Henry 'Harry' Carpenter No. 4 Commando

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 20/04/2013 01:11:23

Hi there,

I wonder if anyone can help me with any information on my grandfather Henry 'Harry' Carpenter. According to my mum he was in No. 4 Commando. We know this because he is in one of the photos that was taken at Dieppe with Lord Lovat.

Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Richard Haywood

Hi Richard

There is no one list that we can refer to for Commando Service, however there are smaller nominal rolls for specific events or periods that sometimes can help. At the present time I personally cannot find any information on your Grandfather to help you.

When you say

We know this because he is in one of the photos that was taken at Dieppe with Lord Lovat.

which photo are you referring to and where is he on that photo? Does your Mum or any other member of the extended family possess anything else relating to his Commando service such as documents or family photos? What Regiment was he in prior to the Commandos ?

You can apply for a copy of his Service Record, but it might be worth checking amongst the extended family first, for some additional information that will help in any application that you subsequently make

Regards

Pete

Hi Pete,

Many thanks for replying. I have a few photos which have pictures of my grandfather on them. How do I upload them so you can see them.

As regards the Dieppe photo. He is shown in the background of the photo where Lord Lovat is gesturing in the background. In the foreground are Captain Gordon Webb and Lt Len Coulson. Webb is shown with his right arm in a sling. If you look right at the end of Webbs nose that is my grandfathers face looking straight at you.

I've just spoken with my Mum and I can relay some further information which may or may not help. She told me that a lot of what she has heard and what her mother (my Grandmother) heard could have got distorted/forgotten/re-rembered over the years,. But apparently:

1. He never really spoke about the war.
2. He told my Dad something about 'heavy water'.
3. He would wake up opening his eyes first and not moving.
4. He apparently trained 'Bristol way' according to my Grandmother.
5. He only spoke about being one of Lord Lovat commando's so we're not sure which one he was in. We think No. 4 but we could be wrong.
6. He was definitely at Dieppe. He had the Combined Operations booklet and always said that he was the man in the picture I've described to you.
7. He lied about his age (even to my Grandmother). He was 39 in 1940. Apparently he usually took ten years off his age. He was born in 1900.
8. He had lived all his life in Chiswick, London and he would have joined up there.
9. He had been a boxer between the wars.
10. He had driven a London bus between the wars.
11. He was aboard ships before joining the commandos. I have copies of photos that he took. One is a picture of a boat in the mid ground with the number H53 on the side. Others show torpedo tubes and a torpedo goinginto the water.
12. He was not a commando at the end of the war. We think he was injured.
13. He definitely was barracked in Ripley, Derbyshire. Thats how he met my grandmother who lived in Nottingham.
14. He was stationed in Ireland at some point (but not with the commando's.
15. Mum says he told her that if Hitler had invaded he had a special job to do (he wouldn't say what that was).
16. He told my Mum that we wore a different badge when he was in another unit.

Sorry its so patchy. Its all a bit of a muddle and we have had real difficulty finding anything out. This is all the information we have to go on I'm afraid.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Richard

Richard,

In answer to no.11, H53 was the Destroyer, HMS Dainty, lost off Tobruk in 1941.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dainty_%28H53%29

Regards

Guy

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 27/04/2013 15:52:50

Hi Guy,

Yes I googled H53 shortly after I sent my e-mail and like you I came across the Wikipedia page for HMS Dainty. I wonder how this factors in with the chronology of my grandfathers life? Did he take this photo before or after he joined the commandos?

I'll try and attach the photograph to this message.

Kind regards,

Richard

This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 27/04/2013 22:40:32

Now that I've figured out how to upload my photos I'll attach some of my grandfather.

The attached scans are of the book 'Combined Operations 1940-1942'.

The first picture is the book cover. The second is Page 129. My grandfather is circled in red. The third picture is a close up of my grandfather on page 129.

If anyone recognises my grandfather please get in touch. Also if he is in this picture does this mean he was definitely in Commando No. 4?

I'll also attach some more photos of my grandfather in another message.

Many thanks,

Richard

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 27/04/2013 16:23:16

Two photographs of my grandfather when he was in the army. We have no idea where they were taken. We only know that they were taken whilst he was in the army before he joined the commandos. Does anyone have any idea where these photographs may have been taken and which regiment he might have been in. Also do you recognise anyone in these photographs?

Kind regards,

Richard

Richard,
You metioned in your post about Ripley, Derbyshire. There was a RASC Transport school at Ripley during the war. Men were posted there on driving courses. Many of the NCO's were older, ex London Transport men, this would tie in with your Grandfathers pre-war bus experience. It may suggest a RASC connection either pre or post 4 Commando?

Regards

Guy

Hi Guy,

Many thanks for your post.

I phoned my Mum this evening and told her what you had written. It certainly struck a chord! She said the words 'RASC' and 'service corp' were definitely something she had heard when she was younger. She could even recall that her mother had told her that the scar on my grandfathers forehead was the result of an accident whilst he was in the 'corp'.

She also said that my grandfather was definitely billeted in Ripley in 1944 (my mother was born in August 1945 - if you understand my meaning). Do you know if there are any records kept of the people who attended this school. This might be a great way of tracking down his service record.

My mother also told me that before my grandfather was billeted in Ripley he was in Ballymena, Ireland. She has no idea what he was doing in Ireland.

At the moment we think that maybe the sequence of events is that he joined up in 1939, transferred to the Commandos (possibly No.4 - as he always recounted that he was one of Lord Lovat's commandos), was injured and then transferred back to his original regiment - could that have been the RASC? He definitely wasn't in the commandos at the end of the war.

Mum also said that 'commandos were recognisable because they wore a different badge'. I think this might be when he was in training, in a different regiment, or injured out of the commandos. Can anyone throw any light on this?

I think thats it for the time being. Again many thanks for your post Guy - its really helped!

Kind regards,

Richard