Help with records

My dad was John (Jack) Hughes. He enlisted at Plymouth on 16/9/1941. His number was Ply X104688.
I have his service records which show he was at Dinosaur from 26/6/1942 and then Quebec until 31/8/1943 which I know were training facilities in Scotland. He was at Copra from 1/9/1943 until 25/8/45.
I have a photo album of his which shows him in Messina, Bari, Vis, Taranto, Malta and Naples.
I think he may have been in 40 Commando from those places.
What does the X stand for in his service number? His records state he was in C company.
I have attached a photo which shows a cap badge. Can you confirm he was a commando?
I have other photos from his album which I can post.
Dad died in 1980 aged 58.
Thank you for any help.
Lin

Hi Lin

Thank you for the details and information you posted about your father. To address your question on the 'X' first. The 'X' in prefixes of RM service numbers was introduced in October 1925 to indicate men who had enlisted, or re-enlisted, on or after the 5th October 1925, except re-entries before the 2nd November 1925 after a break in service of less than 5 years. A new sequence of numbers beginning with 1 was then started in each Register. The prefixes CH/X, PLY/X, PO/X, RMB/X followed by numbers of six figures in the 100,000 series indicate ranks entered for short service during the Second World War. The prefix EX followed by a number of three or four figures indicated a special Reservist entered at Exton Division between October 1939 and July 1940. The source for this being 'Tracing Your Royal Marine Ancestors - a guide for family historians', authors Richard Brooks and Matthew Little (published in association with the RM Museum).

The locations you gave do as you say match those of 40RM Commando. Can you post the other photos you mention. Should you have any problems posting them (there is a file size limit for each image of 1mb) feel free to contact me via the email option below this message of mine.

Jack Hughes , my dad, had a photo album with photos in Italy, Sicily, Vis and Corsica
Here are some photos.

Some more of his photos

More Jack Hughes photos

Some other photos from the album. There are also photos of Lt. McLellan, Sgt Andrews and Sgt. Pearce, as well as others with nicknames such as ? Ginger? .

Pete
How do I find out if he was in 40 Commando please?
Lin

Do you have service records for your Dad. They will have a lot of clues that can tell you where he served - units etc.

Hi Craig,
Yes I have his service records - pages when he was in RMVR after the war, but a single sheet from 1941-1946. He enlisted at Plymouth, was at Portsmouth and then Dinosaur and Quebec in Scotland until June 1943.
He was then listed at HMS Copra which is just an administrative label until 1945 and back at Portsmouth or Plymouth until he was demobbed.
There is no other information except his number PLY/X104688 marine in C Company.
Lin

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 24/09/2023 15:36:36

Hi Lin

Unfortunately from the photos you posted I cannot say for certain he served in 40RM Commando. I have not found details of the named personnel on some photos except for the Lieutenant who is on a Navy List at one point as HMS Copra, so Combined Operations but not which unit. I cannot see that Officer's name on (or perhaps better to say not yet found his name) on Navy Lists for Officers in specific RM Commando units some of which can be found within our archive. Here is a link to the the vast array of information on the Navy Lists. Find the Officer's unit and it may be that of your father's however even this is not certain as your father's service might have taken a different path at some stage:

https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/93506066

In some photos there seems to be men from a mix of the Services so perhaps he was in one of the many supporting units. There is a fair bit about HMS Quebec here which is worth a good read through https://www.combinedops.com/Training%20No1%20CTC.htm

Finally I realise you have not found anything in his Service Record that helps but sometimes there are clues that are not obvious and I recommend you try taking good photos of each page so that they are very readable rather than blurred. If you send them to me by email I will have a look through. Try the first two pages initially and I will let you know whether the format is readable.

Pete

Some of Lin's photos