Hello I was wondering if anyone has any war diaries or anything else that has information about the movements and actions of D Platoon, 17Coy (T) RASC B.A.O.R. My grandad was a Driver and I believe from the writing on the back of a photo that at one point he was in Hamburg but I’m sure he would have been moved around with his Platoon. I am not sure if he was attached to the 21 Army as his arm patch is a shield with a cross without the swords and looks like a light shield with dark cross on the photo, could be 2nd Army or when the patch changed to the yellow shield with the blue cross maybe, as I say it’s hard to say as the picture is B&W. On another photo he looks to have a black rectangular patch with a white bulldog on it and in a letter I have that he sent to my nana, he mentions having a 30 or 32 seater TCV if this is any help. Would love to know more about what part his platoon played in Germany, I’m not sure where he was when he was wearing the bulldog patch.
Is this the bulldog patch ? badge, higher formation, Eastern Command (UK) badge, higher formation, Eastern Command (UK). © IWM (INS 565) IWM Non Commercial License
Someone did send me a link to some information about the patch but I assume the photos I have are from different periods in his service and he would have had a different patch for every different command he was under? It says the bulldog patch is the higher formation of the eastern command, but Idont know how or if this has anything to do with the 21 Army ( if the shield patch he has on the other photo is the 21 Army) does each Army come under one particular command and then that command comes under a particular higher formation or can the command and higher formation change depending on what a particular Army group is doing? It's proper mind-boggling stuff for the novice lol
Also it says it's the emblem of Tenacity on Guard, what does this mean? Would he have worn the bulldog patch while he was stationed back home and then the shield patch when he got deployed overseas, is that how it works?
From a novice to a novice( (I'm not well versed on North West Europe). Don't want to be a BOAR (forgive the pun) but 21st Army Group changed to the British Army Of the Rhine. BAOR. History of BAOR British Army of the Rhine - Wikipedia Did they have War Diaries after the cessation of hostilities? I doubt it. You are most likely to find them under 17Coy (T) RASC of which D Coy is part. Hopefully one of the RASC experts will turn up. Good Luck.
Afraid I'm getting frivolous, the thread title is B Platoon and your first posting mentions D Platoon I called it D Company. Typical Novices!
that just shows what a wally I am lol! Thanks for spotting that, maybe someone will be able to make sense of it now
Hi, What do you know about your granddad's service during the war itself, anything? I've got some of the war diary for 1944 from when they arrived back in the UK in May 1944 and up until the end of October 1944. Regards Tom
Q Hi Tom, I'm afraid I know nothing of his service apart from photos that I have of him in the air force and the Army. He was born in 1925, Joind the merchant navy at 17 then transferred out of that to the RAF in 1943, I don't know how long he was in the RAF for or what he did in the RAF. I know he was a Driver in the RASC because I have a letter that my grandad wrote to my nana, in the letter he has written his address as D, Plat 17Coy (T) RASC BAOR my grandad mentions having a 32 seater TCV and sends his love to my mum and she was born December 1946. A postcard portrait photo that my grandad sent to my nana he has written Hamburg 1947 and there is also the number 2074/20 written in pencil, I'm not sure if that helps to identify anything but from his writing I know he was in Germany at that time. I have some photos of my grandad in his uniform holding my mum so going by how old my mum looks in the photos I'm assuming this would be around 1948. The photos are black and white so it's hard to say which army the patch on grandads arm is, it's a shield with a cross, I don't think it's the red and blue 21 Army patch because it doesn't have the crossed swords on the B&W photo the shield looks light coloured and the cross looks dark, from my novice research it looks like it could be the patch of the Headquarters L of C 21st Army group but from searching the web, pictures of the 8th Army patch would also look like the one on grandads uniform. I am going to send away for his service records but I know that this can take a very long time, in the meantime I'm just trying to find out as much as I can. Any help you can offer would be great
You really should consider applying for his Service Record. It will cost but its the genuine Record from the Ministry of Defence. Only one place to do this: Get a copy of military service records No Battles etc Just dates and codes. It will be in Army Jargon sometimes hand written or typed. It might take time but its worth it. Post the forms on this forum and someone will decipher it for you. You will then have a timeline around which to build his story. Members can help you to do it if you want. You can then get War Diaries for his unit and see where he was, when and why. Members can advise you on this when they see the forms. RASC isn't easy to follow but again some members are specialists in the Royal Army Service Corps. I'm afraid that I am not.
Hi, Yes, I did see it. It looks to me from what you posted that there is a good chance your granddad didn't actually join the Army until after the war after service in the RAF. Regards Tom
