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General => Armed Forces => World War Two => Topic started by: martinrg on Monday 28 May 18 18:54 BST (UK)
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Does anyone know how to get a copy of a General Courts Martial record from 14th November 1942 for 2nd Lieutenant Norbert Gaffney Essex Rifles ?
Any help will be much appreciated.
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A warm welcome to Rootschat marting
There are a number of WW2 experts on here who should be able to help you.
Good luck with your search
Dorrie
P.S. I have asked for your post to be moved to WW2 Board
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His service records should give you the information, they will still be with MOD, there is a charge of £30 .
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records
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Hello martinrg, a huge welcome to RootsChat :)
You posted in the correct section but we have moved your post to the ww2 section as we hope that this will be more useful to your enquiry.
Regards
Sarah
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His service records should give you the information, they will still be with MOD, there is a charge of £30 .
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records
I have his service number 220626 but I cannot find his birth, marriage or death record anywhere. I am certain that he is not alive but if he was he would be 95 years plus. Without a death certificate I cannot access his service records. It is as if all records have been deleted. I think I need a source of General Courts Martial records but I don't know where to go for that.
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Hello martinrg, a huge welcome to RootsChat :)
You posted in the correct section but we have moved your post to the ww2 section as we hope that this will be more useful to your enquiry.
Regards
Sarah
Thanks, much appreciated
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Could Norbert be a middle name? There are a number of births in the early 1920s for "xxxxx N GAFFNEY".
Later....I can see what looks like your man on a British Army list on Ancestry.. N T Gaffney, 2nd Lieutenant Essex Regiment, 1942. The link goes to Fold3, though.
There is a note on the source of the information: "This collection contains an index to records transcribed from the lists of deserters. " Were desertions reported in the newspapers?
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There was a Norbert Thomas GAFFNEY born at Naas, Ireland in 1909. His father, John, was a corporal in what looks like "RWF".
Added later: Norbert Thomas GAFFNEY married Ruby MARTIN in Dublin in 1934, and his occupation is "Soldier".
He is most likely the person on the 1939 register at Gravesend in Kent. He is with his wife Ruby.
This Norbert died at Gravesend in Kent, in 1981.
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There is also a Norbert T GAFFNEY living in Utoxeter Road, Derby, until at least 2010. He was with a wife Margaret, both were pensioners, there is a marriage for Norbert T. GAFFNEY to Margaret J. CLEARY in 1959.
It looks as if that Norbert was the Norbert Thomas GAFFNEY who died 27 August 2012, Will and Administration Birmingham 24 January 2913.
The National Archives hold Courts Martial Registers.
Addendum.
The Norbert in Gravesend was a general labourer, heavy worker in the Cement Works in 1939.
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There was a Norbert T GAFFNEY born in Dublin in 1936, mother's maiden name MARTIN - most likely the son of the Norbert in my previous post - he will be one of the redacted entries in the 1939 register.
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Many thanks for your help, much appreciated
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Thanks for all the leds. I can see that I have much to do !
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Guidance here:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/courts-martial-desertion-british-army-17th-20th-centuries/
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The military record of Norbert's father John is available on Ancestry, and probably on Find My Past. There is an interesting error on the last page - the marriage and child details of another soldier have been attributed to John. The other soldier is Roderick GAFFNEY. I couldn't find a military record for Roderick, but on the birth record of his son Denis in 1916, his occupation is "Soldier 18th Royal Irish".
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There was a Norbert Thomas GAFFNEY born at Naas, Ireland in 1909. His father, John, was a corporal in what looks like "RWF".
The RWF would most likely be the Royal Welch Fusiliers. (BUT - check this! There were several John GAFFNEYs on the WW1 medal roll - no Welsh, but several in Irish regiments).
Philip
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Looking at John GAFFNEY's military record, he appears to have been a volunteer in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, before joining the Royal Irish Regiment. So the "W" was in fact a "D". Oddly, he was in the Royal Irish Regiment when he married, and his children were born. John was born in 1880, attested in 1899.