140 Field Ambulance RAMC - N Africa and Italy

I am trying to discover where 140 Fd Amb were in the desert and Italy. My father was a Nursing Orderly with the unit and was awarded the MM at Mulazzano and I would like to find out how he got there. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Colin

 

Hi Colin and welcome to the forum.

Two things I can help with:

Tell me his name and I can look for the MM citation for you.

His unit will have a war diary at the National Archives but the medical ones normally cover a couple of years and are in my experience quite thick.

Cheers
Andy

Ps got any pics you can share of your father in uniform or his medals?

 

Here's the units diary references:

WO 177/717 140 Fd. Amb. 1939 Aug.- 1943 Dec.

WO 177/718 140 Fd. Amb. 1944 Jan.- Dec.

WO 177/719 140 Fd. Amb. 1945 Jan.- 1946 May

 

Thanks Drew for that info. I have the citation and have had a display made up which I will try to post.

 

I had this display set up recently as a result of obtaining the citation for his MM.

Colin

 

Thats a blinking good job mate !

Have you seen the original citation? I'll see if its available later unless some of the others 'work the magic' and beat me to it.

 

Yes, I have a copy of the original, found it through military records at Ancestry.co.uk, £3.50 delivered in seconds! I typed it up in fair copy for the frame.

 

Yes, I have a copy of the original, found it through military records at Ancestry.co.uk, £3.50 delivered in seconds! I typed it up in fair copy for the frame.

Can you put the citation on the forum, I would like to read it.

 

The text of the citation is on the thumbnail above. If you view the image and enlarge, you should be able to read it. Cheers.

 

Somersetgoose.

I see that your father supported 168 Inf Bde. I have lots of stuff on the Bde's role on the Garigliano in Jan 44 and then at Anzio through to May 44. My interest is 10 Royal Berks, 1 London Scottish and 1 London Irish.

Do you know if your father served in these two locations over the period Jan-May 44?

Regards

FdeP

 

We could have saved you £3.50 if you came here first. There's a way of getting all the Army citations for free

The National Archives | DocumentsOnline | Image Details

 

Sorry I haven't got that far yet, but he was with 140 Fd Amb from 1 Feb 44 to July 45 so there is a chance he could have been there. However I can't remember him talking about Anzio which he probably would have done had he been there. This is really my first foray into the military side and thought I'd start with the more interesting bit as far as I know, Sept 1944 where he got the MM.

Regards, Colin

 

Sorry Drew, but I really stumbled on it whilst looking on Ancestry for other things and it seemed too good to miss, just like I stumbled on this site at the weekend! I will send a PM ref the War Diaries for 140 Fd Amb though.

Regards, Colin

 

Following up on some really good advice from Andy, I read through the 'Kew Tips' thread completely yesterday, took a while, and found a really useful search tip. I now have the diary references for all the units my father served with and am making plans to visit TNA in the very near future. Thanks for the tip Andy, made my search very easy, seriously recommend the 'Kew Tips' thread.

 

Afternoon All,

Looking for the rough movement 140 Field Ambulance took during the Italy campaigned and final location set up. We are looking at running a virtual fitness challenge and want an opportunity for a bit of historical, reflection and fitness for those serving in London with a Reservist unit.

Many thanks in advance.

 

Andy,

Welcome aboard.

Best advice for you (from Post 10 by minden1759):

I am sure he will be along.

Wiki has some details, though the brigade was mauled, withdrawn, returned, mauled and finally disbanded. See: 168th (2nd London) Brigade - Wikipedia

Threads here for the brigade can be id'd with an online search: "168th Brigade" site:ww2talk.com id'd a few, some may focus on other units. More were id'd with: "168 Brigade" site:ww2talk.com