4038622 Percy Joseph BEAZLEY, 2 Kings

Hello.
I just came across this forum in my search for someone who provides a search service. I'm trying to find out as much as possible for my Mum about her Dad. I have basic service number and name. He is in Coriano War Cemetary. Can anybody recommend a reputable search service please? Thank you.
Dave

 

If you can post his name and number then hopefully between us we can build his story for you, most people on here are very happy to help

 

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

If you are interested in just his military service your starting point ought to be to request his army service records from UK MOD via this link -

Requests for personal data and service records: a detailed guide


Once you have that - appreciate it may take a bit if time with the current crisis - you will be able to research his army service.

You may need to return to the forum for help to decipher some of the military shorthand and jargon but in turn members will be able to signpost you to his unit war diaries at UK National Archives.

If you want to post his service details on here members may be able to give you some information about his activities about the time of his death.

On the other hand you might be interested in mainstream genealogical research from his birth to his death?

Steve

 

AB64 and Steve.
Thanks for your replies. The reason for my post was because none of us know how long we have left here - so i wanted to find as much as possible about him during his service, and even before if possible, for my Mum. She hasn't been able to bring herself to visit Coriano. She has been searching for a war memorial bearing his name but has drawn a blank. I thought it would be nice to find out as much as i can for her.

His name is Percy Joseph Beazley - 4038622. He is showing as being in The Kings Liverpool Regiment 2nd Batallion. Died 17.09.44. Buried in Coriano.

A picture attached and one in.my next post. One of Percy. I'm 57 and i think this is the first picture i've seen one of my Grandad which was sent to me this week. He looks a right lad here and is 19 years old. I look at it and a tear comes to my eye. Eleven years later he was dead. The lovely lady is my Nan. Thankyou.

 

Another file. This is as.much as i have. Steve - i will look into searching myself, but as i said i'm concerned about time frames. It would be lovely if anyone could spend a little time for me. Thank you.

 

Hi,

The first thing is to say he served in The King's Shropshire Light Infantry when he first joined the army. His service number is within their allocated number block - 4025001 - 4070000

I’ll look further tomorrow but others may be able to post details from findmypast Casualty Lists and from CWGC in the meantime.

Casualty

Steve

 

Below are a few bits that help a little


First is the Royal Welch Fusiliers attestation book, so it looks like Percy was with them, the note looks like he came to them from the Royal Artillery and you can see he transferred on to the Kings 6/7/44 - their is mention of 21ITC which I think is Infantry Training Center so basically a depot for his training as an Infantry Soldier


This one is the official casualty list confirming him as Killed in Action

This last one is the grave concentration form, from this you can sometimes see where a man was first buried and as this was normally very close to where he was killed it useful but on this it doesn't seem to help

As Steve mentioned the ideal thing is to get his service record, this could take a bit of time at the moment but is definitely worth starting the process - the other thing is to get the Battalion War Diary which will tell you exactly where they were the day he was killed and what they were doing - there are a couple of members who offer a copying service at the National Archives, but at the moment the Archives are shut but you could get lucky if a member already has copied. The Battalion was with the 4th Infantry Division so hopefully if there is a Divisional History book (and maybe a Battalion one) a member on here has them and can scan in the pages for the 17th September.

If one of the Admins is about they can also retitle the thread with Percy's name and details and it will hopefully get it more attention.

 

Steve, AB64 - thank you for those pieces of information. I will have a look tomorrow and try and find out how to get his service record and batallion diary. Your kind help is very much appreciated.
Dave.

 

According to FMP that is the Royal Welch Fusiliers 'transfers in register', as Steve states #6, his service number suggests he enlisted in the The King's Shropshire Light Infantry
http://www.corpsofmilitarypolice.org/tools/armynumber?query=4038622

He does appear to have served in different units so his service records are a must, as they are with any research, and if Dave is interested in looking at his whole service he needs to be sure when he was with particular regiments in order to search the war diaries.

His grave:
Photograph of the final resting place of Beazley, Percy Joseph - The War Graves Photographic Project

 

Cheers, I was looking at it as the same as the RA attestation books, but it does seem to be a different thing

 

Thank you Tony. Is the government website the best place to get his service record or is there somewhere better to go?

 

It is the only place:
https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records

 

Good morning and thank you for that Owen. I will fully read it later.

 

Seeing mention of The North Irish Horse supporting them, this forum does of course have a huge resource in the late Gerry Chester's memoirs and research.

Battle Reports

As so often in the Italian campaign, it looks to have been a hell of a scrap against determined opposition over difficult terrain.

 

I have tried looking for a War Memorial that may commemorate him, but haven't had any luck, Walthamstow memorial doesn't have names on it, there does seem to be a Book of Remembrance in the town hall, I can see a mention that it covers WW1 deaths and WW2 Civilian, but not sure if it covers WW2 military casualties (it would seem odd if it didn't), if you are in the area that may be worth a look once its open and safe to do so.

 

Thanks AB64. I have actually been speaking with a helpful guy in Walthamstow town hall who was trying to help find a memorial but has drawn a blank. I will try and follow up on the book of remembrance. Thank you again. Dave

 

Ho,

As I understand it when local war memorials were erected post WW1 and updated post WW2 that the “committee” usually put a message in the local paper asking for relatives to nominate names to be recorded on the memorial.

It may simply be the case that he isn’t recorded because the family still felt the impact of his death so badly that they didn’t feel up to reopening the “wound” by entering g into correspondence with the “committee”.

Steve

 

Ah i see. Yes that may be a possibility then. Thank you. On the file below, do you have any idea what the 'Docoto Preston 2.8.44' may mean please?

 

Its "Docs To Preston", I read that as when he moved Regiment his file moved from his old unit to his new unit, Preston mush have been the admin center for the Kings