Messages posted by: Thomasbz1357

Hi Nick

Thanks, that is all very interesting and does paint more of a picture of life as a military chaplain. By the way there is a lead I am looking into - it may come to nothing but if not I will certainly get back to you

Sorry, forgot to add that it is a diocese in its own right but non geographical, so may have useful records

I have just noticed this online and am posting this in any case it is of any use to you Nick or anyone else

http://www.rcbishopricforces.org.uk/

Hi Nick

Thanks for your replies, sorry I have been a bit slow myself.

[but our list does show them to have been attached to a particular Commando rather than just to the Brigade HQ.
Therefore, I believe that there was always a Padre on hand to officiate at a burial.
quote]

That is reassuring. Out of interest, how are you going about researching the denominations of the different chaplains ? The only way I can think of if those details are not included in the military records is by contacting different dioceses or other unit of church governance and asking to look at their archives. This may prove even harder with the Catholic Church as sometimes the priest would have been under the jurisdiction of an order rather than a geographical diocese, so it becomes a case of knowing which records you need to search in.

Finally, on the list you posted, was that a list of the total number of chaplains who served with No.1 Commando and they were not necessarily all there at the same time (i.e. some were replacements of others in the list) or was it a snapshot of one period of time ? I note the example you give of Fr Maugham, who was obviously serving for a considerable period of time

Thanks

Tom

Hi Nick

Thanks for your reply. There is a lot of interesting detail there which I was not aware of, such as the history of army chaplaincy, notable chaplains and the number of army chaplains who lost their lives. I haven't worded my original question that well however. While I was aware that the army chaplains existed in WW2, I don't know much about how they actually operated and how much access soldiers would have had to them on a day to day to basis and also if required after their deaths to officiate their funerals.

I suppose in a nutshell, what I am asking is would there always have been a chaplain of the correct denomination available to officiate at a fallen soldier's funeral ? I have heard that burial had to happen quite quickly in Burma because of the climate.

For example this memorial service for No.1 Commando http://www.commandoveterans.org/node/2319 , would all of these men have had an earlier funeral, or were they buried with a later memorial service because of a lack of chaplains ?

Hello everyone. I have been trying to find information on how the bodies of the fallen were retrieved during WW2 and what provisions were in place to provide them with a Christian burial (assuming of course that a particular individual was Christian) . In particular I am interested in what provisions were possible and/or available for fallen soldiers who were members of non Anglican denominations. I am particularly interested in how things worked in Burma. I would be grateful for any assistance.

Thanks Kevin

Many thanks Pete. I have seen some lists online that refer to British or various Commonwealth armies but they are not identical. I am having more joy typing individual abbreviations into Google but own cas, although it seemed obvious was one that was not appearing, so thank you for clearing that up

I have discovered that there are some war diaries on this site. They are very useful, so thanks to those who have posted them. Unsurprisingly, they are full of military abbreviations and jargon. Google is helping me with a lot of these but some I have not been able to find. Is there a glossary of these abbreviations somewhere ? Finally does own cas mean casualties on one's own side ? I would be grateful for any help.

Thank you Nick. This has indeed helped a lot. I was quite confused and had assumed 3Cdo Brigade and No3. Commando were one and the same and I now can see that several different Commando Nos were part of 3 Cdo Brigade. This all makes sense now. It is also good to have some detail about the nature and events of the operation in Myebon and to know that even though it was not without loss, it was ultimately successful. You have given me plenty of things I can read up on to increase my knowledge, so many thanks again.

Thank you very much Nick and Pete. This is a lot of information to digest, so I will reply more fully shortly. This is a lot more information than I had before, so many thanks, I really do appreciate it

Hello everyone. My name is Tom Nash. I am a cousin of Private William Joseph Coman, Service Number 5735209, of the Devonshire Regiment and No.1 Commando, who died in Myebon, Burma on the 15th of January 1945. From my own research, I have found out that he died either in action or from wounds. I am trying to find out what battles or engagements he was involved in. This is proving difficult because at various points No.1 Commando merged with numbers 3 and 5.

The only engagements in Myebon that I have found are landings by No.42 and No.3 Commando (which I think incorporated No.1 but I am not sure) on the 12th January 1945 and the Battle of Hill 170 but the latter one occurred after my cousin's death.

I have not been able to find out whether the Myebon landings occurred and were completed on the 12th of January, or whether this went on for several days, this could be the engagement in which my cousin died, either in battle or subsequently from wounds. I am not sure because it is hard to decipher what engagements No.1 were involved in because of their mergers - I suppose it could be that William Coman was taken there for medical treatment, though I have no specific reason to believe that. All I can really say is that he died in Myebon.

I would be really grateful if anyone could shed any light on these questions and if anyone can provide more general information of No.1 Commando's activities and achievements in WW2. If anyone knows of any photos or footage of William Coman this would also be of great interest to me. Also would anyone be able to confirm whether all members of No.1 Commando trained at Achnacarry prior to deployment in Burma ?

Many Thanks

Tom