hello im new to the group and need some help if possible, my grandad was a sergeant in the 53rd laa regiment, im trying to find out why he was mentioned in dispatches, does anyone know how to help? if anybody could help it would be great my email address is harris.robert(at)hotmail.co.uk was looking through his medals today he has the africa star, the italy star and some others he was mentioned in the london gazette on the 11th january 1945 , it says the following by the kings order the name of sergeant j harris royal artillery was published in the london gazette on 11th january 1945 as mentioned in a despatch for distinguished service i am charged to record his majestys high appreciation, then theres a signature from the secretary of state for war, if anybody could please help me please contact me many thanks robert harris
From what I've read, it's rare to see a copy of a MID, as most of these records were not kept. I would recommend you don't post your e-mail address and members can contact you via the sites messaging service. A Moderator can help amend your post.
The only place to start researching a soldier is with his official records: Get a copy of military service records Am I correct is saying you are interested in 4689647 J Harris? If that is the case he originally enlisted in the the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, so if you want to trace his service you will need to know what units he served in and when, it was not uncommon for transfers to occur. Without his official records - only available from the MOD - you could easily research the wrong unit. As mentioned above it is extremely rare to find out the circumstances of a MiD, there was no citation unlike a medal.
His MID was awarded for services in Italy. Gazetted on 11 January 1945. His name is listed in the book called "These Mentioned" by Michael Maton.
Hi ramacal thank you for your reply. Can you direct me to exactly what book my grandad is in please many thanks
Hi Robert You could look at local newspapers to see if there is any record of his mention. You probably need to look in late 1944. Getting his service records as noted above is the only way to go, and they do charge for them. Once getting them you can get copies of the war diaries for each regiment he was in during the times he was in them. There are a couple of guys on this site who do that for a very modest fee. In WW2 service numbers were given from a block of numbers for each regiment, so as Tony said he originally joined The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry as is number is in their block - 4680001 to 4736000. So he transferred at some stage. regards Robert
He has a KOYLI number as 53 LAA Regt was formed from them. 5th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry - Wikipedia 53rd (KOYLI) LAA Regiment, RA In 1938, the battalion became 53rd (5th Bn King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, consisting of HQ, 157th, 158th and 159th Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) Batteries at Scarborough Barracks, Doncaster.
Robert, afraid not! Because of 100 year rules etc there are very little personal details of WW2 servicemen out there, you might find something on casualties or POWs, but not much else. In the case of your grandfather he does not appear in the casualty lists as being injured or wounded. Would really recommend his service records, once you have these you can draw up a timeline of units, locations etc and then look for printed matter and war diaries as suggested above. Unfortunately a fairly common surname but if you care to provide some more information, full name, date of birth, death and locations, where he lived etc there may be something in local newspapers. As mentioned you will be exceedingly lucky if you find out details of his MiD and similarly, as he was an 'other rank' and not an officer, it is also true that he may not get mentioned by name in diaries, but don't let that put you off, researching the details of these men and women who gave so much will be rewarding. I have received your private message but, as I have nothing really that I can add, have replied here, good luck.
Hi Robert, Apologies for the error in the book title in my post. The full title of the book in two volumes (A - K & L - Z) is "Honour Those Mentioned. The Armies: Mentions in Despatches to the Armies during the Second World War". It confirms he got an MID, as you posted in your opening statement. It sounds as though you have already downloaded the London Gazette pages. Cheers - Rob
can anyone advise me how i go about obtaining all my grandads war records, his army number was 4689647 j harris was a sergeant in the royal artillery served from 1939-1945 was in the evacuation of dunkirk, served in africa, italy, has got the africa star, italy star plus others has oak leaf also, just want to find out everything possible many thanks
Go here. Print out forms. Fill them in & send off with supportings docs & fee . Requests for personal data and service records: a detailed guide
Presumably you have received his official service records by now, was he in 53 LAA throughout or also The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry? Diaries can be found here: Search results: 53 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment diaries | The National Archives
Here is my brief summary history for the 53rd Light AA Regiment, RA: 53rd (King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, R.A. (T.A.) HQ, 157th-159th Btys: Doncaster The regiment served under II Corps in France and Belgium from September 1939, three weeks after the start of the war. It took up defensive positions around Arras and Lille. It moved into Belgium with the Corps at the outbreak of hostilities on 10 May 1940 and was located at Houplin. By the 19th, the regiment was back at the Escaut and, on 27 May, it was in action at the beaches at Dunkirk. It left Dunkirk on 2 June and assembled at Wimbourne. Soon after it was in action at Ramsgate. It spent the next two years scattered about airfields and vulnerable points in England. It was then sent to Egypt in mid-1942 and arrived on 25 August 1942. It joined 10th Armoured Division there from 2 September to 2 November 1942. After the advance to Mersa Matruh, 157th and 159th Batteries were deployed on defensive tasks while 158th Battery was attached to 5th Royal Horse Artillery. The regiment joined 7th Armoured Division on 24 December 1942. It joined XXX Corps in Tunisia in February 1943 and 159th Battery was attached to the Free French Forces. The regiment served under 2nd AA Brigade and was located in the Tripoli area under the brigade in January 1943. It then joined 12th AA Brigade under 8th Army until the end of the campaign in May 1943. The regiment landed in Sicily under 73rd AA Brigade in July 1943 and served with the brigade until late August, when it transferred to 2nd AA Brigade for the move across the straits of Messina on 3 September 1943. It remained with the brigade until July 1944 in Italy, when it transferred to 66th AA Brigade for a short period of time. It returned to 2nd AA Brigade by October 1944. It was attached to 18th Infantry Brigade from 8-20 October 1944 as infantry. It served in the line for two months as infantry attached to 1st Guards Brigade and 18th Infantry Brigade. It then reformed as an AA unit and remained with 2nd AA Brigade for the rest of the campaign in Italy.