A welcome arrival

A Welcome arrival 

After many months of waiting the postman has finally delivered the much anticipated war records of my late Grandfather.  The Army Personnel Centre way up in Glasgow has done its bit to make good the offer of its services in the form of the contents of this one brown envelope now in my possession.  

I now have in front of me a number of photocopied pages from the ‘Record of Service Paper’,  Army Form B 200d ( revised ) . The accompanying letter states that this document constitutes the contents of my Grandfather’s  service file. The administrative officer has added a note to say  that he hopes I find these pages interesting . Indeed I do , thank you. 

Nine pages in total make up the photocopied file. One page in particular stands out as relevant and informative . This page lists in chronological order all appointments , transfers , postings , attachments and discharge details . I can see for instance that when Grandad joined the army he was posted initially to number 23 Primary Training Unit, Leicester.  From here is detailed his training record ,  his posting overseas,  all the way to his discharge in October 1945. 

My current sphere of interest is the time my grandfather served in North Italy. Eventually I’m planning a bit of a road trip to retrace his path through this region. The service record I have received has given me some key dates with which to start this search.  In the Autumn of 1944 7th Armoured Brigade was stationed on the Adriatic coast taking part in the battles to force a breach of the German Gothic line. Grandad joined this unit 18th September. I will start from  this date. 

A final note .

Grandad always struck me as the quiet and practical type. Never one to make a fuss. Always one to get on with things , much like many of his generation.  The file contains his final commanding officers testimonial , part of the release document which I will copy in full. This reflects my memory of his character: 

‘This man has proved himself a very useful all rounder, and particularly has he excelled in his own trade of carpenter. He has done much skilled work in this direction , often with improvised tools and in difficult conditions. Always he is a hard and reliable worker, quiet and cheerful in manner , clean, sober and regular in habits.’ 

Just above the testimonial is a summary of conduct . This reads ‘exemplary’. Well done Grandad.