Hello, all, My grandfather recently passed away, and I have come into possession of some fairly damaged/unreadable documents regarding his time in the military. His name was Alexander Nixon, a Guardsman in the 3rd Battallion of the Coldstream Guards during the years of World War 2. This is fairly concrete, as I can read he was part of the Coldstream Guard, his battalion number, his pin, and I know he was stationed in Africa during the war. Which from what I have read online is exactly where the 3rd Battalion was. His service number on these documents had faded though, and as they were copies of copies of already damaged documents, some information was illegible, or faded. He has filled in some numbers on his own, though they don't seem to be correct. As I have requested from the UK government his records. Unfortunately no Alexander Nixon matched the service number he had created between the original and his filled in parts. Alexander Nixon formerly known as "Alexander Hunter" Born: April "9th" or “10th“ 1926 in Derby. 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guard - Guardsman Service number: "2668756" or "266?596" Birth certificate was provided by the army as he was an orphan. If any are able to help me on my search, I would greatly appreciate it.
Hello, I am new to the forum, so my apologies if my conduct is incorrect. I figure this thread would be my best shot. Would I be able to put out a BOLO for information about my grandfather here? Some information is up in the air about him, as his records are damaged and filled in possibly wrong. Also his 3 documents regarding all of this, has some conflicting information. Here is what I have... Name: Alexander Nixon Possible Given name: Alec Former Surname: Hunter Birthdate: April 1926, either the 9th or 10th Death: November 6, 2023 Parents: Unknown; Orphan Foster Parents: Mr & Mrs Nixon of 80 Well Lane, Bloxwich Service Number: 2668756 or 266?596 Rank:Guardsman Battalion: 3rd Immigrated: to Canada Mod edit: moved from Coldstream Guards: Roll of Honour - Alphabetical
Hi He served as 2668756 Alex Nixon, to reserves on 6 April 1948 and discharged on 8 November 1950 as his services were no longer required. Born in Walsall on 10 April 1926, a capstan lathe hand. Enlisted at 18 years of age. Hope this helps, Graeme
3 COLDM GDS were part of 201 Guards Brigade. The Brigade were attached and then detached to various Infantry Divisions throughout the course of the war. In my area of interest which is Italy, 3 COLDM GDS were at the Salerno landings in Sep 43, the crossing of the Volturno in Oct 43, the First and Second Battles of Camino in Nov-Dec 43 and the crossing of the Garigliano in Jan 44 - all brutal and high casualty events. The casualties in 201 Guards Brigade were so high that they returned to the UK in Feb-Mar 44. Your grandfather survived a particularly nasty part of the war. Regards Frank
Welcome to the forum. I've merged threads to create a dedicated thread and keep all responses together - saves confusion later about what's been covered. Also added to Rolls - Coldstream Guards, Other Ranks: unofficial Nominal Roll by Army Number order In case you don't have it already, here's online copy of CC History which will help with background: The Coldstream Guards, 1920-1946, by Michael Howard and John Sparrow Would you be willing to post images here of the documents you have?
You can see help is at hand already! Some research tips, now a four pg. PDF available on: WW2 Soldier Research - Tips and Links for New Researchers (update) Plus: How to Start a new Thread / Edit Post / Upload Image
Wow, so much information so fast. I literally had tears come to my eyes. Thank you all so very much. I didnt think I'd get this kind of help so quickly. You all are incredibly kind. Thank you, thank you, thank you
Wow, you even had his job from before entering the army. Was there further information than this? I'm only asking because I'm now thinking of subscribing to findmypast to read about him.
Thanks for posting those documents. If you are interested in digging further into his service background, you could apply for a copy of his Service Records. If that is the case, the sooner you put in an application the better. MOD are in process of transferring records to The National Archives at Kew; both authorities take some time to respond and you might end up having to apply to both. Request records of deceased service personnel MOD ALREADY TRANSFERRING WW2 SERVICE FILES TO UK NATIONAL ARCHIVES 2021 Service Records application - MOD response timescale A sub-forum which offers help with deciphering the records once received: Service Records Many threads in that sub-forum have examples but the link below, posted by one of our long-standing forum members, will give you a clearer idea of what you can expect: Sgt. Harry Salt, MID. 1st Recce | WW2Talk
This is actually where I ended up after having my request for his service records denied, due to information being "missing or incorrect" I provided his death certificate, birthdate of April 10th, 1926. Service no: 2668756 and name as Alexander Nixon. Apparently, Alexander was the only part that was incorrect, as he was enlisted as Alex, (thank you again to person that posted that). A minor detail, I find silly that they rejected me for.