Could anyone shed any light or point me in the right direction. During the course of my family history research I can across a distant ancestor that I wasn't planning to look into particularly closely but I am a little intrigrued. His name is Roy Howe and his service number is PLY/X 112694 and he is buried in Ohlsdorf, Hamburg and his death is listed 1/6/1945. He is shown as being in the 31st Battalion of the Royal Marines. I was intrigued to know how he ended up in Hamburg, my initial assumption was that he was a POW. When I tried to find out more about his unit I was struggling to find mention of a 31st battalion of the Royal Marines. Grateful for any information on this unit. Thanks in advance.
Hi, Welcome to the forum. It would’ve been helpful for other members to post a link to his CWGC entry - here https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2200320/roy-howe/ Although he is now buried in Hamburg he was initially buried in Voorde - just outside Kiel - a major German naval port. He is shown as died in the concentration report. I doubt he was an ex POW. There were RM contingents in the area of the German naval ports in the immediate aftermath of the end of the war - including 30 Assault Unit RM. There is a war diary for 31 RM shown in NA Discovery archive search catalogue - image attached. It is not digitised so it would need a visit to UK NA at Kew to examine it. Hopefully others may be able to assist further. Good luck. Steve EDIT TO ADD 2 of the 3 copies of the burial concentration report have him as “died” but the third copy has the typed “died” overwritten with a 3 letter acronym that looks to be “KAS”. I interpret that as Killed At Sea. You may find that a trawl of online newspapers may find a mention of his death.
31st Royal Marine Battalion Raised 26 January 1945 at Deal The battalion served under 117th Brigade, Royal Marines from 29 January to 31 August 1945. The brigade was located in the United Kingdom until 13 May 1945, at sea until 14 May, in North-West Europe until 30 June and then in the United Kingdom. The brigade was in the Keil area from 18 May to 27 June. The battalion was disbanded shortly after the war. D Company went to 33rd RM Battalion on 7 October 1945.
The 31st Battalion certainly did exist, although it took awhile to find an official reference in Admiralty Fleet Orders: Manpower Re-Allocation 15/11/1945 and one mention on pg.22. Note - this is in an official Australian archive: https://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/6486-6531.pdf Then by dropping "st":: From: Kiel You might find it easier to follow the service of the brigade, rather than the battalion. The link takes you to their War Diaries January to June 1945: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edit...+"Royal+Marines"&pg=PA294&printsec=frontcover This link refers to a parade upon their return home, but not accessed: Bolts from the Blue: From Cold War Warrior to Chief of the Air Staff [Hardcover ed.] 1911621092, 9781911621096 - DOKUMEN.PUB
For context on the RN & RM presence in Northern Germany, see this rather unclear format. Here is one passage: From: HMS Princess Louise, Brunsbuttel World Naval Ships Forums Archive I could see any CWGC record for fatalities in the 31st (though the search engine is not perfect). I wonder if as the war's outcome became clearer cadre units retained in the UK were strengthened to become active service or field formations. Given the shortage of infantry in the British Army, and the RN's role it makes sense - to me - to use such formations after VE-Day. A "patch" website refers to and omits 31 Bn!: From: British Commando WWII Patch Royal Marine Division Patch 1942 A little more: From: Royal Marines Historical Time Line 2000-2024
Two previous threads of some value: Naval landing parties -Help with dad's service records please Especially Post 10 and Kiel May 1945: who was in charge? on pg. 3 has a set of photos of Kiel.
Can help post VE Day 8 May 45 31st Infantry Battalion Royal Marines of 117th Infantry Brigade Royal Marines Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel GW Innes Battalion Headquarters: Seine Camp, Stadtkreis Kiel 1 Jun 45 – Company – Strand Promonade Travemünde north-east of Lübeck The Brigade returned to the UK via Ostend by 27 Jun 45 21st Army Group later British Army of the Rhine (under construction)
