Northumberland Hussars - Ellis Race 1134883

Paul

I intend to go to Kew in the next few weeks to reread 102 LAA Regiment Diaries (My Dad's Reg). I'll enquire in person and PM you when I actually go.

By the way, the lady at the NH Museum was interested in trying to get a copy of the photo you posted on this thread.

Robert

 

Thanks Robert
Do you have the lady's name? I'll give her a call, glad to pass copies of anything to them
cheers

Paul

 

Any Dutch speakers out there that can advise what this Nijmegen website is all about? It looks like there are photos available of the Northumberland Hussars but not sure how I can go about getting them?

http://www2.nijmegen.nl/wonen/geschiedenis_archeologie/historienijmegen/tweedewereldoorlog/Bevrijdersvoordelens/ontvangenwijzigingen

Cheers, Paul

 

Paul

Try this link. You get it in English. It probably won't help you though.

English - Liberators on film

Robert

 

Paul

I have persisted over the last couple of hours and got some War Diary Ref Nos from the NA Website

WO169/4730 - January to April 1942 & September to December 1942 **
WO169/9634 - January to October 1943
WO166/11362 - November to December 1943 (Previously advised by Owen)
WO171/929 - January to December 1944
WO171/4780 - January to December 1945
WO171/9033 - January to June 1946

** The missing months relate to the period when the Regiments Batteries were split up and redeployed to other units. Sept being when the Regt was reformed and your relatives unit joined them from 20th Anti Tank.

Regards - Robert.

PS - As you say, this forum is great. This thread has had me hooked since 7-30am yesterday morning. I know how much fun I got from my own research and despite having acquired the wrong book in the process, I have at least been able to pass on a little info for you. Sorry I can't remember the ladies name from the museum. There is only one who deals with that collection.

 

Paul

The photos you mentioned look similar to something I posted last year. Have a gander at this post and look at the links. There are some 50 and 15th Division soldiers in these collections.

http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/searching-someone-military-genealogy/16087-photos-allied-soldiers-serving-netheralnds-1944-45-a.html

Robert

 

Fantastic photos! Sadly Ellis isn't amongst them... It has answered the insignia question though, we're all wrong:

http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=71&pictureid=591

 

Found a 'better' version of the Nijmegen site which includes in English the units of the portraits, so you can easily do a text search:

English - British 1

cheers
Paul

 

It's great that you found one from 102 A/Tk. As you say we were all wrong about the shoulder badges. Even the museum were wrong.

 

Found this courtesy of the "British Military Badge Forum", complete with a laundry slip for 107 Battery ie Reg HQ:

http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=71&pictureid=594

Went for £50 on ebay...

 

Finally got Ellis’ service record through see below:

15/01/1942 - 20th A/Tk Regt RA - Deemed to have enlisted on 15/1/42 and joined on 15/1/42 - Chalfont St Giles – Gnr

17/06/1942 - Embarked U.K. - Gnr

21/07/1942 - 99th A/Tk Bty RA. - Disembarked to I.F.T.C Clairwood - Durban – Gnr

24/08/1942 - Embarked – Durban - Gnr

06/09/1942 - Disembarked to theatre of operations - Gnr

99th A/Tk Bty RA. - Granted Asmin ion Aillce 22.7. - 23.8.42 (CAN’T READ?!)

15/07/1942 - 99th A/Tk Bty RA. - " to P P (could be FP?) – ME - Gnr

23/09/1942 - 102 a/T - Posted to 102 (NH) a/t Rgt RA as 99 a/Tk Bty RA – ME - Gnr

14/02/1943 - 102 a/T - Posted to XL II dispatched from unit 4 GH 15/2. 22 MRC 28/2. 63 GH 7/3 - ME - Gnr

16/04/1943 - XL FD - To. No 5. C.D. 154 T.C. 20/5. - ??? - Gnr

29/06/1943 -102 A.Tk - Embarked for unknown destination (H) - MEF - Gnr

29/08/1943- 102 A.Tk - S.O.S. M.E.F to B.N.A.F. - MEF - Gnr

27/09/1943- 102 A.Tk - Apptd U/A/L/BDR - NA - u/A/L/BDR

19/10/1943- 102 A.Tk - Emb for UK & SOS - BNAF - NA - u/A/L/BDR

06/11/1943- 102 A.Tk - Disembarked U.K. - U.K. - u/A/L/BDR

27/11/1943- 102 A.Tk - Married at Bulwell, Nottingham - U.K. - u/A/L/BDR

12/05/1943 - 102 A.Tk - Qualified for award of Africa Star & 8 Army Clasp - ME - u/A/L/BDR

15/4/1944 - 102 A.Tk - Apptd u/A/L/BDR - U.K. - u/A/L/BDR

03/06/1944 - 102 A.Tk – Embarked - U.K. - u/A/L/BDR

28/06/1944 - 102 A.Tk - Promoted U/A/Bdr - N.W.E. - L/Bdr

28/06/1944 - 102 A.Tk - Gtd Pd/A/Rank of Bdr - N.W.E. - A/Bdr

09/08/1944 - 102 A.Tk - Adm 149 Fd Amb. To X (ii) List - N.W.E. - A/Bdr

09/08/1944 - 102 A.Tk - Reverted to UAL/Bdr on adm to Hosp - N.W.E. - A/Bdr

09/08/1944 - 102 A.Tk - Reclassified Class I. - N.W.E. - A/Bdr

24/08/1944 - 102 A.Tk - Pstd to this unit from X(IV) List + TOS - N.W.E. - u/L/BDR

09/08/1944 - 102 A.Tk - Re-instated PA/Bdr on dis hosp - N.W.E. - u/L/BDR

26/09/1944 - 102 A.Tk - GRANTED RANK OF w/BDR - N.W.E. - W/Bdr

4/8/6/45 - 102 A.Tk - Attending P.T. Course No 1 at H.Q. R.A. - N.W.E. - W/Bdr

102 A.Tk -15 (S) Div from 4 - 8/6/45

13/06/1945 - 102 A.Tk - Apptd UAL/Sjt & PAL/Sjt - N.W.E. - W/Bdr

11/10/1945 - 102 A.Tk - Posted to X(VIII) (A) Rest (H5 RHU) and SOS - N.W.E. - PAL/SGT

102 A.Tk - Relinquished PAL appt and - N.W.E. - W/Bdr

15/10/1945 - X(VIIIa) - adm 106 B.G.H. SOS to X II List - N.W.E. - W/Bdr

24/10/1945 - X(VIII) - Dis. 106 BGH & TOS X (VIII) (a) List from X(II) List - N.W.E. - W/Bdr

15/11/1945 - 21 A/Tk - Posted from 45 RHU & TOS from X (8) List - N.W.E. - W/Bdr

22/11/1945 - 21 A/Tk - Reverts to Gnr at own request - N.W.E. - W/Bdr

22/11/1945- 21 A/Tk - Reclassified Class IA - N.W.E. - Gnr

23/05/1946 - 21 A/Tk - Medically examined 21/5/46 & found fit for further service in Med Cat AI - N.W.E. - Gnr

24/05/1946 - X (8) A - Posted to X (Viiia) List CLASS B Release and SOS Unit w.e.f. Emb NW E for UK and SOS X(viii)a List and BAOR on Class B Release

03/06/1946 - Original B.103 fwd to you on despatch for Cl.B Release. Please transfer above to original document. Casualties awaited: Medically examined posted to X/8/A. SOS BAOR

28/05/1946 – Woolwich - Granted 21 days leave on 29 May 1946 pending re e ??etion to Class W or W/T re ????? 19 Jun 1946 Authy. W. S. ????? s/402B (Demob2) dated 6/5/46


Things I need help with (amongst other things) are:

• the medical/fitness classifications ie XL II, etc
• u/A/L/BDR – something Lance Bomdardier?

Can anyone provide any pearls of wisdom?!

 

Unpaid Acting, I believe. Typical British Army.

Rich

 

Ramacal -
Nit picker that I am - have just been reading through this thread as I am still catching up - I note on your posting # 3 0f 13th Jan 2009 after they had been through Lybia and Tunisia - that "they were in Sicily from end of April to end of October " - not so as the Sicily invasion was on 10th July so it also appears from Ellis's records that from the end of the Mareth battle -March '43- they somehow went back to the MId east and from there embarked for an unknown destination -in June - which looks like Tunisia again as he was taken on strength as BNAF from MEF - and from Sicily XXX corps of 50th - 51st and 8th Armoured Bde left for England with 7th armoured coming along later as they were involved at Salerno for awhile until Naples fell in the Octiber......

Cheers

 

According to (paraphrasing) Joan Bright’s History of the NH:

21/4/43 - The Regiment pulled out of the line at Enfidaville. Concentrated with 50th (Northumbrian) Division just north of Sfax for two days and then set off on the long ‘march’ back to the Delta.

12/5/43 - Amariya Camp was reached

10/6/43 - The Regiment, less those travelling on M.T. ships and those landing on D-plus 28 and D-plus 42, (about 11 officers and 380 other ranks) left Amariya by train for Suez Sub-Camp X.3 of 157 Transit Camp.

27/6/43 - Embarkation began onto ships in the Suez

30/6/43 - At 6 a.m. on the 30th the convoy steamed up the Canal to Port Said

5/7/43 - The D-day convoy left Port Said, sailed along the north coast of Africa and then crossed to Sicily, joining up with the M.T. ship convoy, the Infantry landing craft and other landing-craft on the way over.

9/7/1943 - On the evening of July 9th Mourn Etna could be seen away to the north-west….

Had a lucky break with this book, my local library got it in as an inter-loan for £1.60, so I didn’t have to buy it for £200+++!

I've uploaded scans of the original records, some of it may have got lost in my translation...

 

Belly more like it as I thought they had gone back after the Mareth but is was Edfidaville - then all the way back to Cairo - ouch .

Then to sit in a ship for five days in all that heat at Port Said - aaarrgh

Cheers

 

Spending a bit of time today trying to translate the service records...

Can anyone help me with the following ranks:

W/Bdr - Obviously 'Something' Bombardier??
UAL/Sjt - Unpaid Acting Lance Serjeant? Same as u/a/L/Bdr??
PAL/Sjt - Paid Acting Lance Serjeant?

 

Tom

Nit Pick away. No Problem.

I was taking the info from the Joan Bright Book about the NH. Even she may have got some of the details wrong.

Regards - RobertRamacal -
Nit picker that I am - have just been reading through this thread as I am still catching up - I note on your posting # 3 0f 13th Jan 2009 after they had been through Lybia and Tunisia - that "they were in Sicily from end of April to end of October " - not so as the Sicily invasion was on 10th July so it also appears from Ellis's records that from the end of the Mareth battle -March '43- they somehow went back to the MId east and from there embarked for an unknown destination -in June - which looks like Tunisia again as he was taken on strength as BNAF from MEF - and from Sicily XXX corps of 50th - 51st and 8th Armoured Bde left for England with 7th armoured coming along later as they were involved at Salerno for awhile until Naples fell in the Octiber......

Cheers

 

Belly

Nice to see you are still making good progress with Ellis Race.

Regards - Robert

 

I'm now down to the final piece of the jigsaw with Ellis' servce record...

http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=71&pictureid=713

Can anyone de-code the last 2 lines?? It looks like:

Granted Asmin ion Aillce 22 Jul to 23 Aug 1942
(which covers the duration of the journey from Durban to T of Ops)

Granted to PP (could be FP?)