Hi After the success of finding my Great Uncles unit I have now been tasked by my Mother of finding out about her Uncle. John (Jack) Foster was from St Helens, Lanc’s and from what can be remembered was in the Tank Corp’s on Churchill’s. In 1944 he was badly burnt but survived to return to the UK. Does anyone know how I could find out what Reg he was in or even what led to the horrific injuries he suffered, date/battle he was engaged in? From the family feedback it was presumed he was in Normandy in June 44 in his Churchill but that is as far as it goes. It would be great to fill in the gaps if anyone could help. Thanks for looking at the thread.
Your best course of action is to apply for his service record from MOD, it will cost around £30.00 and take 9-12 months to come. In the mean time post as many details as you have and the members will provide their assistance
Thanks for the info 'Oldman' I have pushed this further and now it seems likely John was in the 79th Division before it was formed coming from the East Lanc's 42nd Armoured Div. If this is the case then how do I find a role of honour for the 79th? if this is possible? Still digging. Cheers the Woo.
Wafu Sounds more likely that John was a member of the East Riding of Yorks Yeomanry in the 79th " Hobo's Funnies " division with Churchill Mk III ark bridges - Or Churchill Mk VII's with the Crocodile flame throwers - which were often shot at as they were not too well liked by the enemy - and there was NO such thing as 42nd Armoured Div.- his records will give you all the facts etc Cheers
Wafu Sounds more likely that John was a member of the East Riding of Yorks Yeomanry in the 79th " Hobo's Funnies " division with Churchill Mk III ark bridges - Or Churchill Mk VII's with the Crocodile flame throwers - which were often shot at as they were not too well liked by the enemy - and there was NO such thing as 42nd Armoured Div.- his records will give you all the facts etc Cheers Definitely not East Riding Yeomanry, they were in the 79th Armoured Div but were never equipped with Churchills of any variant and they left the 79th before D-Day landing with wading Shermans on Sword Beach with 27th Armoured Brigade. They later rejoined the 79th Div as part of 33rd Armoured Brigade with Buffaloes for the Rhine Crossing in 1945. Cheers, Neil.
The good news: 8 Bn E Lan R became 144th Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps and fought in Normandy with 33 Armd Bde which later joined 79 Armd Div. The bad news: 144 RAC fought in Shermans, though probably trained on Churchills as 33 Armd Bde was originally a Tank Bde. Neither the regiment nor the brigade was involved with 42 Armd Div. Quite a few Lancashire/Lancaster regiments were converted to tanks so you really need his service records to try to make sense of it. There was also a lot of chopping and changing of regiments, brigades and divisions. The whole point of the RAC was that personnel could be posted between any units, any time they were needed, so where he started may have had little bearing on where he ended up.
Hi I have done some more digging and found that I have been barking up the wrong tree. From the information I have now I know Jack (as the family know him) was with the 13th/18th Hussars in Shermans. I also have been told he was a radio operator in the crew. I am not sure when or where but he lost both his legs and was burnt when his tank was hit, only thanks to the crew was he able to bail out and get the care he needed to survive and live life past the war. I would love to be able to find out his service number etc and even know if it is possible to find his tank and crew who he served with during D-Day. Is this too much to ask or can anyone help or point me in the right direction? Thanks for looking at my request. Wafu
Wafu Still your best bet is to go for the service record to help you get the full details, in the meantime I suggest you look on the website WWW.Lightdragoons.org.uk for information about the 13/18th Hussars they also have an enquiry option so you can seek information from them. There is a book written by A Beardsley called Trooper - Barnard Castle to Berlin if you can get a copy it may help you. The other option is the war diary from the National Archieves at Kew.
Two options I would consider: History of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, 1922-1947 by Charles Miller or the units war diaries at the National Archives: WO 167/453 13/18 Royal Hussars 1939 Sept.-1940 June WO 166/1377 13/18 Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own). 1940 July- 1941 Dec. WO 166/6891 13/18 Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own). 1942 Jan.- Dec. WO 166/11073 13/18 Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) 1943 Jan.-Dec. WO 171/845 13/18 Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) 1944 Jan.- Dec. WO 171/4691 13/18 Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) 1945 Jan.- Dec. Cheers Andy
