WW2 YOUR DAD/GRANDFATHER

WW11 Dad was a Lance Corporal with the military police in Egypt & Palestine(possibly miscast)also involved with police dogs in this period, later became an officers driver, claim to fame he met Haile Selassie, very proud moment for him by all accounts, rest of his service unknown as gleaning this type of information was like drawing blood from a stone, best I got was he hated Egypt, arabs & camels in no particular order, no surprise as he was robbed of several years of his youth stuck there. Came out after six years in the army with a demob suite a bayonette a greatcoat & an Agfa camera a driving license & little else.
 
My Paternal Grandad was a master carpenter and worked on the wings (wooden framed) of the Sunderland flying boat in the Shorts factory in Rochester, Kent.

Like so many mentioned above, he never talked about it but after he died, my Grandma told me that he was partly embarrassed because he'd been 'at home' through the war , but also that he'd once fallen through the glass ceiling of the factory when the sirens went off, dropped 30 odd feet and landed flat on his back on the middle of a wing, nearly destroying it, something he was always tremendously ashamed of :(

My maternal Grandad was a methodist minister and a conscientious objector, but joined up and ended up at or near the front lines as a minister looking after the front line troops. :bow
 
My mothers father joined the Royal Armoured Corps in 1940, and was present at some of the major tank battles in North Africa, also El Alamein. He also took part in the Salerno landings in Italy and fought at the various battles up through Italy including Monte Cassino.
Grandad Tom even ended up in a Pathe News film, much to the surprise and delight of my Grandmother (he had been away about a year)

My dads father was reserved occupation, a train driver on Liverpool docks and had one of his goods trains bombed by the Germans.
My dad was a bit too young for WW2, but did active service in the Royal Artillery in various 'policing actions' after the war.
 
MY father was in the Navy WW2 sailing in the North Atlantic Conveys and also spent alot of time in the Med. He sailed on several ships most notably the SS Chiswick. He was hospitalised after a direct hit on his ship whilst at dock in Sunderland harbour and spend a long time in hopsital conalescing before returning to sea on another ship (Can't remember the name at present). I recently took him over to the West Coast of Scotland near KinlochEwe where alot of the Conveys would head put from to reminiss. He talks fondly about his memories of his days in the Navy even after suffering terrible blast wounds in the Sunderland incident requiring him to wear a face mask for several months, (I think he especially likes Sunderland Nurses;) ).

My mother was in the WRAF and trained as a joiner repairing Wings of damaged planes, mainly Mosquitos. Based on Mums cooking it's a wonder those planes ever flew:rolleyes: Ah bless her:D

My Mums Dad fought as an infantry man in WW1 and always welled up when we asked any questions(seconds before getting whacked from my Father for asking questions). He was in the trenches in the thick of it all and had a real rough time like we can't imagine.

My Dads Dad I never met. He was a boy in WW1 and just missed subscription. He was a Rifleman in WW2 and got blood poisening from barbed wire during an exercise for the landings. As I understand it he became very weak and virtually dependant on my Grandmother suffering huge bouts of depression. Due to this he took his own life, its not a subject my father talks about as he found the body.

My Mums Mum was one of the field girls who helped out on the farm. My Dads Mum work in a Factory in Luton during the War, I can't remember which one.

My Dad has all his medals and some of his uniform (Hats, trousers etc). My Mother claimed all her medals approx 5 years ago after me badgering her to get them.


The only other relative that I can recall on is my Fathers Cousin, Leiutenant Harold Arthur Cherry. He was a Leiutenant in the Royal Artillery and died in Battle. My Father always thought that he was killed in Battle in Germany however I helped my Dad locate his details on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Website and it turns out he survived that incident but was killed in action later in the War in Italy. He is burried in Salerno Graveyard in Italy.

http://www.cwgc.org/search/SearchRe...=1945&force=&nationality=&send.x=31&send.y=15

I'd like to take my Dad to Salerno one day but at 86 years old he's not keen to travel too far (even though his Passport is free).

AndyT.

PS What a great thread this is.
 
MY father was in the Navy WW2 sailing in the North Atlantic Conveys and also spent alot of time in the Med. He sailed on several ships most notably the SS Chiswick. He was hospitalised after a direct hit on his ship whilst at dock in Sunderland harbour and spend a long time in hopsital conalescing before returning to sea on another ship (Can't remember the name at present). I recently took him over to the West Coast of Scotland near KinlochEwe where alot of the Conveys would head put from to reminiss. He talks fondly about his memories of his days in the Navy even after suffering terrible blast wounds in the Sunderland incident requiring him to wear a face mask for several months, (I think he especially likes Sunderland Nurses;) ).

My mother was in the WRAF and trained as a joiner repairing Wings of damaged planes, mainly Mosquitos. Based on Mums cooking it's a wonder those planes ever flew:rolleyes: Ah bless her:D



My Mums Dad fought as an infantry man in WW1 and always welled up when we asked any questions(seconds before getting whacked from my Father for asking questions). He was in the trenches in the thick of it all and had a real rough time like we can't imagine.

My Dads Dad I never met. He was a boy in WW1 and just missed subscription. He was a Rifleman in WW2 and got blood poisening from barbed wire during an exercise for the landings. As I understand it he became very weak and virtually dependant on my Grandmother suffering huge bouts of depression. Due to this he took his own life, its not a subject my father talks about as he found the body.

My Mums Mum was one of the field girls who helped out on the farm. My Dads Mum work in a Factory in Luton during the War, I can't remember which one.

My Dad has all his medals and some of his uniform (Hats, trousers etc). My Mother claimed all her medals approx 5 years ago after me badgering her to get them.


The only other relative that I can recall on is my Fathers Cousin, Leiutenant Harold Arthur Cherry. He was a Leiutenant in the Royal Artillery and died in Battle. My Father always thought that he was killed in Battle in Germany however I helped my Dad locate his details on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Website and it turns out he survived that incident but was killed in action later in the War in Italy. He is burried in Salerno Graveyard in Italy.

http://www.cwgc.org/search/SearchRe...=1945&force=&nationality=&send.x=31&send.y=15

I'd like to take my Dad to Salerno one day but at 86 years old he's not keen to travel too far (even though his Passport is free).

AndyT.

PS What a great thread this is.

god it's hard to concentate reading this with a willy wobbling in the left corner :D:D
 
WWI: Though considered fit enough for the Territorial Army in 1912, a hernia meant my grandfather (Irving Mather) wasn't called up in 1914, 1915, or 1916. By 1917 things had changed and he was suddenly declared fit. After some trench skirmishes and night patrols he was captured by the Germans in the Spring 1918 offensive at Manchester Hill (named after the Manchester regiment) near St Quentin and spent the rest of the war as a POW.

One of my great uncles (Frank Cullis) is on the Menin Gate as a 'don't know where buried'.

WWII: My father (Tom Cullis) spent a winter under canvas defending Iceland against a German invasion with the Worcesters, then wisely transferred to Royal Artillery, then the Royal Signals and spent much of the time in the Far East. One of his claims to fame was that his mate 'goosed' Lord Mountbatten's wife in Singapore, but reading more of this time it appears she was more than goosed on a fairly regular basis.

My mother (Dorothy Mather) was in the Air Ministry in Worcester working alongside the wife of 'air ace' Johnny Johnson.

My father-in-law (Hubert Philips) spent a couple of weeks in small scale skirmishes defending the Hackenberg Fortress in the Maginot Line in May 1940 before being somewhat outflanked by an attack through the Ardennes. The 51st Higland Division then fought a retreat across France with the French army and he was eventually captured a couple of weeks after Dunkirk at St Valery-en-Caux by a then relatively unknown guy called Erwin Rommel. After that he spent the next four-plus years in Poland. In January 1945 in the middle of a terrible winter, he and many of the other 250,000 POWs in Poland were marched 400+ miles from near Danzig to Lunenburg Heath.

My mother-in-law (Agnes Melvin) delivered ambulance and truck chassis from the factories to the outfitting places, all wrapped up with goggles against the weather. After the war she never drove again. :eek:

My uncle (Frank Cullis, named after my 1914 great uncle above) spent 1944-45 being trained as a Fleet Air Arm pilot in Pensicola, Florida. My father never forgave him for his partaking of peanut butter and ice cream when the rest of the UK was on rations.
 
Dad served with the 8th army at El Alamien and served in the Royal Artillery,and Also in Italy like many other's he never spoke of his experiences
 
I'm fiercely proud of my grandfather although not too sure where he actually served. Like many others he joined under age and did not talk about his experiences until he was very old indeed. I really like the unofficial sheepskin, the intimidating bayonet, the gas mask holder and the fag at a jaunty angle. This was WW1 and I believe he was at the Somme but I really don't know. He was certainly in the thick of it as most of his mates did not return - according to my grandmother. The writing at the bottom is my daughter's who did a project at secondary school.
 

Attachments

  • Grandpa small.jpg
    Grandpa small.jpg
    48.1 KB · Views: 542
My Dad flew Spitfires during WW2 and was involved in the Battle of Malta amongst others. Awarded the DFC for pressing home an attack whilst under heavy fire from superior numbers of enemy and shooting down an ME109 in flames during the same action. I have his DFC, flight log book and a few other bits and pieces, which to say the least, are cherished mementos of his heroism.

Davy, was he with 603 squadron? My dad's brother Sgt Pilot Ron E Plant (he was brought up by his maternal aunt and took their surname) flew with 603. He was operational prior to the Battle of Britain and was 'one of the very few' that made survuved it. However, he was killed on the 21st Nov 1940 in a mid air collision over Faversham. His last sortie was with George (sheep) Gilroy who finished the war as the highest scoring Scottish pilot and Archie Winskill who later became head of the Queens flight.

I have a letter written by George Denholm (then Commander 603) saying that Ron got 603's 100th kill on that sortie. A party was held at the Dorchester to celebrate, paid for by the father of one of the other pilots, who gave a pound for each kill (£100 was a lot of beer I bet). Richard Hillary mentions the party in his book 'The last Enemy'.

My Father was in the Army Dental Corps (as he used to put it) seconded to Supreme headquaters Allied Expeditionary Force. He was a dental mechanic fixing false teeth (how glamorous a was was that!). Apparently, a soldier could be declared medically unfit if his dentures were broken.

My Mother went to Coventry to work in the Armstrong Whitworth aircraft factory and built Lancasters until 1946.

Good thread.

Andy
 
My dad was too young for the army during the war but he worked for Miles Aircraft at Woodley, his dad was 'in' but I can't remember where.

My mum was also to young, and she lived with various families throughout the War, she was even given another name by some families, as they didn't like hers:nenau

Her dad was in the navy, his boat was torpedoed twice, the second time killed him. His Officer (CPO) later married my mums mum after giving her the bad news in person, that was what llife was like then according to her:nenau

I never gave it a second thought till my maternal Gran died a few years back, at the funeral there was a bit of a surprise with a few dignitaries and top brass in attendance. I was then told my gran was an SOE operative during the final parts of the war, she was very fluent in French yet none of the family even knew that:nenau She never ever even spoke to my mum or anybody at all about it.

It answered a few questions of mine about why my mum spent the war with so many different families.

Shep
 
My dad was in a reserved occupation, but he signed up with the RAF in 1941 just after his 18th birthday. He joined the RAF Regiment and was posted out India to protect airfields. He went through Burma and ended up in Saigon at the end of the war. He never spoke about his experiences at all until Christmas 2003 when he told us about why he was in Saigon. He was part of a detail that was sent there to liberate the POW's held in the area. He spoke with such clarity about what he had seen 58 years before that you could be forgiven for thinking that it he had only just witnessed the events. His descriptions of the POW's were vivid and heart wrenching. I understood why he and many of his generation never talked about what they had seen.

Dad stayed in the RAF after the war and eventually retired in 1978 after 37 years service. He had changed to the catering branch after the war and he reached the rank of Warrant Officer. He's 86 now, and as some of you will know from my "Battle With the NHS" thread, he is not in the best of health.
 
Grandad on my fathers side was in the machinegun corp in WW1. My other grandfather was in a reserved occupation. Both were dead by the time I was born.

My father was in the engineers and built bridges and drank beer all over northern Germany. He also guarded POW's (Germans & Italians) at various camps in England.

Colin.
 
Shep,
Interesting you mentioned Miles Aircraft at Woodley as I also had relatives working there during WW11. My maternal grandfather Reginald Nash and his son Rodney Nash both worked for Miles. Reginald had served with both the RFC and the RAF during the first war as a Rigger and joined Miles in the Thirties when he retired from the RAF.
His other son Ken was a fighter pilot with the RAF flying Hurricanes don't know a great deal about his service only that he was shot down in the Med off of Italy and parachuted out of his plane. When he landed in the water he found his dinghy wouldn't inflate as it had a bullet hole in it, but he was picked up by an airsea rescue plane fairly quickly. The crew who picked him up told him he was very lucky to be rescued as he had landed in the middle of a minefield and no ship could get to him!
Lastly my father was another like yours as he was kept back in a reserved occupation (foundry patternmaker) and in the home guard in the evenings. It must have been tough to stay behind and be asked why they weren't in the services.
Steve
 
My dad was too young for the army during the war but he worked for Miles Aircraft at Woodley, his dad was 'in' but I can't remember where.

My mum was also to young, and she lived with various families throughout the War, she was even given another name by some families, as they didn't like hers:nenau

Her dad was in the navy, his boat was torpedoed twice, the second time killed him. His Officer (CPO) later married my mums mum after giving her the bad news in person, that was what llife was like then according to her:nenau

I never gave it a second thought till my maternal Gran died a few years back, at the funeral there was a bit of a surprise with a few dignitaries and top brass in attendance. I was then told my gran was an SOE operative during the final parts of the war, she was very fluent in French yet none of the family even knew that:nenau She never ever even spoke to my mum or anybody at all about it.

It answered a few questions of mine about why my mum spent the war with so many different families.

Shep

Amazing bit of family history there :clap
 
Amazing bit of family history there :clap

Now they are all gone, I really wished I'd pushed a bit more to learn about the family history, unfortunately my mum is in no condition to remember anything nowadays so all knowledge of that side of the family died off when she went 'doolally'
 
My paternal grandfather fought on the Western Front in WWI, was shot in the head, left half blind but alive - he died relatively young in the early 1960's.

My Dad was on the way to Germany in WWII - was diverted to India, to be sent onto Burma, but 'luckily' was injured whilst in India, developed gangrene, was saved by penicillin and spent the rest of War guarding POW's in India.

My paternal uncle fought in North Africa during WWII - think he fixed tanks.
 
Supplementary which might be interesting...

In between the wars my grandfather moved from Manchester to Worcester and in the 1920s and 1930s cycled the 100 miles between the two cities many times. By WWII he was too old to serve, so volunteered for the ARP.

When Manchester suffered the 'Christmas Blitz' of December 1940 all the fire pumps for hundreds of miles around were called upon which was a bit difficult when all the signposts had been taken down and vehicle headlights were restricted to narrow slits. So my grandfather, who knew the route intimately, stood on the running board of the lead Worcester fire pump next to the driver, directing him the whole way.

[Contrast this to today's Health and Safety/risk assessments idiocy when a policeman won't pose for a photo astride a pushbike as he's not taken his cycling proficiency test.]

My Granddad was a real maverick and a lovely guy and at the time of his death the Stones 'Paint it Black' was in the charts which expressed my sentiments very well.
 


Back
Top Bottom