Information on Alexander Watson Gilgallon Commando WW2

Born in 1920 in Glasgow my grandfather entered WW2 at 19 years old. We know he was a commando and served in Norway, Italy and possibly Burma (or somewhere similar).We know he was a sergeant at sometime and was demoted down to a corporal....we are led to believe that this had something to do with swapping a motorbike for a jeep with an American soldier??? We cant find his name any where and would appreciate any information if possible. Thank you.

Hi and welcome to the CVA Website & Forums.

At the moment I don't seem to have your grandfather listed in the nominal rolls we compiled recently.
The best advice I can give is to apply to the ONLY custodians of WWII Service records - the MoD.
You will need next of kin consent and the death certificate and it costs a one off fee of £30 but you will receive a scan of his complete, handwritten, original service record from enlistment to demob including regiment & service number, training, postings, conversion to commando, promotions, demotions, theatre of war, embarkations/dis-embarkations, wounds & hospitalisations.
once you have this information then we can help you build the bigger picture and fill in most of the gaps.

Talking of pictures - do you have any photos of your grandfather in uniform at all? These could give a clue as to which Cdo he was in...

The forms you need to apply to the MoD -
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/545054/request_service_details_NOK_pt1_v6.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/545060/request_for_service_details_army_application_part2_1_.pdf

nick

Further to my previous post, do you know whether your grandfather served in the Army or the Royal Marines?
If Army, do you know what his parent regiment was?
Do you have any documents which may have his service number on?

Nick