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General => Armed Forces => World War Two => Topic started by: Kateis on Sunday 10 February 19 23:37 GMT (UK)
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My grandma served in the ATS in World War II. I have so few details about her service, I know she was based in Leicestershire but that's about it. I doubt I could access her military records because my mam isn't the eldest child, and therefore, not next of kin. And her eldest sibling is not very interested in all of this.
As for her medals, if my mam asked about them, my grandma would get defensive and say she had to pay for them and so never got them. Was this true at the time? As far as I know, it wasn't, but I could be wrong.
Would there be a way of checking about the medals, and could my mam and I gain access to her records? If anyone could help, I'd be very grateful :)
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MOD does not draw any distinction between one child and another when it comes to next of kin. You mother is next of kin as far as applying for the records is concerned.
While people did have to claim their medals, they did not have to pay for them.
There are apparently only about 7000 ATS records surviving but your mother should apply and good luck. Once you know what her entitlement was you could think about applying for them. In all likelihood she qualified for the War Medal and the Defence Medal.
MaxD
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Thank you, MaxD. There seems to be a lot of conflicting information online about the applications, so thank you for the insight! :)
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You can still claim the medals: I've just received a Defence Medal awarded to my father.
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It is as Max said - just get your mum to apply and tick the box for daughter. My wife applied for her mother's records recently - we knew she was in the ATS and drove lorries but that was about it. The records, with a little interpretation, really explained what she did and when. Go for it!