Hi This is my Dad, and at present I cannot requst his service record as I need to source his death certificate from South Africa. As i am in Australia, this may be a slow process. I recall clearly that he told me he landed on D day with Canadians- BTW this action was actually his 21st birthday and he often mentioned it was one hell of a event for his birthday. There is almost no info on Royal Engineers landing with Canadians and am unsure what time of day are phase of landing. He did mention traing to clear obsticles, explosives including Bangalore torpedoes? I found one reference online to a A Finnie Sapper -service no 1887243 in 154th Railway Operations Company but he was wounded in 18/07/1940, which is to early as my dad was born 06/06/1923 making him only 17 years old at this time. I suspect this is the wrong reference as have no recall of him mentioning being wounded. I attach some pictures and would welcome any assitance- especially as the unit photo, where he is the first soldier in lower row on left.The caption on rear of photo might read MT section 720 or 420 RC Coy RE.? He was a driver and also did mine lifting , Bailey bridge building etc. The Unit photo is taken on Luchtvaart Straat- this might be in Antwerp as I know he spent time there, athough using Google Street view I cannot find this building. One studio photo he has a medal ribbon- Any suggestions what it might be? Realise its in black and white but may be some fairly standard one. As first such post I trust attachement work OK
2 medal ribbons, 1939-1945 Star 1939–1945 Star - Wikipedia France & Germany Star. France and Germany Star - Wikipedia
Thanks Owen As a child I do recall 2 Star shaped medals, Bronze coloured and a round Silver coloured medal. Unfortunately he one day decided to not keep them for some reason.
The Power of Google Maps. I have just found where the unit group shot was taken - I have done a comparision in image attached. It also makes sense as I had 2 addresses of families my Dad used to stay in touch with in Antwerp. They were good to him and took him into their homes. The homes are in the adjacent suburb of Berchem and with in 1 and 4 km respectfully of the location of the photo. Seems he was there during the V1 and V2 bombardment, and recall him talking about looking up when the V1 "Buzz" stopped. I have recently got his service number from my sister and his death certificate- Now just have to organise a UK cheque for MOD ( I am located in Australia). So hopefully on way to finding out more.
Hi Dave Hi Dave. My father wiuld have known yours. My dad is on the front row, 6th from the right, in the group photo. I also have this photo. My father died 10 years ago and left behind extensive memoirs of his time in WW2. His recollections of 720 Company's experiences in Europe make for very interesting reading. Let me know if you would like more information. Regards. James
Hi James That is amazing that you found this message and photo. My Dad died over 20 years ago unexpectedly so I never got much information of his time in Europe. I have recently got his service record but that gives just basic information, so I would really appreciate any information or copies / extracts of your Dad's memoirs that you can share. Regards Dave
Hi Dave. Good to make contact so quickly! My father's memoirs run to over 200 pages (hard copy only) so I'm not sure where to start in terms of helping to fill in the gaps in what you know of your father's time with 720 Company R.E. but I'm more than happy to help in whatever way I can. A good starting point would be to Google 'Richard W Holborow 720 company' and you will find a link to the Imperial War Museum and a synopsis of my father's memoirs. This will hopefully act as a reference point to allow you to investigate further and decide what sort of information you want.This may best be done by email exchange. What do you think? Regarding the medals, I'm pretty sure that the first is the France and Germany star and the other is the Defence medal. I have both of these in my possession - I think they were handed out to all combatants serving in Northern Europe. James
Hi James Sounds good- I have tried a Google search on 'Richard W Holborow 720 company' without success even searching under the Imperial War Museum website ? Do you perhaps have a link you could send? A synopsis will be a good starting point and my email is dave@finnie.id.au Look forward to communicating further- much appreciated. Regards Dave