I'm looking to find out anything to do with the North Somerset Yeomanry in WW2 because my grandfather, William James Chappell (better known as "Waxy" Chappell), was a saddler in this cavalry regiment at the start of the War.
Unfortunately, the Army Records Office in Glasgow cannot find anything on him, either using his date of birth (born 27th December 1905 in Bideford, Devon) or his army number (T/403106), perhaps because his service record has been miss-filed.
My auntie has his record of service card that shows he was in the NSY from 1928 until August 1942, when he transferred to the RASC and saw out the War with them. It also says he was a Sargeant.
Various internet sources suggest that the NSY were sent first to the Middle East (Iraq and Syria) and my Dad recalls that he mentioned going out on the Empress of Britain shortly before it was sunk off the coast of Ireland. Apparently, they then served in North Africa, where there may have been a massacre of the cavalry by Nazi tanks (this mismatch is not reported in newspapers I've looked at).
I hope someone may know something, as my Dad and two aunties weren't told an awful lot.
Chris Chappell (
chegs@hotmail.com)
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