This is the tracer card for my grandad. I'm currently out of the UK so can't currently send for his records (even if they were open). I've emailed the RA museum and have the WO serials saved ready to order once the NA opens again, but in the meantime, can anyone please have a squizz at this and let me know what you think to my interpretation ….. Leaving aside the obvious, do the numbers in brackets (after the dates) refer to Bty/Regt - if so, why are they different to the first noted Regt? Now, looking at the time in Africa (Oct 42 - Oct 44), am I right in saying he was with 187 Bty / 41 LAA? If so, any idea where they were, as I can't find them in any order of battle online. Before that, where was 8 Regt? I'm guessing it was a UK based training Regt? Finally, he is on the X list (IV - meaning awaiting posting, I think) but I've not a scooby where he went from there until his demob in 46. I don't have medals (lost in a house move in the 80s) or a MiC. I'm in the process of finding old pictures - and we think there's one somewhere of him stood by some sort of towing vehicle with his mates during his time in Africa. But other than that, nothing. He didn't say anything about his time away, other than refusing to have a brew in anything other than a cup and saucer (he gave me a right dressing down for giving him his tea in a mug when I was about 6 - and I still remember it nearly 50 years later!) Any help very much appreciated.
Hi, ‘Welcome to the forum - He was conscripted/enlisted 24th July 1941 and was posted to 225 Light Anti Aircraft (Bofors Guns)Training Regiment. On completion of his initial training he is posted to 38 Lt AA 31st October 1941. He is posted overseas to The Middle East on 26th July 1942 and likely sailed on WS21 convoy that departed the Clyde 21st July 1942. WS (Winston Specials) Convoys in WW2 - 1942 Sailings His record says he disembarked in Egypt 11th October 1942 but having seen other full service records I would say he more likely arrived in late September (lag in updating his record) and was held in a base depot for a fortnight to acclimatise before being posted to 8th Reserve Lt A A Regiment 15th October 1942. He would ordinarily have been posted to an active LAA as a replacement after that date but his record is silent until mention of posting to the X list in October 1944. XlistWW2 | WW2Talk That entry may mean his unit was one of the many Lt AA and Heavy AA Regiments disbanded in late 1944 to provide infantry reinforcements. You will need sight of his full service record to know his movements post October 1942 until his demobilisation in May 1946. Steve
Cheers for that Steve. Can I ask where you've got the additional info from? I've been searching high and low for additional info on the www but rarely seem to find anything useful. I've been doing the family tree (on and off) for 10 years, but this lockdown (which we also have in the UAE) has given me extra time to devote to it. My grandad is just one of the family military histories (dating back to 1859 so far) I'm trying to put together, but has been the hardest one so far......
Hi, You’re welcome. Which bits of additional Info do you mean? It’s all from the tracer card apart from the 2 links I inserted. Steve
It's just when you say it went silent, I thought you were referring to some other resource? Any idea about the bits in brackets after the dates for 42 - is that not 187 Bty 41 Regt?
Hi, re “Any idea about the bits in brackets after the dates for 42 - is that not 187 Bty 41 Regt?” Thanks for pointing it out. On reflection the date of his posting to 8 Res LAA may have been an intermediate posting between his Training Regiment and 38 LAA and the 42 date may be a typo as the 187/41 IMHO refers to the order concerning his posting being the unit 187th (Part 2 Order) in 1941. If it is a 1941 posting the tracer card makes more sense as the entries are then all in chronological order. If that reinterpretation is correct it may be that he went overseas with 38 LAA and remained with that unit until Oct 1944. I can’t find any mention of 38 LAA on the internet but I haven’t searched UK National Archives for the war diaries. Steve
This is where I'm confused, I just looked at the format and the 187/41 bit from 1942 is above the entry for 1941, but the bit in brackets then says 35 / 8 regt, which is why I thought the 187/41 was a Bty / regt designation, rather than orders ….. And there was another thread I saw on here about 41 LAA that tallied up with the Egypt dates in this tracer …... I guess all will become apparent once I get his records from Kew
Hi, As the tracer is a centrally held tracking tool there is much abbreviation/military shorthand as the details are sourced from other records. Much fuller detail will be held in his service papers - BTW they are held in Glasgow.....Kew have War Diaries. It’s always best to get the service papers before ordering WD. IIRC WW2 war diaries haven’t been digitised yet so the WO ref is all you will see. If you want a copy of the WD don’t use NA as they charge about a £1 a page and a couple of members in here do it much more cheaply. Try Drew Drew5233 or Lee PsyWar.Org when you get the service records. Steve
