Messages posted by: Pete Keane

www.combinedops.com

Couldnt see anything immediately obvious, but that site is very useful for combined ops.

Pete

I know you're getting hold of the war diary, which will help.

Have you checked out the Photo Gallery, there are a few photo's, it looks like the sources are all regulars here so I'm sure someone will be along shortly.

Regards

Pete

Hi,

Glad you made it over here!

Welcome to the forum, hope you find it useful. Nice to have an author on board.

Regards

Pete.

Excellent read - have you contacted the authors?

And she's on this list......

http://www.hmsmedusa.org.uk/HDML_Boats_1001-1050.html

I'm enjoying this !!

Come across these for you:

http://www.naval-history.net/WW2MemoirAndSo06.htm

I reckon that covers a lot of what your grandad was involved in!

Pete

It looks like a lot of middle east postings then!

Medal list will be useful.

Regards

Pete

From the list, i think it possible that he was a crewman on one of the fast moving motor launches used by the navy in ww2, in particular the hms mosquito and ml-1032 indicate he was in the middle east doing that sort of work.

Europa was a shore base for patrol craft, sphinx I dont nderstand as it looks to have been sunk in 1940?

Pembroke was the shore base at Chatham.

As to whether he was a RN Commando - not enough info really, but i would have expected to see some Scottish postings for the CTC training centres. HMS Armadillo in particular.

Any medals or citations ?

Cheers

pete

Has anybody come across Elell (or Ellel) Grange, Lancashire as being used for Commando training, possibly 1 or 5 Commando or 3 Commando Brigade.

Cheers

Pete

I had a look at the CWGC site, Anthony Patrick Duffy.

He is shown as Kings (Liverpool) Regt.

It is likely he was a territorial pre-war, the Kings ta Battalion was, i believe, one of those formed into one of the 10 special service battalions who went to Norway in 1940 - upon return they became a troop of No.2 Commando.

There is a lot of info. on the Kings ta Battalion, I think their museum curator has written a book about them? - I have a friend who is researching the Regt., I will ask him for the info and pass it on to you.

If you can obtain his service history it will be a most interesting read.

Regards

Pete

This is also running on the wartime training establishments page.

suggest we use one or t'other otherwise I get confused!!

Scan of service history will help.

pete

It was indeed normal for commandos to be billeted away froma barracks, I doubt they would be the only troops ever to be billeted like this though.

I am still puzzled as to why his records dont appear to show a period of training - I think the RE Museum may be able to tell you if Salen was an RE training centre.

The family in Germany were possibly has landlords there!

I'm not suggesting he wasn't a Commando, but I think RE is more likely.

For him to be a commando, he would have served with a corps or regiment, then been interviewed after volunteering, and it would show on his service record - troopers did not go straight into a commando unit from joining.

If you can, scan his service record and post it here, sometimes seeing things can focus one's thoughts!

Regards

Pete

Not so sure about the Fort William entry. Salen was the location of one of the Combined Ops. training centres - it is described as having lots of man-made obstacles - as he was RE I wonder if he was responsible for constructing the place?

I have found details of the association.

http://www.reahq.org.uk/

Regards

Pete.

Working through the details...

He enlisted on 1st January 1940, into the Royal Engineers.

On the 9th January he was posted to Fort William - probably for his Initial Training Course (he joined a Corps, not a Regiment, so didnt attend an Infantry training centre).

On 4th Feb 1941 he was posted to Montrose (mountaineering?)

He was part of the BEF in France, and evacuated via Dunkirk.

He was awarded to 39-43 Star (this later became the 39-45 Star).

He was trained in filed engineering (including diggers)

He returned to Europe for the invasion (the NWE reference) I dont know what 10904 means but he appears to have returned to UK in 29/8/44 (I am assuming he survived as his Defence Medal was issued in 1947, my apologies if he was KIA).

Theres no indication he was attached to a Commando unit, everything there points to the Royal Engineers.

If he was with an Artisan Unit he was a skilled man - nowadays he would be called a Combat Engineer......you may find more about that unit if you contact the RE Museum.

http://www.remuseum.org.uk/corpshistory/rem_corps_part16.htm

Let me know if i've got any bits wrong!

Regards

Pete

Catherine,

Sorry things havent been going too well for you.

If you want to post any info. you do have, we can always see if we can offer any suggestions (i know this is a Commando based forum but most of us post on other forums as well, we may be able to point you in the right direction.)

Regards

Pete.