Hello all, I was wondering if anyone had information, especially photos (!), on QOYD/KOYLI in their campaign from Palestine (1939/40) to North Africa? My Granddad was killed at El Alamein in Nov '42 but his unit continued on into Italy. Thank you.
G'day Tim, Just a quick response to your request, have a look at this thread, there may be information which could help. Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons This page may be of interest: Sheffield at War Also, try the KOYLI Museum: King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Museum - Doncaster Council. Which unit of the KOYLI did your grandfather serve with? Mark
Hi Mark, thanks for your links and info. Sorry for the delay in replying but I thought it might be a good idea to actually look through the info my Dad had managed to collect over the years. It was his father, Tim Thomas; killed in 1942 when my Dad was 7 years old but who he hadn't seen since late 1939. My Dad had attended some of the KOYLI dinners and met a few men who had served with his Dad & were there when he was killed and who buried him. Unfortunately my Dad passed away unpleasantly in 2017, so I haven't been able to bring myself to look at what he'd got. - which is actually a pretty comprehensive collection! Like some of the previous posts on the subject of the Queens Own have mentioned, there is very little written on them. Luckily we do have an "itinerary" and dated photos of Tim in various places to back this up. And also the first hand info direct from the men who were there! So, not bad really! I just felt that it was "unfinished business" and wanted to know more about my Granddad for mine and my Dads sake. Once I have scanned the "collection", I'll make it available (upload it) to this site. Hopefully it might be of use to someone else researching the Dragoons. And hopefully, the Dragoons and Trooper Timothy Thomas will not be forgotten. Thank again & kind regards, (especially as you are the only person to have got in touch!) Many thanks.
Tim, I look forward to your future posts. I can understand the reticence in looking at the information collected by your father, I felt the same way about my Dad’s research, so much so that Mum donated it to the Australian War Memorial, where I eventually looked at it 11 years after he passed. I hope the information I supplied helps you with your collation. Mark
Hi Mark, Yes it did, thanks. It gave me that little "push" to have a look! Regarding your Mums donation; I was a bit shocked at first but then thought that sometimes you need that distance and impersonality that time gives you, to look at things clearly. I've always shared my parents interest in family and history; so much so that I worked in Archaeology! Regards Vicky (TimT)
Hi there, I am very early into research on my grandfather (Thomas Byrne 4688848) who served with the QOYD (later KOYLI) during WW2. Currently I only have the pictures below and some info my mum could tell me, which effectively corroborates what I can see online about QOYD/KOYLI. He signed up for the army after working with pit ponies in the Yorkshire mines. Became cavalry with the QOYD. Went to North Africa and served at El-Alamein (apparently he said he served with the Desert Rats, but I don't know the validity or detail of that). The unit was mechanised and he learned to drive at that time. After the War he was a lorry driver, so that all suggests he indeed served with QOYD/KOYLI and served the full campaign with the unit. I would of course be interested if anyone recognises the squad in the photo below, as this would help identify when/where he served. I will look into applying for service records but I understand that could be quite a wait at the moment!
