the above were at both Dunkirk AND Crete? Thanks, Bill
hello Bill a good start is to apply for his service records link below https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence/about/publication-scheme#special-subject-access-requests-ssar--extended-access-to-information regards Clive
Hi Bill and welcome to the forum. Unfortunately it's not just about the regiment there is also what battalion to consider as well. As Clive says without knowing the battalion/regiment your best bet would be to apply for a copy of his service records-These will tell you all the units he served with and when. Once you have this info you can really get some day to day detail on what he was doing from the units diaries. There was two East Lancs battalions fighting in France and Belgium during 1940 - 1st and 4th Battalions. Regards Andy
If you find out the Battalion do come back-I'll tell you pretty much everything there is on the Bn at Dunkirk etc. Crete is a different story though
