Searching for Sidney Aldridge - 604. C.M.T. Co RASC

Hello,

Complete Newbie here looking for help please.

I am looking for information on a family member who was a driver in the RASC around 1944-1946

the information I have is:

Name: Sidney Walter Maxwell (Maxie) Aldridge
Born: 9/1910
Service: 1944-1946 (aprox)
Transport Driver - S. Aldridge
604. C.M.T. Co - RASC
Eden Grove Drill Hall
Gateshead Durham England
May have been served in or around Braintree High Garrett Essex
His service number starts with T 1732_ _ _ but don’t have full number due to poor hand writing

I am looking for any information on Sidney Aldridge - details of service or a photo of him.

Does anyone have any information on the “604. C.M.T.” of the Royal Army Service Corps.

All close relatives of the family are deceased and more distant ones don’t have a photo of him.

Sidney died in 1969.

I am his granddaughter - I was born after his death so did not have the opportunity to know him. His daughter (his only child - my mother) was adopted out at birth. I am trying to locate information on Sidney and the above details were included in my mother's official adoption records which we had released a few weeks ago. With the above information we are hoping someone may help in looking up service records or have a photo of his military unit.

Mum would very much like to have a photo of him. We have been in contact with more distant relatives however his immediate family have all passed so unsure if there are any family photos of him or if they were lost when his brother died in 2002 as he was the last known relative of this branch of the family…

Any advice to this newbie who is hoping to locate a photo or information about Sydney to pass onto my mother.

many thanks for your help

 

He was Attested into the Royal Artillery 1940 and transferred to RASC 1943.

 

Have a Sidney W.M. Aldridge on Find my past, born 2nd Sept, 1910 Leeds, Yorkshire. Also on 1939 register living in Leeds.

 

Get a copy of military service records: Apply for the records of someone who's deceased - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 

Thank you for your replies. Kind of you to offer information relating to his military service. I have access to his family tree…

His father Sydney George Aldridge served in the 1st Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment and died in the battle of Ypres on 19th October 1914. He is remembered at the memorial at Le Touret France. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/823294/sydney-aldridge/
Sadly there are no known photos of either Sydney George Aldridge or Sidney Walter Maxwell Aldridge.
Does anyone know if all military records have a photo of the person who served?

As we have only just identified Sidney officially as an immediate family member we do not have a copy of his death certificate. I am unsure if the death certificate is required to access his military record?

Is it worth going through the process of seeking access to his military file given that our ultimate goal is to just have a photo of him to share with mum of her biological father? Would his military records have at least a single photo of him?

thanks for your advice and support in locating information relating to him

 

Thank you

What does it mean attested? I am unfamiliar with military terms relating to service…

Many thanks as this information is new to me and helpful as I now can confirm his actual service number as the information I had was hand written and the numbers were not all clearly written so ambiguous…

I appreciate your time and effort in replying. Thank you

 

Attested = joined

In your initial post you said that you wanted details of his service - if that is your objective you really should obtain his service records, you will need a death certificate, but that is easy to obtain, details here:
Name: Sidney Walter M Aldridge
Death Age: 58
Birth Date: 2 Sep 1910
Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep
Registration District: Leeds
Inferred County: Yorkshire West Riding
Volume: 2c
Page: 728

It is unlikely that service records will contain a photo, if this is your objective, I would try the family history route. Sidney is in a number of family trees on Ancestry, I would join up and make contact with as many as you can to see what they have, looking through them I didn't see any photos but perhaps someone has.

 

He married Annie Wilson at the Belgrave Congregational Chapel, Cross Belgrave Street, Leeds, on 27 July 1935, perhpas back copies of local papers?

 

Thank you for your advice and the link to where to find details to apply for his death certificate which we may very well do… Our main aim is to obtain a Photo of both Sidney and Sydney senior too... As I am unfamiliar with what is contained within a military record I was unsure if a photo was taken of each member upon recruitment or of the division as a group… I was hoping that maybe in his official record or records related to his service he had been captured in a photo … I know it was unlikely but was hoping that I might get lucky…

Yes I am a member of ancestry and and are in contact with a second cousin who does remember Sidney’s Mother Cecil “Cissie” (their great Aunt) however they have no photos of Sydney Senior or Sidney Aldridge. I have asked more distant relatives from each family tree that are on ancestry but to date none had a close enough connection to the father and son to have any photos of them.

Sadly that branch of the family tree has no other known living descendants other than my mother and her children… however the last living member of the tree Ralph Aldridge (Sidneysp’s brother) who died back in 2002. We are unsure after that if any photos that Ralph had in his possession were disposed of when his estate (if any) was cleared out as his only child a son had died before him…

As far as we are aware based on all family trees that Sidney or his father Sydney are referenced in shows he had no other offspring other than my mother who was adopted out not long after birth…

Sadly we may find that there are no photos of these two men who served their country….

But I will continue to ask and search in the hope that one day I may find someone with a photo of them so they will be remembered.

many thanks again for your time, efforts and advice and advice

 

To apply for his service records as suggested above all you need is the link provided
Date of birth
Death cert link hereGeneral Register Office (GRO) - Official information on births, marriages, civil partnerships and deaths
£30

 

I see that he was posted to 76 Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery on 11 Nov 43 and then transferred to the RASC in Nov 43.

At the time of transfer, 76 HAA Regt RA were part of 62 Anti Aircraft Brigade based in Bari in southern Italy. They would have been protecting this major port of entry for British war supplies.

I strongly suspect that, on transfer, he stayed in Italy with his RASC Company.

Regards

Frank

 

Thank you Frank for this information

 

As far as I am aware he was back in the UK around 1944/1945 in High Garret Braintree possibly driving military transport (I believe there was a POW camp 78 in High Garret Braintree Essex)
https://www.ww2pow.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/78HighGarrett.docx



as he met my grandmother I believe in High Garret (it was war time romance and they met at a village social where she played piano - she was a talented pianist ) and my mother was born in 1945. Her mother cut off all ties with him and the baby (my mother) was adopted out.

after late 1944 I am unsure what happened to him … All I currently know is that he died 20th July 1969

thanks once again for all your efforts … I will look into applying for his military record. Thank you for the details of how to apply

 

may I ask what source this information was found as I have had no luck locating the information. It would be good to list a source for when I update my family tree ancestry records.

many thanks

 

He was posted to 76 HAA , 11th November 1941. on his attestation