I apologise if this post is in the wrong thread. Checking my grandfathers ww2 record shows he served in the Royal Artillery Attestations. A picture of his record shows he was attested 1940 and in large letters is written 'DISCH AGE LIMIT (1956) he was born in 1911 btw. and the date written is 23.4.46 Does this mean he served from 1940 until 23.4.1946? and does anyone know where he would have served, and more importantly would he ever have had leave normally to return home especially as my mother was born in July 1946 and her brother in 1943 (both the period he was away!) any input welcome, thanks
By the sound of it you are just looking at his attestation record, what you need are his official service records, they are only obtainable from the MOD:- Request records of deceased service personnel - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The records should give you a timeline of his service and the information you are after. Whilst there is very little in the public domain for WW2 you could post his name and number which would help others to see if they have any information, but you really need his records.
All the Attestation Register tells you is his “start & end date”. You need his service record to fill in the gap. When he was discharged in 1946 he went on to Class Z reserve so he could be recalled if required ie Malaya Emergency, Korean War, Suez Crisis. All men were discharged from Class Z and were no longer liable to recall on reaching 45 years of age. Steve
thanks guys, he was lionel chapman 1097646. I was trying to figure out how it worked, please forgive my ignorance, he got called up in 1940 and discharged in april 1946 and had two children during that time but surely even if stationed abroad he would have had leave home during that time? would his army record show the dates of his leave or just where and when he served? his brothers also served, one killed in may 1940.
946 Defence Battery. A quick google. 175th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery - Wikipedia See 10 Defence Regiment RA - The Royal Artillery 1939-45
wow you guys are amazing, so basically they were 'dads army' on the coast manning artillery defences and training younger soldiers for their deployment overseas. They never went overseas. On a personal front I would assume they would have had more access to leave and provide better evidence for my mothers legitimacy, thanks owen
You’re assuming he was with that unit for the whole of his service. Not necessarily so. You need to have sight of his service papers. Army Form B103 should record all his postings and periods of UK leave. Men serving overseas weren’t usually sent home for leave until after the European war had ended. Steve