8th Bn. DLI - J.W. Robson (3191213): any details?

If you can, that would be wonderful, if only to check the details which have been sent to me by localhistory@LiveBorders1.org.uk, which I suppose probably will be correct:

 

James William Robson died on 11 April 1960 and his address was listed as Monteviot House, Ancrum

If this is confirmed as the J Robson the OP seeks, then Its possible that he was working at another grand house or estate at the time of his death, as Monteviot was then & still is the official home of the Marquess of Lothian & the Kerr family.
Monteviot House & Gardens

 

We know from his medals that this man served in the Western Desert with the 8th Army, Sicily (more likely than Italy) and NW Europe, probably landing on Gold Beach on D-Day. However, if this man was with the 6th Bn Durham Light Infantry from 15 January 1940 for the duration, he would have fought with the BEF in Belgium/France in 1940 too.

He’s not listed on CWGC and given the places he saw service, extremely lucky to make it home (assuming he was an infantryman).

Be great to see his service records!

 

I will ask for them. Only need to find out how to pay GBP30.-. Living in Holland, I don't have cheques (which is requesed). Everything is through internet these days...

 

Over here you can get your bank to issue a draft payable in the currency of the country you are sending it to & drawable on the clearing system of that country. Cost about 10.00 sterling. They can be stopped if lost in the post.

We also have or used to have postal orders over here.

Hopefully your bank offer a similar service in the Netherlands.

 

Hi

I should have added that there are also International Money orders that serve the same purpose & may be available through post offices or any of the big companies like American express, Western Union etc. I have not used these so am not making a reccomendation & there will of course be other companies that offer the service.

 

If you investigate how to pay and are still struggling, I’ll pay for the service records and happy to do so. Just let me know if you need my help!

Best,

Steve.

 

Definitely Sicily, see post #30.

 

Today, I received the following fragment from "Durham Light Infantry enlistment book D/DLI 15/1/40":

 

Dear Steve,

Following your generous offer, I sent you a PM on 21 February, to make use of the practical help you were offering (with me of course repaying the cost involved, directly to you). Can you please let me know if the offer still stands? I still don't know where to get a cheque or "money order" or other form of physical payment (apart from going to the bank and buy some pound notes, which I feel is not what they want), to put in the envelope together with the application forms (which I have found and have all the required information for). Bit strange they don't facilitate digital payment, such as PayPal.

Kind regards, Ronald.

 

Evening Ronald,

I’ve been away on business in Germany and then long hours back in London last week. I have looked in on the forum, but no time to sort this yet. Will look at ordering the service records tomorrow!

Best,

Steve.

 

Hi Steve,

Thanks! No great hurry (understood it will take a long time for the records to arrive anyway). I was just being a bit impatient to know if I had finally found a way (you ) to get at the service records. Please also send a PM for me to repay the costs.

Kind regards, Ronald.

 

Any better contemporary photos of the "grey stone cairn" and its "white marble tablet" at the Primesole battlefield?
Additional information (e.g. service records) on J.W. Robson (3191213) also very much appreciated.

 

Still no service records (applied for them through NA last October), but figured photo below would be nice to add. Put up by Robson originally...

 

Miracles happen!

Over 4 years after starting this thread and some 15 years after buying his medals, ID-discs and badges, today I have finally received from the MOD Pte. James William Robson's service records!
It shows that from November 1939 until the end of the war, he was with the 8th Battalion Durham Light Infantry, 50th Infantry Division. It also shows that not only, from May 1941 to November 1943, he has fought in the Middle-East (Cyprus, Palestine and Iraq, if I'm right), North-Africa (Libya en Egypt) and Sicily, and then from 6 June (D-Day) to mid-December 1944 in France, Belgium and Holland, but also from January 1940 until 1 June 1940 with the BEF in Northern France. He will have been evacuated from Dunkirk. Incredible!

Now all that remains to be found is Pte. James William Robson's photo...

 

Excellent result , how he went through all of that action without being wounded !! I do have some further info from another source about John Wheatley and the Primisole Cairn , i'll see if it mentions Janes Robson at all.

 

Hi,

Well done on obtaining the service record.

You may well know from other documents, not posted on the forum, that he was initially called up under the Military Service Act to serve in the Militia. He was attached to KOSB for planned 6 months full time training.

You can see his Militia number has been struck through and replaced with his army service number from the KOSB block allocation. It was normal practice post 3/9/39 for “Militiamen” to be absorbed into the Territorial Army (under Military Service Act) and for an army service number to be allocated to replace the Milotia number.

Steve

 

Thanks! I am not familiar with "Militia". Can anyone tell me what it was, and what the differences were compared to TA? And does anyone know what the big "P" on the records stands for?

 

Re The Militia, Steve's recent post here has it:

Black Watch Militia 1939/40

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Courtesy of `Verrieres` at DLI 1920-46 . From the War Diary of 8th DLI (Sicily 1943)





Kyle