No. 60 Light Aid Detachment

Discussion in 'Canadian' started by Alex Smith, Nov 3, 2021.

  1. Alex Smith

    Alex Smith New Member

    Hello all,

    I'm not well versed in military structure regarding divisions and their attachments etc, so I've turned to you for some help.

    My grandfather was Sgt. James Murphy (no middle name) G45033. He was a class A fitter that was part of the No. 60 Light Aid Detachment, RCOC, which was attached to the "12 CTR (TRR)" which I take to mean the 12th Canadian Tank Regiment, Three Rivers Regiment .. I've gotten this info off the back of a photo of him in Italy.

    There seems to be quite a bit of information on the Three Rivers Regiment and its role in Italy, but how do the Light Aid Detachments play into the situation? Do they serve with the same regiment the entire time? Or is it like closet of different sweaters that the regiment can choose from as they go into operations? Like many, my grandfather never spoke of his time in the war, and he died in the early 60s, so my mom only knows what she's been able to get from LAC, which isn't much. I've got a photo of him with an AFV patch on his arm (armored fighting vehicle?) but not much else is known and I can't find his name listed anywhere in forums or photos online. I live in Nova Scotia, so it's a little difficult to take a rip to Ottawa to dig through records. Does anyone know if any records exist specific to the No. 60 LAD?

    Thanks!
     
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  2. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    An Armoured Regiment had a Light Aid Detachment - a group of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers led by a Capt, also an Electrical and Mechanical Engineer.

    Its task was to do immediate recovery, maintenance and repairs to the armoured vehicles. Vehicles that needed more in-depth repair were moved back to depots.

    Whilst soldiers and officers were rotated through an LAD, the LAD itself remained with the Armoured Regiment.

    Regards

    Frank
     
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  3. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    No. 60 Light Aid Detachment (Att 12th Canadian Tank Battalion (Three Rivers Regiment))
    Mobilization Serial: 678
    No. 60 Light Aid Detachment, RCOC, authorized by GO 71/41 effective 11 Feb 41
    Converted & redesignated No. 60 Light Aid Detachment (Type C), RCOC, by GO 14/42 with conversion effective 13 Feb 41 and redesignation effective 15 Oct 41. Attached to 12th Canadian Tank Battalion (The Three Rivers Regiment)
    Reorganised by CMHQ Adm O No. 2, Appendix J, 10 Jan 43
    Mobilised for operational duty 1 May 43, Serial 678/1, under supervision HQ 1st Canadian Corps by CMHQ Mob O No. 73, 19 Apr 43
    Reorganized 1 Apr 44 by CMHQ Adm O No. 84, 15 May 44
    Redesignated 60 LAD (Type C), RCEME, by CMHQ Adm O No. 85, 16 May 44 Disbanded, authorized by GO 401/45 effective 9 Aug 45

    NOTE:
    Operation Goldflake. Move from Italy to NW Europe
    Serial 678 - 60 Canadian LAD - (12 Canadian Armoured Regiment) - Arrival NWE on 6 March 1945

    A Light Aid Detachment is an attached independent minor unit of the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, operating as a sub-unit of the supported unit. These units provide dedicated logistic support to every field unit of the Canadian Army. RCEME were created in October 1942 out of elements of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps who previously handled functions such as the repair of weapons, optics and vehicles.

    In the RCEME LADs were divisions of larger units known as Workshops. The term LAD is therefore restricted to only those minor RCEME units which solely provide 1st Line support, typically this is Armour and Infantry units. RCEME minor units supporting RCA, RCC Signals, RCE, etc. are normally titled as Wksp as they also provide some degree of 2nd line support to the parent unit.

    Typically composed of around 60-80 personnel they are attached to a host battalion. Typical field deployment would split the LAD into a regimental "B Echelon" contingent of about 30 men and 4 "fitter sections" of about 7-12 men, each of which is attached to a company/squadron. The fitter sections are part of the A Echelon HQ of the company/squadron. This average configuration does, of course, vary widely dependent on the parent unit and their equipment.
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2021
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  4. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Found information on his sailing from Canada to the UK. He sailed in Convoy TC.11, on the 22 Jun 1941 on the SS Windsor Castle

    Here’s is the documents and info I found to confirm this

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    Last edited: Nov 4, 2021
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  5. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Arm of Service (AoS) Markings

    No. 60 Light Aid Detachment (Type C), RCOC - serial 174 in white on a black background - attached to 12th Army Tank Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment (Tank)), CAC
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2021
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  6. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    On that specific point, each LAD certainly had a war diary. Whether the war diary for No 60 LAD would contain material you'd find interesting, I don't know. Record - Library and Archives Canada

    You might be able to hire a researcher in Ottawa to photograph the war diary at a fraction of the cost of making the trip yourself. I have photographed some pages from some LAD war diaries in my research. (I could post a sample if you're curious as to the sort of records there might be, although I only photographed the daily entries and not any appendices.)

    Did your mother actually get his official records from LAC? (I have no idea how detailed they would be.)
     
  7. Alex Smith

    Alex Smith New Member

    I believe she does have his records from LAC. I know it took a couple of years to get. I had some photos she took of some of the papers but I'm going to need to scan them all. Thanks so much for the help!
     
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  8. Alex Smith

    Alex Smith New Member

    This is nuts, I work about 2 mins up the road from Pier 21. In fact, last year with the cruise ships being suspended, they opened up the actual pier to the public. Usually because of customs it's high security. I was able to snap a pic of where the boats would have departed from.
     

    Attached Files:

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  9. Alex Smith

    Alex Smith New Member

    Here are the only two photos I have of him in uniform. I'm assuming the one he looks happy in is before he saw action, and the khaki colored ones are Italian campaign?
     

    Attached Files:

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  10. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Nice photo’s, the second one, he is wearing the hat badge of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps……


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