Messages posted by: CommanCestor

Oh! Yes, that makes more sense.
I'm off to read about Operation Aerial...

Thanks again Nick!

Nan

Hello,
I'm now trying to piece together a timeline of events. My mother lived in Ramsgate with her mother and younger sister and I believe she was evacuated inland around the same time or shortly after the Dunkirk evacuation. Her dad was in France at the time serving with the Beds & Herts Regiment.

Can I be reasonably sure, based on this information, that he was one of the hundreds of thousands of men evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk?
In the first attached clip, the record has him at the training center and ammunition depot in Bromley as of 4Sept '39, on leave in Jan-Feb '40, but then it doesn't indicate where he was until he "Disembarked in U.K." on 20th June 1940. (Would that entry represent his return from Dunkirk? The date is not quite aligned with the historical account of the 26May to 4th June 1940. Close enough?)

Elsewhere in his record, the second clip, it also shows him in France from 10Sep39 to 19thJun40.

Any help and insight much appreciated :)

Nan

Thank you Nick,

You're not kidding about the acronym minefield!
I think there's a lot of information hiding in plain sight in this service record. Every time I look at it I find/figure out something new.
I appreciate your expert eyes.

Nan

Hello,
After years of waiting, I have finally been able to get a hold of my grandfather's military service record. He served in Beds&Herts, 3 Commando, and the Sommerset Light Infantry.
While it is very interesting, and I have been able to decipher some of it with the help of this forum and online abbreviation lists, there is still a lot I can't figure out. I am slowly making my way through the 44 pages trying to learn as much as I can.

Can anyone help particularly with the red underlines in this copy?

Also, I see he was being "punished" with 7 days C.B. and forfeited 1 day pay, but it doesn't say what the offense was. I can see other entries throughout his record where he went AWOL and subsequently returned several times, but this entry doesn't seem to correlate with any specific offense.

Any help is much appreciated!

Nan

Nick,

It's hard to imagine today how it was possible for the military to accept young men with out proof of age, but it makes sense that they would take whoever was willing and able! What a great story about your father. Your poor grandmother must have been frantic at the thought of her young son going off to fight!

So, it turns out my aunt was the one who requested info from MoD, and forwarded to my mum. It was back in 1995, and no transcript that I know of; just a letter answering her request for info.

Yes, we have been using mostly Ancestry but I think my mum used Roots web and/or My Heritage and Find My Past over the years. I too am a bit suspect of Ancestry, especially their search function. Can be very frustrating at times!

Thanks again,
Nan

Thanks for all the great information, everyone. We have a lot to process.
We will be sending for the service records this week, and will be sure to return to this site when we get them.

One other question in the meantime: does anyone know what, if any, kind of documentation was required as proof of age upon enlistment?
In our genealogical research, we have yet to find a birth certificate that matches all the information we know to be true. My mum grew up always thinking her dad's birthday was 26 Dec, and his middle name was Edward, but the only birth certificate we found for a Stanley Edwards has a January birthday, and a middle name of Victor.

There are other elements of that birth certificate that match with the family we think he likely belongs to, but it's not rock solid. If the service record is solid, accurate evidence of date of birth, then we have the wrong family information stemming from the other birth cert.

Any thoughts/insight greatly appreciated!

Nan
:-)

I came to the right place for help. Thank you all for the info and insight. :-)

Peter, my grandfather is the one sitting in front. Good tip re: the boots and cavalry info. Thank you.

Guy, you give me some new info to go on. I didn't know he signed up at 18, but that is very possible and makes sense. I'm not sure about him being at Dunkirk as my mum doesn't remember any talk of that, but it would be amazing to find that out.
This is all very interesting, I am sorely uneducated on all things military related, so am very grateful for your input.

Just one thought about the photo...does the fact that these 3 men don't seem to have any identifying badges/pins/insignias/ etc. on their uniforms suggest anything at all? When off duty, what were the dress requirements?

I think I have some reading to do. :wink:

Thanks again,
Nan

Thanks very much, Bill
Yes, I'm sure they did not want to talk much of their experiences. It must have been very painful.
Thanks for the info and advice, I will send for his military records and try to be patient :wink:
Nan

Bill,

Herein lies one of many little inconsistencies that have come up through many years of research. The answer depends what document(s) you believe! To make a long story short, his full name could be:

Stanley Victor Edwards,
Stanley George Edwards, or
Stanley Edward Edwards

Take your pick!

Thanks,
Nan

Here's the photo...

Hello,

I am interested in finding any information available about my grandfather, Stanley Edwards. I have very little information, but in an old letter, he claimed to have served in the Commandos during WW2. I have a photo of him and 2 other servicemen sitting on front steps of a home/building with the notation "France 1940" on the back. [I tried attaching it to this message, but it won't let me...as soon as I figure it out, I'll send it along]

My mother obtained information from the MoD years ago stating that he served in the Bedfordshire Hertfordshire Regiment, and later with the Somerset Light Infantry T force. Service #5946317.

My mum had very minimal contact with her dad growing up, but remembers a few bits and pieces. Regarding his service during the war, she thinks she remembers seeing him with a red beret, and casual talk about him having been a paratrooper, and the ?possibility? that he was a POW?but none of this confirmed. Also, that he did not want to partake in a trip to Belgium later in life because of (presumed?) bad memories from wartime. I know it?s very scant information, but I?m just trying to grasp at anything that might be useful.

I do know that he survived the war and lived much of his later years in Sussex, where he passed away in 1985.

I?m hoping some experts out there might have some insight about this photo. I can?t make out any identifying marks on their uniforms, although the 3 of them all look different.

I plan to request his military records from the MoD, but I understand it can take over 3 months. I am in the US, so my options are limited.

Any and all help/insight would be greatly appreciated!