Searching for Kevin HAUGHEY, 3rd Battalion Irish Guards: Service Information

Discussion in 'The Brigade of Guards' started by alan haughey, Apr 12, 2020.

  1. alan haughey

    alan haughey Member

    Hi all, I am new to this site and I find it amazing the amount of information on it. I am doing some family research on my Grandfather Kevin Haughey, he was in the 2nd Company, 3rd Batt Irish Guards during WW2. He ran away from home (Dundalk, Ireland) to join the army but he may have given his older brothers name Patrick or James Haughey as he was not old enough to join the army at the time. I dont have a service number or much else to go one.

    He might of been married during his time in the army.

    Any help would be much appreciated. I have attahced some photos.

     
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  2. alan haughey

    alan haughey Member

    Hi all, I am new to this site and I find it amazing the amount of information on it. I am doing some family research on my Grandfather Kevin Haughey, he was in the 2nd Company, 3rd Batt Irish Guards during WW2. He ran away from home (Dundalk, Ireland) to join the army but he may have given his older brothers name Patrick or James Haughey as he was not old enough to join the army at the time. I dont have a service number or much else to go one.

    He might of been married during his time in the army.

    Any help would be much appreciated. I have attahced some photos.
     

    Attached Files:

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  3. KevinBattle

    KevinBattle Senior Member

    As he's your grandfather, it does seem he did marry :)
    The letter seems to have a date in 1947.
    Presumably Hildegard was a German girl he met whilst in the Army of Occupation after the War.
    Is/was she your grandmother or did he marry someone else?
    What else do you know about him?
    Date of birth? Date and place of death?

    The 2 medals are the 1939-45 Star, with the pale blue stripe, and the ribbon of the France and Germany Star, but the silver medal is the War medal 1939-45, which should have a different ribbon.

    We recommend that the best place to start is with his Service Records from the MoD. There are simple Application Forms and it will cost £30 and a wait of perhaps a few months, especially in the current circumstances, but that's the only place to get a real handle on where he was and what he may have done.
    If you have his Death Certificate, that will help, but try and clarify what name you believe he served under.
    You mention he was under age, and I'm guessing he was in the later stages of the War, after D Day.

    The Guards Regiments usually select the taller candidates and Hildegard seems to call him Lofty, so no doubt he was taller than average?
    You'll probably get one of our experts to tell you more about the despatch bike than him!! :)
     
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  4. Tullybrone

    Tullybrone Senior Member

    Hi,

    Welcome to the forum.

    As Kevin says your starting point ought to be making an application to UK MOD for his service records via this link -

    Get a copy of military service records

    It would probably be best to include a covering letter with the application form to outline the possible complications re enlistment name etc you outline above.

    The F&G Star has a 1939/45 Star ribbon attached suggesting he was also awarded that medal. If that is correct it suggests that he saw over over 6 months active service - likely in North West Europe - between June 1944 and May 1945.

    Forum member Diane dbf has a special interest in IG so I’m sure she will have further advice to offer. Here are a couple of Irish Guards topics she has created.

    Irish Guards, Other Ranks: unofficial Nominal Roll by Army Number order

    Irish Guards: Reference Thread

    Good Luck

    Steve
     
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2020
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  5. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Hi Alan,
    Welcome to the forum. My father also served in 3rd Battalion but in No. 1 Company.

    I'd try to ring MOD records office first as they might be able to advise you better, or even check. As you said, you don't have a first name (might he have used a different surname as an alias as well? not uncommon), or an Army Number, or a DOB either since he was underage when he joined up. So, it would make the usual application quite tricky.

    The Army number really would be the key in his case. Do you know if there is any other correspondence between him and family members, particularly the box in which the medals arrived, or the slip which came with them? See linked post - WW2 Campaign Stars & Medals info thread

    I've searched the lists - Alpha & Nominal - and surprisingly there isn't even one Haughey to be found. These lists are my own creation so they aren't exhaustive by any means. (I know how difficult it is to find a name - took me years to track down the one mention of my Dad, and that was in a post-hostilities War Diary.)

    Do you know if your grandfather was wounded? If so, he might appear on official Casualty List with an Army Number, so that would be worth checking. FindMyPast offer this dataset online & searchable.


    GAD.png
    Guards Armoured Division insignia - flipped correct way up.

    My Dad brought back something sort of similar - in fact a perpetual desk calendar which he gave to his father who'd served in the Micks in WW1. I've no idea where it is now, but, from memory, it was carved out of wood with the same stippled background, raised lettering, painted red/blue/white highlights, etc as your two examples. His item was purchased, I think, from a German POW in exchange for cigarettes.

    In the meantime, as general background, there are some 3IG war diaries on the forum which you might find interesting. There's also an official History for all three battalions - History of the Irish Guards in the Second World War by Maj. D J L Fitzgerald, which can be found second-hand on eg Abebooks and the like.
    If your grandfather had a copy, still in family's possession, are there any notes in it? For example my Dad wrote his Number/Name/Unit etc on the front page in his copy.

    Good luck with your research.
     
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  6. alan haughey

    alan haughey Member


    Hi Kevin

    Thanks for responding, Yes my grandfather got married in Ireland when he returned home from service. It looks like he may have been married while in the Army. It reads like he might have just returned to Ireland and left his first wife behind.

    My Grandfathers name was Kevin Joseph Haughey born 5th of Oct 1923 in Dundalk, Co. Louth, Ireland. He had two older brothers James Haughey born May 1922 (Never Married) and Patrick Joseph Haughey born August 1918.

    My Grandfather mentioned before that James also joined the British Army but got caught by the German's but I think this happend near the end of the war.

    The letter refers to him as "Paddy" so he might have used his eldest brothers details.

    My Grandfather died in 2006 in Ireland.

    I will contact the MOD to see if they can help. Cheers.
     
  7. alan haughey

    alan haughey Member

    Hi Steve

    Thanks for your response and the additional links.

    I am just thinking my Grandfathers mothers surename before marriage was Greenaway. Could he have used that, not sure what documentation was needed when signing up for the army was back then.
     
  8. Tullybrone

    Tullybrone Senior Member

    Last edited: Apr 20, 2020
  9. travers1940

    travers1940 Well-Known Member

    I notice that in one of the letters from 1947 Hildegard asks him if he has written to the CCG London. This is likely to be the Control Commission Germany, & he is maybe asking permission for his wife or fiancee Hildegard to be able to join him in the UK, asking permission to marry a german national if still in Germany, or trying to expedite her travel to UK if she was already authorised but was waiting in one of the camps mentioned in William Clark's story below. He would also have needed the armys permission to marry.

    After the defeat of Germany in 1945, a Control Commission was set up to support the Military Government, which was in place at that time. The Military Government was gradually phased out and the Control Commission took over the role of 'Local Government'. It was responsible for Public Safety, Health, Transport, Housing and Intelligence. The forward HQ was in Cumberland House, Berlin. Recruits had to be over 21 and were recruited from, Civil Servants the Foreign Office and demobbed Military Personnel.
    Control Commission Germany | BRIXMIS | AJ

    This is a web page giving the experience of William Clark, who met & married his german girlfriend Paula in Germany after the war, and returned to UK with her.
    How it really was

    I also have to remind my self constantly that Austria was also occupied by the Allies after the war, and those with Germanic names could have been Austrian citizens. Expect similar rules applied as with the CCG.

    I expect someone will turn up to confirm which of theses countries IG were stationed in post war & maybe correct some of my general assumptions here about the CCG.

    Travers
     
  10. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Coming at this from a slightly different angle - is this his brother Patrick??

    Name: Patrick Haughey
    Gender: Male
    Marital status: Single
    Birth Date: 10 Jul 1918

    TD
     
  11. travers1940

    travers1940 Well-Known Member


    I expect that many Irish soldiers or soldiers in Irish regiments, were called Paddy reguardless of their actual name, or the name they served under.
     
  12. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Re James as a POW - thren these are the only Haughey with a J initial showing in the POW database

    J Haughey Reconnaissance Corps Oerbke, Lower Saxony 7944412 28956 357 3

    J E V Haughey Wolfsberg (Karnton), Austria 2227 4295 18A

    J Haughey Royal Engineers Wolfsberg, Austria 2199172 5179 XVIII-A 9

    TD
     
  13. KevinBattle

    KevinBattle Senior Member

    "Paddy" was almost a universal nickname for anyone with a remotely sounding Irish name. My father, Charles Regan, was born in Liverpool, but always known as Paddy. His grandfather Hugh was born in Ireland so I assume there was still some Irish lilt in his voice, not Scouse!! :)

    As an aside, one of the members of the Pipe Band I was in said he was the second British serviceman permitted to marry a German, I believe in 1947. Before that I think any request was denied, partly due to the likely hostility the bride might face in the UK.
     
  14. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    For further family information - other possible family members are:

    Christopher James Haughey Jan-Feb-Mar 1921 Dundalk

    Joseph Haughey Oct-Nov-Dec 1919 Dundalk

    Patrick Joseph Haughey Jul-Aug-Sep 1918 Dundalk

    James Haughey Apr-May-Jun 1922 Dundalk

    Kevin Joseph Haughey Oct-Nov-Dec 1923 Dundalk

    Maggie Haughey Jul-Aug-Sep 1916 Dundalk

    There is no way to tell at present if these are all from the same family as the records dont seem to require any parental details

    TD
     
  15. alan haughey

    alan haughey Member

    Hi TD

    The below are his brothers, I have alot of family info as I have done the family tree.

    Patrick Joseph Haughey Jul-Aug-Sep 1918 Dundalk

    James Haughey Apr-May-Jun 1922 Dundalk
     
  16. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Reading this document for other info and came across this section which may be of interest in this thread

    Admin History 21 Army Gp
    32. Marriages
    During the whole campaign HQ 21 Army Group approved 398 marriages between BRITISH service personnel and allied nationals. All ranks who wished to marry found that no difficulty was placed in their way by the governments of liberated countries, provided that each case was brought forward and approved in accordance with the procedure for marriage to foreign nationals as outlined in 21 Army Group Standing Orders.
    During the period fifty-five marriages between BRITISH nationals were also solemnized under the provisions of the Foreign Marriage Act.

    TD
     

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