Looking for records of John Richard Holmes

My wife’s granddad is a WW2 veteran, who married a Ghent girl.
During the years my mother in law lost contact with her father, since he left back for the UK, somewhere in the 50’s.
We suppose he must have died because of age.
Because of my interest in WW1 and 2, I am eager to find out more information about his whereabouts during the liberation campaign in my country Belgium.
His name is/was:
John Richard Holmes
Born: july 15th 1925, West Bromwich.
Military number: ?
Unit: ?
We know he was stationed in Ghent after the war, and we have a nice picture of his marriage.
Please help us?

 

Welcome to the forum.

Other will be along soon to advise on the military aspects of your wife's grandad, how to obtain his service records, his uniform etc, but for the moment here is the result of searching the England & Wales Birth, Death & marriage indexes on ancestry.

There is only one birth registration for a John R Holmes in West Bromwich Registration District for 1925:
Name: John R Holmes
Registration Date: Jul - Sep 1925
Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep
Registration District: West Bromwich
Inferred County: Staffordshire
Mother's Maiden Name: Wiltshire
Volume Number: 6b
Page Number: 1429

and sadly there is also a possible death registration which may match:
Name: John Richard Holmes
Death Age: 74
Birth Date: 15 Jul 1925
Registration Date: Aug 1999
Registration District: Stourbridge
Inferred County: West Midlands
Register Number: SC12F
District and Subdistrict: 0661C
Entry Number: 17

You can place an online order for cert here on the Uk government website (free to register). Cost is £ 11.50 each & takes serveral weeks at the moment to arrive by post.
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

You can search to see if he left a will & order a copy for £ 1.50 here:
Search probate records for documents and wills (England and Wales)

Sorry it's not better news.

Travers

 

If that is their wedding photo you probably know the date, but the shoulder title with the single word 'Reconnaissance' was introduced in June 1943, the previous version included the word 'Corps'.

ps. Remember that you do not need any military details to get his service records.

 

John Richard Holmes is on an ancestry online tree, and have now via ancestry & electoral rolls put Peter Lammens in contact with one of John's second cousins in the UK, and they are exchanging information.

 

Indeed, thanks a lot for this online help!