4267468 Sapper Sweeney, P K - Royal Northumberland Fusiliers / Royal Engineers: Service Records

Thanks Tony 56
I thought that too, but on 2 different pages it has B.N.N.F.

 

Hi,

It’s a draft code.

There are lots of threads on the forum about draft codes, for example -

Proceeded on draft RPHNM

Steve

 

Thanks Tullybrone

will have a look and see what i can find

 

Tullybrone

i followed the link you gave me and found a site with allied convoy codes on it, unfortunately nothing on RGKYH.

but thanks anyway

 

It wasn’t intended to take you to anything to do with convoys.

There were thousands of draft codes used. The link was just to give you an insight into the “process” as per Post #2 & #4 on that thread.

Nothing to do with Allied convoys other than the draft codes refer to bodies of men who were transported on the ships in a convoy.

Steve

 

Steve

I usually go off track as you can probably see from my previous posts.

thanks for clarifiying it for me

Kim

 

Hi All
Would anyone know what Unit this is and were it might have been took. We are not sure if its R.N.F or the R.E maybe in Egypt

Thanks

Kim

View attachment 266943

 

Caption: On the march.

It's hard to see detail, but the cap badge definitely looks like fusiliers (and not R.E.).

Location: not much to see, but if anybody can get a rough date clue from equipment or uniform, you can compare with the R.N.F. movements.

 

Thank you Charley Fortnum

We know he was in Egypt twice, first time with the Fusiliers in 1934-1937 and the second time was in about 1941 with R.E.

So it looks like he was their with the Fusilier, I am just waiting for the R.N.F museum to open and hopefully they will fill in the gaps as to what they were doing over there.

Thanks again for your help

Kim

 

Hi,

British Troops were garrisoned in Alexandria and Cairo pre war as part of British Empire “policing” role.

Steve

EDIT TO ADD

1st RNF converted to a machine gun Battalion in the late 1930’s and saw action in the early stages of the conflict in North Africa -

BBC - WW2 People's War - Egypt Invaded 1940

 

Hello Steve

Thanks for that information and the link, i will see if i can find anything else on the internet.

Before he went to Egypt he was also in Jamaica with the Fusiliers, would that have been a policing role too.

Kim

 

Hi,

The term “Policing the Empire” is a generic applied to Garrison troops throughout the Empire. They were there to “fly the flag” and protect British interests but weren’t there to replace the local Police. They could be called out in times of civil unrest “to aid the civil power.

Jamaica was part of the British Empire at the time. There was a British Garrison in most of the colonies - albeit Egypt wasn’t strictly a colony.

From Wikipedia - From 1882-1914, Egypt was a veiled protectorate of Britain, meaning that the British controlled most of Egypt without any real legal authority. From 1914-1922, it was a formal protectorate, until Britain declared the nation to be independent. Still, the British maintained a strong presence until the 1956 Suez Crisis.

Steve

 

Hello Steve

Thanks for the help once again, I did wonder what he would be doing over seas pre ww2 and your information has helped me to understand a bit more

Thanks

Kim

 

Hello All

A few years ago i posted another one of my uncles service records, he was in E.Y.R and served in India and a few other places.

Steve Mac did a brilliant job of explaining them in a post on the forum.

If any one can help , what i would like to know is if i wanted the war diary's for his time in ....Burma Korea etc do i need the dairy for 1st E.Y.R or the Division, Corps he was attached to.

Any help would be appreciated

Kim

 

Hi,

Your starting point is the Battalion War Diary as that will give you an understanding of his unit movements and activities.

In my opinion and experience Higher Command War Diaries - Brigade, Division, Corps etc will give reducing information on a single Battalion’s activities the higher level the unit diary one examines.

They deal more with strategic issues, planning and post action reviews etc and are of more interest to an academic than a family member trying to follow a relatives wartime journey.

Steve

 

Steve

Thanks for that information, I will now start and look to see what Battalion diary's are available at the Archives for his time in the various places.

The E.Y.R museum sent me the war diary for part of the time he was in Burma...he is actually mentioned in it.

Kim

 

Hi all

I have another uncle that served with the 1st Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment.

A few years ago Steve Mac kindly helped me with his service, he translated most of it for me but never finished it.

If anyone can help i would be interested in knowing what battalion he was serving with in Korea. ( Steve thought it might be the Northumberland Fusiliers) and what he might have done over their.

He received the U.N Service medal and the Korean medal. I have uploaded the relevant page

Any help would be appreciated

Regards

Kim

View attachment 280131

 

Do you have any other pages?

If so, please upload them.

And, yes, N.F. may well stand for Northumberland Fusiliers.

 

Hello

Thanks for the reply, i have some pages but the service records are incomplete ( Steve Mac told me ) .

I will post what i have, but i have omitted personal details .

Thanks for taking the time to help

Kim

 

Hello Charley Fortnum

I am going to remove the service records and start a new thread,hope this is alright.

Kim