Pte Cyril Whitehouse - 6 Commando

Pte Cyril Whitehouse was my Grandfather and served in No.6 Commando Troop 6 from at least 1943 to 1944.

Unfortunately I have very little information about his activities during the war and I had been searching online for more information about 6 Commando, when I came across this website/forum... On looking up the information you had on this commando unit, I noticed that my Grandad isn't listed under the Nominal Roll for that unit.

I had found another website www.6commando.com and he is listed on there, along with a photograph of him. That photo came from a book that was published about 6 Commando... my memory of that book is very vague, as my mother had a copy in her possession but unfortunately she lent it to somebody who was doing some historical research and he subsequently lost it!

One of the reasons for starting my own research on this was not only to see if I could find out more about my Grandfather and his wartime activities but also to see if I could track down a copy of that book... unfortunately, as already mentioned, my memory of it is very vague as it's a great many years since I last saw it. However, I seem to remember it was a paperback booklet about an A4 size that opened up landscape style.

Anyhow, would it be possible to include him in your records based on the information contained in the 6commando.com website, or would you require additional info?... also, if anybody has any ideas where I might be able to track down a copy of that book, I would be most grateful.

Thanks in advance for any replies,

Steve Harder

Hi Steve,
Thank you for contacting us and letting us know about your grandfather.
I will certainly add him to our No.6 Commando Nominal Roll.

Just so you know, there was never a definitive nominal roll for The Commandos so the ones we have on this Website are all our own work - this has taken a lot of work and research for a couple of people in their spare time.

We acknowledge there will be mistakes and omissions but we are still very proud of our achievements thus far and rely on people like you adding to our nominal rolls - because we strongly believe they all deserve to be remembered... But, at the same time, we are very careful not to 'poach' information from other sites - unless we have permission. Of course this does mean that we sometimes miss out on information but we are often rewarded when we are still given information - as you have today...

There are a good many books on the Commandos in general and quite a few on a few specific Commando Units; however, the only book I know that was published about No.6 Commando. is:
'VI Commando, July 1940-November 1945, Short History of No.6 Commando' published by Gale and Polden in 1946.

Nick

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 06/06/2019 19:20:41

The page from the book Nick refers to;
'VI Commando, July 1940-November 1945, Short History of No.6 Commando'
6 Troop 6 Commando enjoy their last cup of English tea before embarking, 5th June 1944

Nick and Guy, thanks very much for your replies and at least I now know the title and publisher of the book I'm searching for... it's great to see the full photograph with my Grandfather, which is how I remembered it, even though it's probably more than 20 years since I last saw it... Was that picture above taken from a copy you have in your possession, or is there an online copy available that could be viewed in full?

I know my Mother has a number of wartime photographs of him, so I will have to see if I can get hold of them and perhaps you might want to add them to your records

My Grandfather, like so many others who lived through the horrors of war, never really spoke about his experiences and unfortunately he is no longer with us to answer all the questions I'd liked to have asked... He passed away in August 1996, three weeks before his 77'th birthday.

Many thanks again for your replies so far.

Steve.

Steve,
Was your grandfather a police constable in Nottingham before the war?
Guy

Guy,

Yes he was... As far as I'm aware, he joined Nottinghamshire Constabulary just before the war and went back after he was demobbed and was stationed at Beeston. He retired after 25 years service when he turned age 45 in 1964... He then moved down to Hove in East Sussex (where I believe he'd done some of his army training) where he became a publican, running the Halfway House pub with my Uncle... I was born in 1965 and within a couple of years he moved to Southampton, when he became the landlord of The Maybush pub, which is where my first childhood memories come from, as my mother lived there for a while when she first moved to Southampton with me.

Steve

Hi Steve

SteveHarder wrote:
I know my Mother has a number of wartime photographs of him, so I will have to see if I can get hold of them and perhaps you might want to add them to your records

Yes please, we always welcome photos - mainly because they tell a story, but also because others may see a photo that includes their commando relative that they've never seen before. This happened only yesterday evening when I was 'chatting' with two people on the CVA Facebook page and when they told me their father's name I showed them three photos of their father that we have here in the Gallery, that they hadn't seen before...

Also, do you have any other details about your grandfather such as his parent regiment and his service number - I would like to add them to his entry in our Nominal Roll...

If not, your family can apply to the MoD for his service Records - I can point you in the right direction if you need me to...

Nick

Hi Nick,

My mother has my Grandfather's discharge papers in a box at her house (which should have his service number on) along with a load of stuff that belonged to him, including photo's, etc... She is going to be away for the next week but said she will dig the box out on her return so we can see whats in there... I'll let you know what we find.

Steve

SteveHarder wrote: Yes he was... As far as I'm aware, he joined Nottinghamshire Constabulary just before the war and went back after he was demobbed and was stationed at Beeston.

It will be interesting to see if the documents confirm if Cyril was part of the Police intake in July 1942.

Steve forwarded some more information about his grandfather, he is hoping to supply photographs in the future :

14259328 L/Cpl. Cyril WHITEHOUSE Green Howards & 6 Commando
3rd September 1919 - 1996 Southampton
Police Constable on enlistment
Enlisted at Bodmin 20th August 1942
On Cyril's release his unit is listed as Holding Operational Commando
He transferred to the Class W Royal Army Reserve 23rd September 1945

Thanks Guy & Steve,

Nominal Roll updated

Nick