Hey guys! Before Christmas 1944 English/American speaking soldiers were lodging at Oostbroek in Geulle near Maastricht. It was next tot the woods of Geulle. Among them was a Jorma, whose parents or so emigrated from Finland.(Civil War in 1918 there??) Passenger list are not easy there. Because my parents liked him and found this a nice forename at my birth in 1947 I was named Jorma. After that the moved to the Ardennes. I was not sure whether they were Americans. If is was a British group it could be the 30th corps, XXX corps. Irish Guard were involved as well. My deceased father had a letter of this Jorma but that got lost. Maybe I cannot I think this Jorma survived WW2. Any suggestions? Cheers
I just had a quick look at the London Gazette on the assumption that had he been born in Finland and then emigrated to the UK with his family he would have had to have been naturalised somewhere along the line. Maybe even if he was born in the UK maybe Jorma was his father's name so maybe it would still show up in the gazette. The only instance of Jorma as a name comes from 2011 and where a person of that name was performing legal duties. I then tried searching for the surname provided as this really does seem to be a rare first name but once again the only instance of that surname was the instance I started with. Executor/Personal Representative: Raworths LLP Solicitors, Eton House, 89 Station Parade, Harrogate HG1 1HF. (Andrew Robinson, Maarit Kaimio and Jorma Kaimio) There goes my one attempt to help..........
He could be from the USA - from Ancestry: U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 DRAFT, ENLISTMENT AND SERVICEView Image NAME: Waino Jorma BIRTH: date RESIDENCE: city, Michigan, USA No idea if this could he him or not TD
Hello Jorma There are very few instances of the name "Jorma" in England. It seems more common in America or Canada. Have you tried sending a letter with your appeal to a newspaper in Geulle? It's possible elderly residents may be able to clarify which units were there in say November/December 1944. If they then went to the Ardennes, tht may assist in narrowing down the unit. There is a similar WW2 forum, ww2f.com which seems to have a greater US/Canadian membership, so try there as well. Good luck with your search
Hello Very Senior Member, Tricky Dicky and Senior Member, I just was surprised to see that reactions had come. These helps enormously, directly or indirectly! Naturalisation is helpful indeed. The passenger data seem to be difficult for Finland. Jorma Kaimio. I will check on him. UK seems to be less likley that the USA. US is was I understood first. English (not "British") could refer to the language. The other there in that time did not speak English. Waino Jorma seems tot be a good candidate. To check wheter he was at Geulle and in the Ardennes then. The persons pinpointed (or there living family members) can be asked whether the details fit. Newspaper: http://www.limburgsecourant.nl/nieuws/plaats/geulle could be an internet newspaper. While I now know that the whole bunch was probably not in our families backyard but spread over several houses, this suggestion is also very useful. Details like the military unit/type of work, emblem could be asked for. ww2f.com could be employed after some working out of this so far. The American troups I looked for earlier are: 67th armoured regiment of the 2nd Armoured Division; 18th September 1944 they would have freed Geulle from the German occupation. & 30th Infantry Division "Old Hickory". I now see that they were in the Ardennes / Ardennes-Alsace. I first have to work this out. (In the meantime I'm finding more about the whereabouts of my father and partly separatedly of my mother.) If I say stupid things or clever ones, please let me know!
Hi Jorma As we do not know if Jorma was a forename or a surname it will be difficult to search. If a surname then Ancestry family tree results in: Hellevi Helmi Jorma Birth: 6 Maj 1923 (6 May 1923) - Finland Death: Stockholm, Stockholm, Sverige (Sweden) also there was an Edward Jorma born in the UK (the only result): Name: Edward Jorma Mother's Maiden Surname: Grant Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1918 Registration district: South Shields Inferred County: Durham Volume Number: 10a Page Number: 1609 All the other Jorma surnames result in either Canada or USA (which I do not have access to) If however Jorma is a forename then most of the results come from USA or Canada, except 1 birth in UK: Name: Jorma Hc Bowles Mother's Maiden Surname: Uitce Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1923 Registration district: Norwich Inferred County: Norfolk Volume Number: 4b Page Number: 198 Good luck with your research TD
Hi Tricky Dicky, I am almost sure that it was his forename. I am with my forename named after him, and then after his forename. Americans would use there forenames amomgst each other, maybe even the general. I donot know what British soldiers did then, and a more Finnish one. For the Ancestry based data from USA and Canada the ww2f.com will have more members that can access them. Canadian army is in theory also possible, but it probably was an US soldier of one of the two mentioned, with forename Jorma. JH
