Where Did Your Grandfather Serve?

[Berkshire Saint]

Grandfather was in the Royal Navy, was a Lieutenant at the time of the war and fought in the Pacific.

 

Great-grandfather was in the Indian Army and fought in both World Wars. Was on the Western Front during the First (was a Captain then) and was a Brigadier by the time of the Second but no idea where he was based.

[Thedelldays]

A crusty old General died and found himself standing before Saint Peter at the pearly gates. Peter welcomed him warmly, "Come right in, General - you've served your country well and you may enter Heaven!"

 

The General looked thru the gates and stepped up to Saint Peter, "Just one thing, sonny. I hope there are no Sailors here. They are the rudest, most obnoxious variety of human ever, and if there are any of them here, I'm not going in; I'd rather go to the other place."

 

"Don't worry, General," said Saint Peter. "No Sailor has ever made it into Heaven. You'll find none of 'em here."

 

So, the General goes on into Heaven. Moments later, he comes upon an amazing sight. It is a swaggering figure in blue, cap tilted slightly on his head, a mostly empty bottle of Navy Rum in one hand, and a beautiful woman on either arm. Incensed, the General rushes back to Saint Peter and gets in his face. "Hey! You said there were no Sailors here! So what the hell is THAT?!?"

 

"Don't worry, General," says Saint Peter gently. "That's God. He just THINKS he's a Sailor."

[revolution saint]

My grandad was in the Tank core. I've no idea what unit but he was born in Frimley so probably a local one. I think he operated a flame thrower though i could be mistaken and he spent a lot of time in Belgium and Germany. He never really talked about it either but I imagine it's not an easy topic to either bring up or talk about. I really should find out more about it.

[Whitey Grandad]

Looking through our family history I found a few military connections. My wife's grandad was a cavalryman and served in the Boer War in the 7th Hussars and the 1st WW in the Hampshire Regiment. My dad had two brothers in WW1, one in the army and the other in the Navy.

We also used to have a letter from my grandad's brother Albert who was killed at Arras a couple of weeks after writing it. From what he wrote I was able to locate the actions he described on the large-scale maps held at Kew and read about them in the Battalion War Diaries. I then visited the fields where he still lies, grave unknown. Some years ago my sister came across a barman with the same surname as us and got talking to him. He was trying to find out about his father who had been killed in WW1 leaving him as a one-year old with no father. She went back later and gave him the letter that his father had written. He had no photographs or memorabilia so this was the only thing that he had to conect him to his old man.

 

I was also fortunate to be able to visit the grave of my father's cousin at El Alamein cemetry. He was 23 and killed on the 4th day of the battle.

 

We will remember them.

[mcjwills]

Father served as a Gunner on the Big Guns in the Royal Navy on Atlantic Convey and the Arctic Conveys, never spoke alot about it except he was nearly deafened by the noise of the shells being fired & it was bloody cold up on the Arctic sea

[GuttedAnt]

CL's post / thread about BoB was great.

 

Made me think about my Grandfather. He was in a hussar tank regiment in North Africa and Italy. He did not say much about his war experiences other than being in a tank was not the safest place to be and that he was scared most of the time.

 

Where did your grandfather / father serve in WW2?

 

 

Pretty much the same as mine. Italy and North Africa, scared shutless.

[HK_Phoey]

I had one Grandfather in the Medical Corps in India and Burma, 2nd Grandfather was a pathfinder flying Mosquitos in Bomber Command

[Saint137]

CL's post / thread about BoB was great.

 

Made me think about my Grandfather. He was in a hussar tank regiment in North Africa and Italy. He did not say much about his war experiences other than being in a tank was not the safest place to be and that he was scared most of the time.

 

Where did your grandfather / father serve in WW2?

 

May have fought close by my grandad's regiment then - they put the Hussars and Lancers alongside each other a lot, probably because the regimental rivalry would have kicked in! Do you know which Hussar regiment he was in?

[Amesbury Saint]

May have fought close by my grandad's regiment then - they put the Hussars and Lancers alongside each other a lot, probably because the regimental rivalry would have kicked in! Do you know which Hussar regiment he was in?

 

I think it was the 11th Hussars but will ask my Mum.

[Whitey Grandad]

I think it was the 11th Hussars but will ask my Mum.

Have a look at his medals. It should be engraved on them. Then it's the National Archives at Kew, well worth a visit.

[SuperMikey]

My grandad died long before I was born, but I know that he served in North Africa (including Tobruk), Crete, Italy, India and Burma as well as some other countries that evade my mind at this moment. Can't possibly begin to imagine some of the things that he saw during his service, and I really don't envy the other men who were in his position either.

[sadoldgit]

Both of my Grandfathers died as a result of WW1. My Dad was too young to serve in WW2 but was aprt of the local Home Guard.

 

I can't wait for Alpine to find this thread. Father in the SS and chased the Von Trapps over the Alps and Grandfather serving with Corporal Hitler in the trenches?

[Under Weststand]

My Grandfather was in the Navy not sure if active service during WW1 though he had Died before I came along. My Dad was on HMS Primrose a Flower Class Corvette on the Atlantic Convoys during WW-2 He had a great scrap book of picture & maps that he had drawn up with the convoys marked on encounters with U-boats etc. He had given all his War memorabilia to his eldest Grandson before he died 13 years ago, this thread has reminded me I would really like a copy of it.

[Special K]

1 grandfather was in the Artillery and saw action in north africa and italy. His medals and other bits and pieces (photos, service records, etc) were given to me recently. The other was a tanker driver, delivering fuel to airfields.

 

My grandmother had a brother who was in a Japanese POW camp for about 2 years. I was recently given a very small book of a mudsummer nights dream which he kept during his time in the far east. He wrote in the inside a list of the places he'd been to and had to keep it hidden from the japs. It was a bit of a christoper walken moment from pulp fiction, but i'm sure he never had to stuff the book up his bum! Nonetheless it's a great piece of family history.

[Mao Cap]

Good thread, some very interesting stories.

 

The First World War was a lot bigger thing for my family (great-grandfather and six of his brothers in the Royal West Kents, the most serving in one regiment at any one time or something like that) but my paternal grandfather joined the Navy at the start of the war and was a Petty Officer (or possibly Able Seaman, I forget which) on a cruiser called the HMS Effingham, which hit a rock due to a navigation error and sank off Narvik in May 1940.

The crew came ashore fine in an area not yet controlled by the Germans (who were in the process of handing our arses to us on a plate) were (rather bizarrely, considering they were sailors) presented with pistols by the Army and set about getting themselves offshore quick as possible; it was whilst they were doing this that my Grandad fell off the back of a truck, busting up his legs pretty badly. He was laid up in a hospital in Glasgow for a time after the evacuation, then soon after returned to his pre-war job on the railways, which I think were quite understaffed at the time.

 

All has a faintly farcical, Spike Milligan feel about it, which I suppose is why he never had any problem talking about it to my father (died when I was 5). Like my other grandfather (who was a panelbeater for Rolls-Royce before the war and therefore of more use working on planes than in the armed force) he was fortunate enough to do his part without paying for it with any (permanent) physical or psychological damage.

[Crab Lungs]

Cheers Ames... and in answer to your question, my grandfather served in Burma not long after WWII. He was 17 or 18 if I remember correctly.

 

He'd always tell me stories about it when I was younger... about the jungle, the conflicts... probably not appropriate and whilst he felt he had to gloss it over for me, I persisted that he tell me all the gory details.

 

He never really did though.

[Rocker268]

My Granddad on my Mum's side was a radio operator, but I don't know if he served during the war, never on the front line though. He had a large part in the Berlin Air Lift and got an MBE for his contribution. Unfortunately he was never happy to talk about it and died whilst I was 7. My Mum's Mum served in the WAAF and met my Granddad out in Berlin.

 

Both of my dad's parents were too young to serve although my Grandma was a London evacuee.

[saint_stevo]

Grandad served in WW2 at monte casino (massive SP) and lost an arm and nearly lost a leg.

 

Remember him telling me a story about after he was blown up by a grenade/mortar (bit hazy as to what it was exactly) but he was travelling between medic centres as they fought to save his leg there was a bloke on the same wagon who stood up the whole way, when me grandad enquired as to why it turned out he had been shot up the ass!

[matthewb]

Both my grandparents on my Fathers side were too young to serve in WWII, but I think my Grandfather did his national service in the early 50's in the army somewhere in the Middle East.

 

On my Mother's side both parents served in the RAF. My Grandmother was a radio operator at Middle Wallop and Swanage. My Grandfather was also a radio operator and served in Northern Africa and Italy. his brother in law was a navigator on the Lancasters.

[Crab Lungs]

Oh, I forgot, my other grandfather!

 

He was a kid during WWII and would always recall walking down a stoney path somewhere in Soton and hearing the props of a Messcherschmit (goddamn sp?) behind him. He looked behind and sure enough there was an ME-109 bearing down on him... he took off just as the plane started firing at him and always remembered 2 things:

 

1. The bullets whipping and pinging around him off the gravel and branches snapping and cracking as he ran to safety.

2. Crapping his pants :-(

[RedAndWhite91]

Oh, I forgot, my other grandfather!

 

He was a kid during WWII and would always recall walking down a stoney path somewhere in Soton and hearing the props of a Messcherschmit (goddamn sp?) behind him. He looked behind and sure enough there was an ME-109 bearing down on him... he took off just as the plane started firing at him and always remembered 2 things:

 

1. The bullets whipping and pinging around him off the gravel and branches snapping and cracking as he ran to safety.

2. Crapping his pants :-(

 

My Grandad had the same happen to him, I think he said. He used to go down Netley military hospital (a no bomb zone, due to the German POW's there) a lot and get sweets off the Americans, and he also used to go fishing off the pier there. Once, one of the flying boats was going up the river, and they threw a tin of sardines at him .

[Whitey Grandad]

My Grandad had the same happen to him, I think he said. He used to go down Netley military hospital (a no bomb zone, due to the German POW's there) a lot and get sweets off the Americans, and he also used to go fishing off the pier there. Once, one of the flying boats was going up the river, and they threw a tin of sardines at him .

The oil terminal at Hamble was also a no-bomb zone. The Germans wanted to keep it for when they invaded.

[RedAndWhite91]

The oil terminal at Hamble was also a no-bomb zone. The Germans wanted to keep it for when they invaded.

 

Interesting point, never thought about that.. Had the Germans bombed it the blast radius would have been massive - And I wouldn't be here today. Blimey...

[GenevaSaint]

One was a boilermaker down at Vospers (Harland & Wolff) in Woolston, not sure about the other one as he was Irish.

[Rocker268]

The oil terminal at Hamble was also a no-bomb zone. The Germans wanted to keep it for when they invaded.

 

I'm not sure if this is true but I heard that both the Civic Centre and St Michael's Church were no bomb zones as they provided navigation points for German Bombers. Although I have my doubts just because of the accuracy which would have been required.

[GenevaSaint]

I'm not sure if this is true but I heard that both the Civic Centre and St Michael's Church were no bomb zones as they provided navigation points for German Bombers. Although I have my doubts just because of the accuracy which would have been required.

 

As you say rocker highly unlikely due to accuracy problems. Wasn't the church in the high street (opp FYEO) destroyed in the blitz? That's only a stones throw from St Michael's.

 

The only no bomb zone I'm certain about was Winchester.

[Rocker268]

As you say rocker highly unlikely due to accuracy problems. Wasn't the church in the high street (opp FYEO) destroyed in the blitz? That's only a stones throw from St Michael's.

 

The only no bomb zone I'm certain about was Winchester.

 

Yea it was, as was most of that area. Which is why I'm doubtful.

 

I never appreciated Winchester was a no bomb zone though.

[bridge too far]

Oh, I forgot, my other grandfather!

 

He was a kid during WWII and would always recall walking down a stoney path somewhere in Soton and hearing the props of a Messcherschmit (goddamn sp?) behind him. He looked behind and sure enough there was an ME-109 bearing down on him... he took off just as the plane started firing at him and always remembered 2 things:

 

1. The bullets whipping and pinging around him off the gravel and branches snapping and cracking as he ran to safety.

2. Crapping his pants :-(

 

I didn't find out until we were arranging her funeral, but apparently my mother was cycling from the Central Library down to the Floating Bridge when she was strafed (sp?). She got hit in one leg (nothing too serious though) when she was close to the Central Hall.

 

[RedAndWhite91]

Why was Winchester a no bomb zone?

[Give it to Ron]

One I know of served in the RN and did battle in the Atlantic etc.

He won the French Croix Du Guerre during one skirmish where he saved loads of sailors

machine gunning the Jerries.

I remember my nan telling me he never spoke much about it but never regretted doing it as he had seen loads of his mates killed in the same way.

[svetigpung]

Old grandad was in The Royal Navy, worked in the signalman, served in Ceylon, nowdays Sri Lanka.

[View From The Top]

My grandfather who worked at Super Marine told me a similar story.

 

The sirens went off for a daytime raid and instead of heading straight to the shelter he got on his bike to ride back up Peartree Ave to Blackthorn Rd where his wife and two daughters were.

 

As we got up by where the Winning Post pub is he was straffed. Thankfully they missed but we remembers vividly the yellow nose and pale blue belly of the plane as it banked up and away.

 

My dads house in Sholing was hit during the blitz and when they dug my dad and uncle out they found them under a tin bath under the stairs.

 

 

Oh, I forgot, my other grandfather!

 

He was a kid during WWII and would always recall walking down a stoney path somewhere in Soton and hearing the props of a Messcherschmit (goddamn sp?) behind him. He looked behind and sure enough there was an ME-109 bearing down on him... he took off just as the plane started firing at him and always remembered 2 things:

 

1. The bullets whipping and pinging around him off the gravel and branches snapping and cracking as he ran to safety.

2. Crapping his pants :-(

[Kingsland Codger]

My Grandfather was in the Royal Flying Corps in WW1, based in Italy. He was only 17 and like so many others he lied about his age to join up.

 

My father was in the Royal Artillery in North Africa and Italy in WW2.

 

My father-in-law served in China and the Pacific - he was in the Japanese Army.

[GenevaSaint]

Why was Winchester a no bomb zone?

 

I *think* it was on the orders of Hitler as he wanted as the captial instead of London. I could be talking complete tosh though as I can't find any reference on the web.

[Whitey Grandad]

I'm not sure if this is true but I heard that both the Civic Centre and St Michael's Church were no bomb zones as they provided navigation points for German Bombers. Although I have my doubts just because of the accuracy which would have been required.

I've had a couple of guided tours and in the manager's office there is a luftwaffe photograph. I seem to remember that it had words to that effect and that is what they had told me previously. Hamble terminal was also the source for the PLUTO pipeline that supplied the D-Day landings. The pieline heads are still there.

[Pugwash]

Grandfather - WW1 served at Jutland, transferred to submarines and went down with K13 but survived. Capturing Chinese pirates between the wars. WW2 torpedoed on the Ambuscade on the Arctic convoys but survived the war.

Father - built planes, worked on the team developing the Horsa glider. Fitted out the special air brakes for the attack on the Ranville battery.

Mother - Also built planes (how they met), bombed out in the blitz.

Father-in-Law - First wave on Gold beach with the Hampshires, wounded around Arnhem with 30 Corps.

[RedAndWhite91]

I *think* it was on the orders of Hitler as he wanted as the captial instead of London. I could be talking complete tosh though as I can't find any reference on the web.

 

Wouldn't be a bad shout, considering Hitler admired our nation and our history - of course, Winchester being the historical capital.

[Baj]

Dont know about either of my granddads (should really ask my parents) but I know my nan worked in a munitions plant for the RAF. Wish the old cow had dropped one of the bombs herself sometimes...

[Foxstone]

I only know a little of my maternal grandfather's war record but it certainly appears note worthy:

 

He was a sergeant in the Royal Artillery and fought in Holland around Venray and then into the Rhineland (Wesel ?), before crossing the Rhine near Cologne.

 

He was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette) and received the OakLeaf during that campaign.

 

I have always promised myself I would find out more as it seems a record to be proud of - Just need to find the time.

[Viking Warrior]

MY Grandfather served in the Artillary as part of the BEF

 

My father was in the paras , served in Palestine and a few years later changed to the pay corp.

 

My Girlfriends Father served with the Hampshire/ Berkshire regt got wounded in Italy

 

Her Uncle served on HMS Martin as a stoker during the Artic conveys, it then deployed at the end of september 42 from Orkney and 10 days later he was killed of tangier when a u boat struck HMS Martin

[FarehamRed]

Grandfather was killed in action in 1917, 3 months before my father was born.

 

My father saw action in Norway and North Africa before being called back to England. He then took part in the D-Day landings. After being wounded, he returned to action and was part of the force that liberated Holland. He was posted in Arnhem, where me met my mum.

 

During the Nazi occupation of Holland, my Mum was forced to work in a munitions factory, where she met Gobbels who was on an inspection tour.

 

Man & Dad returned to England in 1946.

 

All true.

[Master Bates]

Pretty sure one of them was on HMS Hood, not sure about the other but both Navy.

[bridge too far]

I've found out a bit about my paternal grandfather.

 

I don't think he served in WWII but in the first war he was, so the story goes, sentenced to death as a traitor! It seems he was on look-out and the rules were that you didn't step down until your replacement stepped up (common sense).

 

However, he passed out and fell before his replacement had stepped up - hence the charge of deserting his post and therefore being a traitor. It turns out that his mother had to petition the king for his sentence to be commuted and he spent some considerable time in prison.

 

Scary stuff :shock:

[Crab Lungs]

Incredible thread :-o

[View From The Top]

Pretty sure one of them was on HMS Hood, not sure about the other but both Navy.

 

Only 3 men survived the sinking of HMS Hood. My great uncle wasn't one of them.

[oxfordshire_saint]

My Grandad on my Mum's side (who later went on to be a Coldstream Guard) was too young to serve but my Great Grandad on my Mum's side was out in British Malaya.

 

Need to find out more about the other side but I know my Great Grandad and Great Uncles all survived in Northern France during WW1.

[Whitey Grandad]

My Grandad on my Mum's side (who later went on to be a Coldstream Guard) was too young to serve but my Great Grandad on my Mum's side was out in British Malaya.

 

Need to find out more about the other side but I know my Great Grandad and Great Uncles all survived in Northern France during WW1.

Right.... if you can get a look at their medals they will be inscribed with their names and regiments. Go to the National Archives at Kew - entrance and parking free - and look at the medal rolls to see where they served and with with regiment/ship etc. Then find the batallion war diaries for that regiment. They will give you the day by day account of what they were up to. If you're lucky you may be able to find their military records, although a lot were lost in the Blitz. Go to the Large Documents room and you can call up the maps of the trenches that were prepared by the Ordnance Survey for the whole of the Western Front from the Channel to the Alps. They are large scale and everything is grid-referenced to the nearest 50 metres. The Allied trenches are marked in blue and the Germans in Red and they stretch back for miles from the front line. These grid references are given in the War Diaries so you can see on the maps where the actions happened. You can also call up the plans for each battle and the reports that were made just after. Officers are sometimes mentioned by name but Other Ranks are just listed by quantity. It's a fascinating insight into war history, the amount of planning and logistics that went into it are unbelievable.

 

Good luck, and happy hunting!

 

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-subject/firstworldwar.htm?WT.lp=rg-3065

[oxfordshire_saint]

Right.... if you can get a look at their medals they will be inscribed with their names and regiments. Go to the National Archives at Kew - entrance and parking free - and look at the medal rolls to see where they served and with with regiment/ship etc. Then find the batallion war diaries for that regiment. They will give you the day by day account of what they were up to. If you're lucky you may be able to find their military records, although a lot were lost in the Blitz. Go to the Large Documents room and you can call up the maps of the trenches that were prepared by the Ordnance Survey for the whole of the Western Front from the Channel to the Alps. They are large scale and everything is grid-referenced to the nearest 50 metres. The Allied trenches are marked in blue and the Germans in Red and they stretch back for miles from the front line. These grid references are given in the War Diaries so you can see on the maps where the actions happened. You can also call up the plans for each battle and the reports that were made just after. Officers are sometimes mentioned by name but Other Ranks are just listed by quantity. It's a fascinating insight into war history, the amount of planning and logistics that went into it are unbelievable.

 

Good luck, and happy hunting!

 

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-subject/firstworldwar.htm?WT.lp=rg-3065

 

Brilliant, cheers for the advice, I've been wanting to find out some more about my family's history in the wars. One of my Grandfathers, the one who was in the Coldstream Guards, died just before Christmas and it's really made me want to try and find out as much as possible from the Grandparents that I do have left.

 

I've visited a lot of the memorials and battlefields in France and Belgium (Thiepval, Beaumont-Hamel, Ypres, La Boiselle, Vimy, Arras, Fromelles) and it'd be amazing to know of any family involvement, if any.

[saint1977]

Grandad served in WW2 at monte casino (massive SP) and lost an arm and nearly lost a leg.

 

Remember him telling me a story about after he was blown up by a grenade/mortar (bit hazy as to what it was exactly) but he was travelling between medic centres as they fought to save his leg there was a bloke on the same wagon who stood up the whole way, when me grandad enquired as to why it turned out he had been shot up the ass!

 

Steve, chances are he was treated by my paternal grandfather who was an Army medic in Monte Casino and also served in Dunkirk, El Alamain and Malaya in the 1950s in a military career spanning almost 30 years. His final posting was Royal Victoria Hospital. Maternal grandfather served in Burma and as a POW on Burmese railway sadly he did lose a leg.

 

Sadly, my paternal grandfather's reward was in his final months to have his property broken into by scum whilst he was there and rather than stopping at nicking household goods and scaring an old man (bad enough), they chose to steal his war medals. Hants Police were incensed and launched a big media appeal and a few months later the medals turned up buried in the bottom of a garden in Bittterne. Senior officers paid out of their own pocket to have the medals restored as the case had touched them but sadly, my grandfather died just weeks before he could be re-united with them.

[Mase]

I know mine was in the Royal Navy and served after the war as a minesweeper. That’s about it! He really hasn’t spoken about it at all and whenever I asked when I was a kid that’s all the info I really got.