Hi, I'm trying to find some information for my elderley neighbour about her dad, William Nichol, who was killed 24th May 1940. I've found the usual information about his service record but I was trying to establish what might have happened/where he was. He's buried in Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery with a bunch of RA guys, a few who died on the same day as him. He seems to be the only person from his battalion who died on 24th May and I can't figure out if he was with the RA based on Kemmel Hill (1 Heavy Regiment RA - The Royal Artillery 1939-45) - I saw somewhere that the 2nd battalion was unassigned and labouring around that time but I could be wrong. Any information or guidance would be greatly appreciated
Welcome to the forum https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2252885/william-nichol/ FUSILIER WILLIAM NICHOL Service Number: 4265053 Regiment & Unit/Ship Royal Northumberland Fusiliers 2nd Bn. Date of Death Died 24 May 1940 Age 32 years old Buried or commemorated at KEMMEL CHATEAU MILITARY CEMETERY Fusilier William Nichol (unknown-1940) - Find a...
Wiki has a very slim history for 2nd Bn. RNF: From: List of Royal Northumberland Fusiliers battalions in World War II - Wikipedia Thanks to this old thread I have an idea, standby. It may provide some context for those days in May 1940 as the BEF retreated, mainly to Dunkirk and 2 RNF were there: BEF rearguard action at De Moeren/Bulskamp (May 29th till May 31st 1940) Also see: 4265808 PSM John James McCANCE, 2 Royal Northumberland Fusiliers: 29/05/1940 - 02/06/1940 There are just a very few threads on 2 RNF for their time in France 1940, certainly no mention of a war diary, though one will exist (they rarely mention an individual soldier). 2 RNF appear in this divisional history for May 1940, specifically in Post 4, when part of the 50th (Northumberland) Division. See: 50 (Northumbrian) Division From a 2010 post: Have a map of the region to hand, preferably minus modern roads i.e. from WW2. Others may be along to help.
Thanks both for the information so far. From research I've carried out, it seems that 24th May is an inconsequental day in the grand scheme of things (although not for Bill as he was known). I guess his death date of 24th May could be after he was wounded for some days and then finally died but it'd be impossible to know. Considering as the 4th Division sustained heavy losses in the retreat to Dunkirk, I can't imagine there was much time for admin. If there are any pictures from the 2 R.N.F floating around from the battle of France, it'd be great to see them.
David, I don't recall photos on the relevant threads here; caveat: I was not looking then for photos. An online search found a few photos of 2 RNF ostensibly in France, but very few found for 1940. It might be worth contacting their regimental museum. See: https://www.northumberlandfusiliers.org.uk/ There are no photos in the site's gallery. To understand the role of a MG battalion this dedicated website can help and it also has a short history of 2 RNF in 1940: See: Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
WW1 battlefield Little seems to be online regarding WW2. Possible that WW2 burials were brought in from surrounding areas. This might explain the random units that they belonged to. Will Check with ra 1939-45 to see if Derek has more info as he has listed it. Interesting aside to Kemmel: The History Files: Kemmelberg (Remarkable Stories: Hitler and the Kemmelberg) Could you post the Service Record sheet B103 (Casualty and Service) of Fusilier Nichol it just might offer clues. 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team (United Kingdom) - Wikipedia
Thanks Uncle, I'd had a similar thought it the cemetery being used to bury people from the local area. I guess having a body from a frontline outfit is lucky as there must be a lot of people who were left behind due to the retreat. What's a B103? I've got this information, if this is what you mean: Initials W Full Name NICHOL, WILLIAM Date Of Birth 1908 Age 32 Birth Place Gateshead. Nationality British Resided Place Gateshead. Date Of Death 24 May 1940 Information Parents: William and Elizabeth Nichol; husband of Violet Nichol, of York. Rank Name Fusilier Service Number 4265053 Died in Active Service Yes Service British Army Regiment Royal Northumberland Fusiliers Battalion 2nd Battalion Archive Reference WO 304/8 Place Of Death France and Belgium Campaign, 1939/40 Conflict Period World War II Served For United Kingdom Not dug into a military past before, so this is all new, apologies if these are basic questions
A Service Record is made up with many various forms Army Form B103 is the one we need to see what he did where and when. Training, time off sick pow or in detention. Sample attached below. Without this we are all stumped. All entries are coded but some of us have learned to understand them from experience on the forum. If you have a form like this we can help to trace his movements etc.
Ok, great, I have mentioned to her about applying for the service record, so we'll see where that leads to. Appreciate your help
Morning, Here is the link to where you can find his service record at the National Archives: Name: W Nichol . Service number: 4265053 . Date of birth: 13 May 1908 . | The National Archives Regards
David, it seems that you might be in luck with the Service Record as its 116 years from his date of birth.
Wow, that is some good luck, only been open for 4 months. Now to figure out the process for ordering without spending £££ and receiving the wrong thing. Thanks again
Normal copying process starts with the page check which costs £8.40 (you can start the process by clicking on request a copy on the linked page above), you pay this whether you decide to go ahead with ordering the final copy or not, and normally I think takes about 2 weeks. Then depending on exactly what you ask for (I normally ask for colour digital scans of all information in the file relating to whoever the person is) they will come back to you with a price. Normal colour scans up to A3 is £1.20 per side. Depending on what the price is, you can either convert your page check to a full order if you want to go ahead (and you then pay the quoted price) or you can leave it there. If you do convert to an order it takes usually another 2ish weeks. They can do digital scans or you can have them printed and posted out to you. TNA Price List: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...MQFnoECBEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2ygnPUfi9-pyp-gNcAcm_S Record Copying Video:
Uncle Target, Under normal circumstances you would be correct to apply to MoD in the first instance, however in this case the service record for William Nichol has already been transferred to TNA so the above procedure applies.
I've applied for his service record using the link above, so we'll see what turns up and I can post any useful information on here.