Finding out about my father's war service

Iahlah65. Obtaining your father's Service Record would be a good start. You can find out on line how to do that. You will then know where he served, his rank and service number. Once you have the bare outline, there are military sites where you can research and hopefully come up with satisfactory answers. Was he a POW? If so, they can be a bit elusive to research and require quite a bit of patience!

I found some good information on my DGF in WW1 on the Ancestry site when it was free for Armistice day one year . I only needed his name (which was Jones so a difficult one!) , birth year and address at signing up , And regiment . Found some excellent documents like from when he was given confinment for being late back after leave probably to visit my DGrandma . He got the military cross and fought all the battle of the Somme . He also never spoke of it . And we also never had anything Japanese in the house because of my DM s friends experience s in WW2 .

Lahlah65

Moonwatcher1904

My dad never spoke about any military service he did but I found out a lot when I did my family tree. He was born in September 1899 and tried to join the Royal Scots Fusiliers in June 1915 so that would've made him 15 at the time. The war record I have states that he said he was 19. but he was discharged when they found out his real age. He never met his father as he died in 1902, when he was only 20, in the 2nd Boer War and was buried in South Africa.

We realised just yesterday that DD’s grandfather is shown as being 19 years and 2 days on his enlistment papers from 1915. He was actually only 16years 2 months old.

LahLah65 it makes you wonder how many youngsters have tried to enlist when under age.

Thank you Marg75. They must indeed.

What a brave man. Some many brave men and women who must be honoured.

Totally agree Marg75. War is a dreadful business, but particularly WW2, unfortunately needs must. Towards the end of her life my mother suddenly, after years of reticence which had slightly bewildered me, opened up just a bit about my fathers death. All her life she had recurrent nightmares of him screaming while trying to get out of that burning Lancaster which was hurtling towards the ground! She cried, I cried, and we left it at that, and had a glass of wine!!. It was, however, eye opening, and certainly made it clear to me why, over the years he had been virtually wiped out of our lives. She just couldn't go there.

Marg75

If you think war is wicked and shameful, would you have sat back and let our country be overrun and occupied by Hitler? Those wonderful men and women fought for our freedom!

Those who are the aggressors are the ones who are wicked and shameful.

Those defending our liberty, fighting for peace, should be remembered and honoured.

Many fail to distinguish between those who attack and those who defend.

I once looked into this on a website which held military records. For years afterwards they posted updates but I'm sorry, I've forgotten the name of the site. I don't think it was the one mentioned above.

My father was in the Navy and spent most of his time time in East Africa and Ceylon. He told stories occasionally, but I got the impression that most of the time was spent just sitting around waiting.

Allsorts: My dear father in law was at Dunkirk, he was a very proud man, patriotic, and never spoke about his experiences. He was well looked after by the British Legion all his life in one way or another, and wore his poppy with pride to remember all of his friends that never came home. My great uncle was killed in battle in the First World War, and his body was never found. Please everyone do not denigrate the Remembrance every year, it's must always be treasured.

One suggestion I have is that once you have found out which regiment he belonged to you might be able to find out more of their history and where they served etc which will then give you more ideas of what your relative did.

To those that say they don't believe in war, who does? . However if you were going to be invaded by Hitler and you know what he did, would you have preferred that or would you do your duty, however hard, defend your family and way of life and fight. I wear the poppy for all those brave selfless men and women, who were brave enough and prepared to give their lives for me and my freedom. Young men come out of conflict traumatised and buying a poppy helps them who would begrudge them that. I would rather go myself than wave my son off to war, any mother would, but it had to be done, however I don't believe in all these foreign wars like Afghanistan and Iraq, WW2 we were about to be invaded, i am proud that my father served all through the war in RAF but he would never speak of it and disliked Churchill. Servicemen join up and go where they are sent. The world has changed, now and a push of the button would see us all off, a call to arms now would see how divided we are.
We learn nothing by atrocities committed as they happen, we have watched on our tv screens the horrors of Palestine and Israel. If that wasn't genocide I don't know what is.
?

If you think war is wicked and shameful, would you have sat back and let our country be overrun and occupied by Hitler? Those wonderful men and women fought for our freedom!

watermeadow

My father never ever spoke of the war but he stayed on as a regular officer afterwards.
I don’t wear a poppy and think war is wicked and shameful, not something to be celebrated every year. We don’t remember Agincourt or the Norman conquest with flags and bands. The terrible wars of the last century should be consigned to history too.

I don’t regard the poppy as ‘celebrating’ war and don’t know anybody who does. To me it’s remembering those who sacrificed their lives so that we may live in freedom. Although the current government seems to be doing its best to reverse this!

tanith

My father was never called up in WW2 although he was fit and healthy all he would say when I asked was well I worked in and out af the ports delivering stuff but wouldn't elaborate. Could that of been a reserved occupation or could he be delivering arms etc? Just puzzled why he wouldn't be called to fight.

Both my grandfathers were protected from serving . My paternal grandfather was a docker in the London docks and was exempt from serving . My maternal grandfather was partially deaf and was a bank manger in the city of London and again exempt . However he wanted to do his bit and was a fire warden . Id love to know more but my mum was 4 when ww2 started and can’t remember much .

I have all my Dad's naval war records. He sent me and Mum a letter on the eve of D day which I treasure. He always went to the local cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday, wearing his medals. Like Jaberwok we never had anything Japenese in the house as Dad was in the Pacific at the end of the war serving on a ship which repatriated soldiers from Burma. Many from our local area
He was always a patriotic Englishman.
I am investigating my family tree with Ancestry

We just sent a request to the National Archives and got a reply pretty quickly.

Moonwatcher1904

My dad never spoke about any military service he did but I found out a lot when I did my family tree. He was born in September 1899 and tried to join the Royal Scots Fusiliers in June 1915 so that would've made him 15 at the time. The war record I have states that he said he was 19. but he was discharged when they found out his real age. He never met his father as he died in 1902, when he was only 20, in the 2nd Boer War and was buried in South Africa.

We realised just yesterday that DD’s grandfather is shown as being 19 years and 2 days on his enlistment papers from 1915. He was actually only 16years 2 months old.

tanith

My father was never called up in WW2 although he was fit and healthy all he would say when I asked was well I worked in and out af the ports delivering stuff but wouldn't elaborate. Could that of been a reserved occupation or could he be delivering arms etc? Just puzzled why he wouldn't be called to fight.

Some years ago I went to the funeral of a neighbour. He had worked in the docks too. It was a reserved occupation I think. And because these were a real target for bombing, it was really quite hazardous work.

But his sister said that it wasn’t easy - he had been accosted street a couple of times by women whose men folk were away fighting, and didn’t understand why an apparently fit young man was not also in uniform.

Of course the country needed people to be prepared to stay home and do some of the hard physical work that kept the civilian population and the military effort supplied. It’s not really so surprising when you think of it. Another aspect of wartime history that’s probably not much talked about.

If you have a local family history society near you, they can often help you to access the information you seek. Ours charges £2 for a whole day.

National archives hold military records but can be a pain to trawl through online which is why a local society may be beneficial to use (and much much cheaper the Ancestry etc)

British army records are now with the National Archives.

My father didn't talk much about the war. I think all I did know was told to me by my mum. I didn't think about it much when he was still alive and he died when I was only 20. I guess I'd have been more interested as I got older but just didn't have the chance to have those conversations. He also never talked about his own dad and I once asked how he'd died as it was before I was born . My mum shushed me and later told me he had drowned in the canal and I don't think they knew for certain if it was an accident or if he took his own life. My mum never knew him as he died before she met my dad. She was 8 years younger than my dad and had been at school during the war while he was away in the army. I feel as though there is much I don't know on my dad's side of the family and though mum told me lots about her side I didn't write things down and now regret that. I always thought I'd just remember everything, but sadly now I don't!

I would be interested in what my FiL did during WW2, he never spoke about his experiences and when asked he always said “oh I only peeled spuds”. He may have done but we suspect not. I always wondered if he felt resentful as he was an Irish Catholic conscripted into the British Army.
My own father was conscripted into the Royal Navy but a medical said he was too short sighted and was moved into a reserved occupation. I know he was resentful of this as he had a place at University which was deferred but by the end of the war he had met my Mum and was training as an electrical engineer and earning good money.

Are you sure your father was not in a Japanese camp after Singapore fell?

That would explain his attitude to the war and Remembrance Day.

Are you really sure you will feel happier if you do find out what he experienced?

You can make a request*Welsh poppy*, under the freedom of information act, to the National Archives for army records etc.
We have done that although some of the information was kept back. Possibly as my father was a Commando

I've been trying, quite unsuccessfully, to find out about my FILs war service. Hubby is useless with technology so it's down to me. I'm not particularly good but better. Hubby watches tv and because someone in a programme types something into a computer and the right result/information comes up immediately he thinks that's how it works. I find it very frustrating. FIL was mentioned in dispatches and we think it might have been something to do with the concentration camps, but as with so many FIL wouldn't talk about it. I guess I'll just keep trying.