George Jones No3 Commando 1945

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 28/09/2019 19:28:32

Hi, I am looking for any information on my grandads service history, What I found from his service record is he joined from the South Staffords 0n 5/10/44 then posted to 3 commando on 2/1/45 and embarked to NWE 12/1/45 and served with 3 commando till 17/6/45 transfered to Worcestershire reg. Unfortunately he passed away in 1980 when I was young, my Nan has said he was wounded in leg crossing one of the Rhine bridges.

Craig,
Can you confirm your grandfather's service number, I am struggling to find him in the casualty lists?
Guy

Hi,his service number is 14730439, thankyou for looking into this,

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 05/10/2019 22:27:04

Hi Craig,

Did your grandfather have a middle name? And do you know which battalion he joined in the S. Staffs Regiment?

Nick

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 07/10/2019 09:43:25

Hi Nick, my grandads middle name was Allen but on most of his record of service it is spelt Alan, but his service number matches. On his sevice record it has no battalion number for the South Staffords, but I remember seeing his kit box when I was young and seeing a green, red and black beret, I am assuming the red beret was from S.Staffords as they were glider troops, he joined them on 13/7/44 but he did not take part in OP Market Garden, they suffered heavy casualties and would have took some time to rebuild there strength. So I am assuming my grandad joined commandos on the 5/10/44. I don't know what troop number he was in 3 commando. After the serving with 3 commando he joined 9th Battalion Worcestershire Reg then posted to 7th Battalion to serve in India then his last posting was back to Germany with BAOR attached to 7th Queens Own Hussars. Regards C

Hi Craig,

Can you just confirm that you're working from his service record - which was obtained from the MoD and should be loose sheets of paper, some around A4 size, some bigger - and not just his 'Soldier's Service & Pay Book (Army Book 64)?

The reason I ask is that you've used the term, 'assuming' when talking about his joining No.3 Cdo, yet his Service Record should give you a definite date?

Nick

Craig,

I forgot to ask if you have any photos of him that we can upload to the Gallery so that he can be remembered alongside his friends and his peers...

Nick

Hi, Nick, I have all the MOD service records they had for my grandad, which included his record of service, service and casualty form, registration form and his notification of impending release, I have also contacted the MOD medal office to confirm his medals which were the France & Germany star and the War Medal . We did have his original kit box but that was either lost/sold by a relative. I have asked my Aunt for a photo as I am trying to put information together for my Aunts and Cousins. As soon as I get a photo I will upload it kind regards C

Craig,
Does the casualty form state the date that George was wounded, I can't find him in the casualty lists?
Guy

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 06/11/2019 19:43:40

Hi Guy,

I have been over and over his casualty form and downloaded the abbreviations list from the MOD website but cannot see anything for the time line when he was in 3 commando. There is a entry that is not clear around the time he was (SOS) struck off strength on the 22nd May 45, that to looks like to me the word wounded, but I could be totally wrong in this, as some of his records look like they were written on a enigma machine. I did ask my Nan the other week and she said he was wounded in his leg when he was crossing one of the rivers but didn't know which one. And at her age luckily her mind is still strong. But if it's not down on his casualty form then I assume it would not appear on your casualty lists.

Thankyou for looking kind regards C

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 11/10/2019 13:53:12

Craig, any hieroglyphics that you cannot decipher, get a good resolution scan and post them here and we'll try to decipher them... Not just one word though - include a couple of lines just so we can see the context...

Nick

Hi, Nick

Sorry tried uploading a jpeg file of my grandads service form but file was to large, I will have to get hold of a photocopier to scan it, The only time on his records that I can see he was in a military hospital was BMH Ramgarh if I have the abbreviation correct.

Kind regards C

Hi Nick

The area I have struggled interpreting is the bottom section where my grandad was SOS on the 22nd May 1945. I have checked again and my family and they are adamant that he received a shrapnel wound to his leg while serving in Germany.

Regards C

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 05/11/2019 20:34:54

Helpfully this attempt is clearer, and the reason he was in BMH Ramgarh was due to malaria.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 05/11/2019 23:57:16

Craig,

The entry in question reads:

Unit - No.3 Commando -- Posted to X(iv) List (A), 101 Rfn GP (Reinforcement Group) as valid Inf Rfn (Infantry Reinforcement) and Struck Off Strength.
Unit - 101 Rfn Gp -- Taken On Strength X(iv) A List

I have attached an explanation of 'X Lists' - you will see I have highlighted two paragraphs X(ii) and X(iv). As your family are adamant that he was wounded, he would have been posted to the X(ii) list - that should have been entered on his service record, but there may be an explanation why there is no record of his wounding... His main records would have been kept at the 2nd Echelon (well behind the front line), updates would be written on a different form (a small slip of paper), then sent back to the rear for his record to be updated. Often these updates got lost, or arrived out of chronological order!
When he was declared medically fit enough to fight again he would have been posted to the X(iv) list as a reinforcement. From there (and presumably on the next page of his record) you should see that he was SOS X(iv) list and posted to another unit where he would have been TOS...

What does surprise me was he was sent to a Infantry Reinforcement camp!
Most commandos had a 'green chit' pasted in the back of their paybook which stated: "This rank is a Commando and must be discharged to a Special Service Group Base Depot and NOT to a Base Reinforcement camp..."
The example I have attached was for 3 Commando Brigade in India/Burma, but the same normally applied to the other Commando Brigades in Europe and the Med.

I hope this helps but if you have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask - we're here to help.

Nick