2nd Bn King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 1941/42

Discussion in 'Burma & India' started by High Wood, Mar 29, 2020.

  1. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Andy,

    the Victory Medal that you have was issued to 67299 Pte Albert Graves of the Machine Gun Corps. I would think that this is possibly Jack Graves' father.

    With regard to your grand father's P.O.W. experience, I cannot add anything to Bamboo's comprehensive answer above. There are two very good books written by prisoners of war held in Rangoon Jail which are worth reading.

    The Rats of Rangoon by Lionel Hudson and Operation Rangoon Gaol by Col. K.P. Mackenzie. An excellent account of the 2nd battalion's campaign in Burma which I would highly recommend is, No Mandalay, No Maymyo, by Gerald Fitzpatrick.
    All three books can usually be found on ebay quite cheaply.

    Simon.
     
    Last edited: Oct 23, 2022
  2. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Andy,

    Albert Graves was also a prisoner of war during the Great War. He was captured on 23rd March 1918 at La Bassee, France, whilst serving with the 178 Company of the Machine Gun Corps. He was wounded in his left hand and captured on the first day of the German breakthrough on the Western Front. His date of birth was given as 6th January 1886 and his home address as, 81 Newby Street, Bradford, Yorkshire.

    GBM_ICRC_C_G1_E_04_01_0159_0044.jpg
     
  3. Hi Bamboo43,

    Thank you so much, that is him - absolutely amazing. Do you own his POW record card? or is it held in archive in a museum?

    Kind regards,

    Andrew
     
  4. Hi.

    Thank you for this also - absolutely blown away by this.

    Andy
     
  5. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    I am glad to be of help. Both of the documents that Bamboo and I have downloaded are available on Findmypast.

    Interesting to see that the home address is the same on both documents. Albert should also have a British War Medal, it would have been issued with the Victory Medal, perhaps someone else in your family has it.
     
  6. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Hi Andrew,

    As Simon says, these documents are on Find My Past, but are physically held at the National Archives at Kew in London. My grandfather sadly died inside Rangoon Jail in June 1943, and this is what I have collected digital copies of the cards for the other men held at the jail. The books Simon mentions would give you a great overview of what Jack went through during the war, both his service with 2 KOYLI and as a prisoner of war.

    Here is another document from the National Archives that contains Jack's name; page 2 of the men liberated having previously been held at Rangoon Jail:

    AIR 40:1855b copy.jpg
     
    Rothy likes this.
  7. Thank you - God bless
     
  8. Hi Mate,

    Maybe you could help explain this to me? - I am continuing my research to find out exactly what happened to my Grandad. It is clear from the POW inmate cards, home address and liberation documents you sent that he was 100% a POW at Rangoon Camp.

    I am also in possession of a Italy star medal - "This medal was awarded for operational service in Sicily or Italy during the period 11th June 1943 to 8th May 1945." Would this medal potentially noy belong to my Grandad and belong to someone else due to the dates? If the prisoners were liberated on the 29th April 1945, surely he would not have been sent to Italy within 10 days to qualify for the Italy Star?

    Any thoughts you have would be extremely helpful.

    Andy
     
  9. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Andy,

    it is extremely unlikely, if not impossible, that your grand dad was awarded the Italy Star as he was a PoW for the duration. The 2nd Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry had been stationed in Burma before the war. Most of the original 2/KOYLI survivors of the Retreat from Burma served in India for the rest of the war but some transferred to other battalions and were killed in North West Europe, the Italy Star must have belonged to someone else. Could it have belonged to his brother Leslie?

    Simon.
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2022
  10. Hi High Wood,

    Thank you for the feedback - that's exactly what I was thinking. Was Leslie under the same address also? do you know if he was killed in action and served in Italy?

    Andy
     
  11. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Leslie was living with his widowed mother Harriet at 81 Newby Street in 1939. Harriet was emplyed as a weaver and Leslie as a piece finisher/dyer. I can find no record of Leslie's war time service but I can tell you that he died in 1979 in Bradford.
     
    Rothy likes this.
  12. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    From the Bradford Observer 27th November 1942.

    Graves 002.JPG
     
  13. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Andrew, here are two WW1 documents that confirm that Albert was entitled to both the Victory and the British War Medal as Simon suggested. The British War Medal is a silver medal with King George V uncrowned head on the obverse. Please see photo:

    Graves A. Medal card.jpg Graves A. Medal Rolls.jpg British War Medal Ww1.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2022
    Rothy likes this.
  14. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    With the permission of the original poster, I am adding these details to this thread in order to keep the 2/K.O.Y.L.I. information in one thread. Thank you Mr Jinks.

    kenneth buckley 2nd KOYLI.jpg

    PRIVATE
    KENNETH BUCKLEY
    Service Number: 4691029
    Regiment & Unit/Ship
    King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
    2nd Bn.
    Date of Death
    Died 15 May 1942
    Age 19 years old
    Buried or commemorated at
    RANGOON MEMORIAL
    Face 16.
    Myanmar
    Additional Info
    Son of George and Emily Buckley, of Kinsley, Yorkshire.
     
    Rothy likes this.
  15. Lee Roebuck

    Lee Roebuck New Member

    Hello everyone, and firstly thank you for letting me join.


    I am in the process of tracing my Grandfather, James Henry Roebuck who served with the 2nd KOYLI.

    The pandemic stalled things slightly but I did request from the Army Personnel Centre any information held regarding my grandfather and we are lucky enough to have his service records of his time in the army.

    It would suggest that he was involved in the retreat in Burma as his history sheet states that he was in Burma and then subsequently India.

    Burma 11/1/1939 – 17/5/1942


    India 18/5/1942 – 30/5/1944


    He latterly went into North West Europe in the 26th of June 1944 with the Lincolnshire Regiment until February 1946.

    I believe that he may be one of the “Roebucks” listed on the first page of the thread but whenever I’ve tried to piece information together it is hard to find any concrete evidence of this. Not helped by the fact that his army number was not recollected.

    Any help in trying to create a clearer picture would be hugely appreciated and if any of the information I have is of use I'd be more than willing to share.

    His army number was 4690488

    Many thanks

    Lee Roebuck
     
  16. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Lee,

    welcome to the forum. I have no further information regarding either of the two Roebucks mentioned in my list. I have searched the casualty lists using the Army Number 4690488 and nothing comes up. I have also put the same number into the London Gazette search box and nothing has come up there either, so we can rule him out of being the Roebuck with the Military Medal.

    I have found a newspaper article about a Pte James Henry Roebuck, of Birley Street, Sheffield marrying a Patricia Rose Musson, in Newark in March 1945. It does not give his regiment. If he is the right man, I might be able to find more.

    Simon.
     
  17. Lee Roebuck

    Lee Roebuck New Member

    Hi Simon

    Thanks for the reply.

    Yes, Pte James Henry Roebuck was my grandfather.

    Lee
     
  18. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Lee,

    I have added your grandfather's full name and Army Number to the main list.
     
  19. The Dolloways

    The Dolloways New Member

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