Grandad’s war-what I know so far (November 2019)
Back in August I made reference to the fact that I had contacted the Military Records Department to make a request for Grandad’s war records . It’s now November 22nd and I have not received any reply . I am a little disappointed by this for sure. In this post I will outline what I know so far about Grandad’s war using only the records I have to hand .
My information resources consist of Grandad’s service book and registration card which I found tucked away in his old wallet , his collection of wartime correspondence to those at home, as found in the airgraph collection in my possession, various inscribed photographs and of course the internet .
Using the information at hand I have sketched out a rough timeline . Without feedback from the Military Records Department it is a little sketchy though . In late 1942 Grandad registered his intent to join the Armed Forces. I do not know what unit he initially joined for basic training , date or even stationed location ? Entries in the service book attest that he had completed a signals course by April 1943 . A stamp on the same page dated June marks his assessment as competent . He spends the duration of the war employed in this vocation attached to various signals units .
Grandad’s time in England came to a close on 27th June 1943 . This date marks his embarkation to overseas . For the next 2 years he would be on active service and away from his family and old friends . On the 8th July , at a port yet unknown Grandad set foot in North Africa. By this time the Axis forces had surrendered in Tunisia and there was no fighting to be undertaken . For at least the next year Grandad would be employed in the role of internal occupation and security and was attached to the 42nd Brigade HQ signals unit.
The 42nd Infantry Brigade was formed on 26th July 1943 and dispatched to Africa in August that year . As mentioned its role was to command internal security units on the lines of communication . For the duration of 1943 Grandad lists as belonging to this unit in his correspondence . However this changes in early 1944 when he lists his unit as 57th Division HQ . It appears that 42nd Brigade and 57th Division were one and the same thing . The 57th Division was actually a ‘dummy’ unit raised for deception purposes . The Brigade was disbanded on the 29th July 1944 which roughly represents Grandad’s transfer to the 7th Armoured .
Up to the time of the disbandment of the 42nd Brigade and just after, various pictures from his wallet illustrate Grandad’s time in Algeria . During the spring he was certainly based in Constantine . His departure from here is recorded in another interesting piece of memorabilia in my possession . I have a letter in French addressed to ‘Bill’ dated 13th June from a school girl called Huguette . What their connection was I do not know but it was familiar enough for her to enquire after Grandad post his leaving? In another photograph I know Grandad was still in Algeria in August but located at a place called Bone. The letter , picture and the disbandment date of the 42nd Brigade mark a transition window for Grandad joining the 7th Armoured . From October this is the unit he documents on his airgraphs . By November he had left North Africa and was in Rome as another photograph with inscription documents
The transition from Africa to Italy at some point in the Autumn of 1944 marks I believe the turning point in Grandad’s war? His time as a member of an occupation unit had come to an end . Time in the 7th Armoured Brigade would have been one of active military service . This unit took part in extensive fighting in the drive up the Adriatic coast from late 1944 into Spring 1945. Again I have very little information yet to form a detailed account of this period? I have no exact dates for embarkation to Italy or which port he disembarked ? All I can assume is that what little Grandad told me of the horror of war came from this time ? It also marks some connection yet unknown to me where he served alongside Polish forces as listed in his Service Book under his own ad hock entry ‘ campaigns etc’. The Safe Conduct Pass in my possession most likely was passed to him during this period as well ? However I will never probably know for sure . A picture of Grandad , very smartly dressed strolling down a street in Rome dated February 1945 illustrates he did have some time away from the front.
By May 1945 Grandad was stationed in Portschach Austria . By his own account he was employed as a lumberjack here clearing forest and processing the proceeds . This time corresponds to the end of hostilities in Europe, however for Grandad it did not mark an end to his service career. One more picture from his wallet of a buddy is dated October 1945. It could be that for Grandad he time in uniform extended to the end of that year again as part of an occupation force ?
It is clear to me that I will need the official records to proceed much further. Grandad’s story so far and the related timeline I have generated have gaps to be filled and questions to be answered . A call is needed to get things moving with the records office . A verbal ‘kick’ say . Even so sitting down and looking through what I do have has been a worthwhile experience . Until now I had never fully appreciated that Grandad’s war was in effect one of contrasts . For a year or so his initial experience would have been one of forces life , but away from active conflict in a place far removed from the Norfolk countryside he was brought up in . There was enough stability to form links with the local population . What was the connection with Hugette? Was he stationed in Constantine next to a school perhaps ? The 2nd half of his experience would have been far different . The Italian campaign was hard and brutal. Even during the final months of the war the Germans fought with skill and determination . The experience of the final months of 1944 and Spring ‘45 would have been far removed from his time in North Africa. Finally I had never considered that he perhaps did not return home until late 1945?
