Anyone have family or relatives who served in WW2?

[Ghandi's Flip Flops]

My dad was at sea when war broke out, so became part of the Merchant Navy. They sailed in convoys, bringing vital goods into the UK.

P.S. One of his brothers was lost at sea, when their ship was sunk.

Do you know if your Dad was on the atlantic routes?
Also was your uncle Merchant or Royal Navy, and do you know which ship he was on?

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

I didn't know thats how people got selected to work in the pits. Always assumed the existing pit workers didn't get called up due to it being a 'Reserved Occupation', and the younger ones that were below the preferred age limit for conscription got directed that way, till they were older.

The miners were obviously classed as a Reserve Occupation but it was people who would otherwise have gone into the Armed Forces who were Bevin Boys. My dad loved his time in the mines, although it was obviously quite hard.

I've also just remembered that my former headmaster was in Intelligence during the war and ended up in MI6. He was dropped into France just after D-Day to co-ordinate Resistance activities and also to root out Germans who'd stayed behind under cover. Only came out after he died.

 

[Ghandi's Flip Flops]

I've also just remembered that my former headmaster was in Intelligence during the war and ended up in MI6. He was dropped into France just after D-Day to co-ordinate Resistance activities and also to root out Germans who'd stayed behind under cover. Only came out after he died.

If he was in the SOE it's likely he had his own file detailing what he did, and it would now be kept at the National Archives at Kew in London. They usually have a 'closed until...' status but you can get them accessable with an FOI request, although if he hasn't been dead 25 years that could be an issue.

 

[Bilboblue]

My grandfather, the only thing he ever said about it was 'I hope nobody ever has to go through what I did'.

 

[sir baconface]

Do you know if your Dad was on the atlantic routes?
Also was your uncle Merchant or Royal Navy, and do you know which ship he was on?

I assume he was on the Atlantic routes at least some of the time but regret that I didn't find out more when he was alive. I remember him talking of Russia too, but not sure if that was during the war or before/after.

My uncle's ship was the Avila Star, which sailed between South America and England, and was sunk by a U-boat. I once looked him up on the Merchant Navy memorial near Tower Bridge. There are 35,000 names, or thereabouts, but I was fortunate enough to find his ship on only the third bronze plaque, out of literally hundreds.

 

[smudgedj]

This sort of stuff from great granddad.

Born 18 Dec 1875 Hounslow.
Died 29 Oct 1947 Cornwall.

Enlisted in the Army (Royal Lancaster Regiment) on 17 Feb 1894 and was discharged on 16 Feb 1906 having served 12 years.
Re-enlisted 9 Mar 1906 and served until 3 Apr 1913 having served 7 years and 26 Days.
Joined again 15 Aug 1914 and was discharged on 5 Feb 1917 as no longer being physically fit for service.
During his time in the Army he served abroad as follows:

Malta 25.09.1894 - 24.11.1897 2 years 61 days
Hong Kong 25.11.1897 - 16.01.1899 1 year 53 days
Singapore 17.01.1899 - 26.03.1900 1 year 69 days
South Africa 16.02.1901 - 10.09.1902 1 year 207 days
Egypt 11.09.1914 - 03.09.1916 1 year 356 days

When he first enlisted in 1894 he is shown as being 5ft 5 7/8ths
he is 5ft 6 3/4 on his re-enlistment in 1906, with a fair complexion, red hair, grey eyes.
By 1914 he seems to be 5ft 71/4.

He was awarded the following medals:
Queen’s South Africa Medal with Clasps
1901
1902
Transvaal
1914 & 1915 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal

During the First World War he embarked on 15 August 1914 and landed in Egypt on 12 Sep 1914.
He was promoted to Corporal on 5.9.14;
Acting Sergeant on 1.2.16;
and at some later stage made substantive Sergeant backdated with effect from 1.2.16, which he held until his discharge in 1917.


The above is the sort of information you'll find at Kew if you have the service number.

My grandfather on my father's side died at Dunkirk. we have all his documents and medals.

 

[sir baconface]

My grandfather, the only thing he ever said about it was 'I hope nobody ever has to go through what I did'.

You can only imagine some of the shit he must have witnessed.

 

[Armaan]

My grandads cousin fought in WW2 on behalf of British India... he went permanently deaf due to a bomb exploding near him and could hear very little with a hearing aid. Survived in to his nineties and was a pretty top bloke. In terms of stories he never talked about it, only ever told people of the time he got deaf.

 

[Ghandi's Flip Flops]

My uncle's ship was the Avila Star, which sailed between South America and England, and was sunk by a U-boat. I once looked him up on the Merchant Navy memorial near Tower Bridge. There are 35,000 names, or thereabouts, but I was fortunate enough to find his ship on only the third bronze plaque, out of literally hundreds.

Name Avila Star
Type: Steam passenger ship
Tonnage 14,443 tons
Completed 1927 - John Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank
Owner Blue Star Line Ltd, London
Homeport London
Date of attack 6 Jul 1942 Nationality:

British

Fate Sunk by U-201 (Adalbert Schnee)
Position 38° 04'N, 22° 48'W - Grid CF 4953
Complement 196 (59 dead and 137 survivors).
Convoy
Route Buenos Aires - Freetown (28 Jun) - Liverpool
Cargo 5659 tons of frozen meat
History Completed in March 1927 as Avila 1929 renamed Avila Star. 1935 lengthened.
Notes on event
At 00.36 hours on 6 July 1942 the unescorted Avila Star (Master John Fisher) was hit on the starboard side by two G7e torpedoes from U-201 90 miles east of San Miguel, Azores. The ship had been chased since 5 hours and only sank capsizing to starboard one hour after being hit amidships by a coup de grâce at 00.58 hours. A first coup de grâce fired at 00.54 hours had been a dud. The master, nine crew members, one gunner and eleven passengers were lost, most of them died when the third torpedo detonated beneath a lifeboat that was being lowered. 20 crew members and three passengers went missing in a lifeboat that was never found. 96 crew members, five gunners and eleven passengers were picked up from three lifeboats on 7/8 July by the Portuguese destroyer Lima (D 333) (Rodriguez) and taken to Ponta Delgada, Azores where one crew member died in a hospital. Another lifeboat with 34 crew members and five passengers was not located until 25 July, after eight crew members and two passengers died of wounds or exposure. The 29 survivors were picked up by the Portuguese sloop Pedro Nunes (A 528) which was searching for the boat since it had been spotted by Portuguese aircraft two days earlier and landed them at Lisbon the next day, but one crew member died aboard shortly after being rescued and two others after reaching a hospital in Lisbon.

Edit: meant to mention the above info came from this site https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1902.html

 

[Ghandi's Flip Flops]

My grandfather on my father's side died at Dunkirk. we have all his documents and medals.

Do you know what unit he was with at Dunkirk?