Father a Royal Marine in Crete - Found names and addresses

Discussion in 'Commandos & Royal Marines' started by ianjardine, May 28, 2014.

  1. Hi Sandy, my Grandad was also captured on Crete in 1941. He was a Sergeant in the RM and ended up in Stalag 18B. His POW NO WAS 6292. Since their pow no's are close together i wonder if they were captured together. My Grandad was James Wilson also known as Tug. I have found a few photo's if you're interested. Would be nice to stay in touch.
     
  2. Hi Diane
    Sorry for not getting sooner. Again been sidetracked by various things that go with families.

    I can't remember my dad mentioning any names of people he was with. He did talk about working on a farm which I think he quite liked.. Stopping at Cape Town for 24 hours for refueling. Unfortunately my dad died in 1968 so I didn't really have a chance to talk to him about his experiences

    I'm certainly interested in any information and photos you have. I have a couple of photos with my father and unknown others as a POW, one has the date 1942 on a wall behind a group of four, I don't know if they're Marines or not., I don't know if you can tell from the trousers, none are wearing tunics or insignia.
    They may well have been captured together, I'm pretty sure my dad was at Souda Bay.
    Looking at his discharge paper it says his last camp was Stalag ?17 (XVIIIC) on 11/5/45. There's a name Lt. Col R A S Sparks as PW Camp Contact Officer but no signature.

    I've uploaded one picture file.in case your Grandad is one of the three unknown people. My date is the one with the 1942 date over his left shoulder.
    Cheers
    Sandy
     

    Attached Files:

  3. Just realised uploaded the wrong photo, this is the right one.
     

    Attached Files:

  4. Graham T Walker

    Graham T Walker New Member

    Hi Ian, my father Thomas R. B. WALKER was evacuated from Crete in 1941, having been sent there as part of the MNBDO. His service records show that he was an anti-aircraft gunner.
    He then spent several years in Ceylon.
    Perhaps you could PM me if you have any info.
    Thanks
     
  5. Hi Sandy,just realized i had posted on this site. Unfortunately there isn't a photo of my Grandad in the photo. How do you find out about discharge papers etc? I will try and upload the photo i have. Thanks for replying
     
  6. Hi Diane,
    I recently got my father's service records, these didn't help with one of the things I was trying to resolve, the name of the ship he was on from UK to Port Said. You can apply online here:
    Get a copy of military service records
    You will require a copy of your Grandad's Death Certificate. My dad died in Northern Ireland and I feared that obtaining a copy of his Death Certificate might be difficult but they were very efficient and it came quickly.

    It turns out my dad was in "D" Battery then transferred to Survey Group. Whether or not that was still D Battery isn't clear.
    Subsequent research and requests to various organisations has failed to find out any more.The National Museum of the Royal Navy, don't have any records relating to people and ships. The Royal Marines Historical Society suggested putting a request for information on their Facebook page. I don't and won't have a Facebook account so that's out of the picture. I'm not sure if the National rchive at Kew hold any relevant information.

    Searching elsewhere has come up with two useful links. I think that the MNBDO went to Port Said in Convoy WS6 (WS=Winston Special). There is information on WS Convoys here
    WS Convoys.

    There is quite a lot of information on the link below. Ignore the title about Burma, it has a lot of detail covering the Crete campaign
    Royal Marine Group M.N.B.D.O.
     
  7. Rothy

    Rothy Well-Known Member

    Hi Sandy,

    Thanks for the shout out for the R.M. section of my web site - Royal Marines in the Indian Ocean.

    'D' Battery was a heavy anti-aircraft battery, originally forming part of the 2nd A.A. Regiment, R.M., itself part of the R.M. Group, M.N.B.D.O.

    'D' Battery travelled as far as South Africa on board the Almanzora, as part of convoy WS 6. Almanzora arrived at Durban on 26th March 1941, where it disembarked the personnel being carried. The men of 'D' Battery then embarked on board the Dilwara for the onward leg to Egypt. The Dilwara entered the Suez Canal for Port Said on 21st April 1941 and the personnel disembarked later that night. All the Marines then made their way to camp at El Tahag.

    The Survey Section or Group was a separate unit, attached directly to the R.M. Group, M.N.B.D.O.

    I have much more information regarding the M.N.B.D.O. detachments in Crete in May 1941. The war diaries are sketchy, which is no wonder given the nature of the evacuation at the end of May 1941. Some were written from memory by those fortunate enough to reach Egypt.

    Steve
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2023
  8. Hi Steve
    Thank you for that very useful information, clears up a couple of points I wasn't certain about.
    I don't remember my dad ever mentioning transferring ships in Cape Town although he did talk about stopping there for a day perhaps two. He also said the convoy was joined by several major warships for a short time in the early part of the voyage.
    If you have anything relevant in PDF,JPG or similar format and not covered by copyright or Official Secrets that covers the Crete campaign I would be really interested in having a copy. I'm creating a book of memories in case any of my descendents are interested after I get to a point when I can't remember.
     
  9. Rothy

    Rothy Well-Known Member

    Sandy - I'll drop you a line - probably tomorrow now.

    Steve
     
  10. Rothy

    Rothy Well-Known Member

    An update to the post above regarding 'D' Battery, R.M.

    While the Dilwara did arrive at Port Said on the evening of 21st April 1941, the 'D' Battery war diary indicates that the men did not begin to disembark until the next morning. Upon disembarkation, all but one Officer and 3 O.R.s boarded a train for El Quassassin. Arriving there, they then went into Camp 24, El Tahag. On 26th April, 'D' Battery moved from Camp 24 to Camp 22 to join the 2nd A.A. Regiment, R.M.

    On 2nd May 1941, 'D' Battery was put on four hours notice to proceed to Crete, but was stood down, to come under the command of the 1st A.A. Regiment, R.M. and to remain in Egypt. The main body of the Battery went to Cairo on 20th May to take up guard duties in the Cairo area. It is fairly clear that 'D' Battery did not go to Crete, although one or two officers/men may have, being detached to other units.

    The Survey Section, however, did go to Crete and is referenced on the distribution list of one of more orders issued by General Weston's H.Q. at Suda Bay. It is also referred to in James Ladd's book.

    Sandy - do your father's records indicate when he may have been posted from 'D' Bty to the Survey Section?

    Steve
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2023
  11. Rothy

    Rothy Well-Known Member

    Hi Sandy - please check your notifications. I started an offline chat with you via the "Conversations" dialogue.

    Steve
     

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