WW2 Posting To Ireland

[lillian66]

Having "googled" WW2 Irish bases I have found Mahon Barracks at Portadown, County Armagh.

There is an entry on my grandfathers record 24/6/1940 which says posted to 17 M C Coy RASC and this place looks like it could be "Mahon".

Does anyone know if British troops were posted to Mahon Barracks in WW2???

Thanks

[billh35]

I don't think Mahon Barracks Portadown existed before 1972 so no troops could have been stationed there during WWII.

The RASC Motor Coach Company was based at Gosford Castle near Markethill in County Armagh. The company was formed in 1940 to provide vehicles to counter the real threat of a possible German invasion. Their fleet comprised buses and coaches requistioned from civilian use. The MCC remained active until 1942 by which time the threat had receded and the unit disbanded. 129 of their vehicles were sold to the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board, Belfast who were critically short of vehicles.

There is a section with some photos on the MCC activities in B.C. Boyle's book "Buses in Ulster Volume 1 - The Northern Ireland Road Transport Board 1935-1948". Sadly the author passed away a few years ago and the book is out of print but is still available on Amazon -  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Northern-Ireland-Transport-1935-48-Ulster/dp/1898392471/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1455551351&sr=8-4&keywords=bus+ulster

Finding any information on this operation is very difficult.

[Drew5233]

MC stands for Motor Coach

Here's his units war diary ref that is held at the National Archives in London covering the period you are interested in.

WO 166/5006 17 Motor Coach Company RASC 1940 Jun, Nov, 1941 Jul-Dec