Accessing military records from WWII

[suec45]

HI SandraC
I found my Grandfathers service number & rank on my uncle birth cert as he was born in 42

Sue

[ScouseBoy]

sandraC.   can you tell us his year of birth, please?

My dad was in RASC.    I am lucky  that I  have a Brass Tankard  inscribed with his Army number      which I believe were bought for everyone in the Sgts  and W.O.s mess in Alexandria when it was disbanded in late 1945.

Was your grandfather  in France  in 1940, do you know.

[Ruskie]

Hi All

My Dad has had a reply to his application saying that unless he can provide both Granddad's service number and rank, then they feel the chances of finding his records are very slim & they have offered to send his cheque back.

SandraC

Oh no. I have Application for Medal forms printed out ready to send off.

I don't know his service number and rank. The Medal App form says name and dob is all that is required (obviously the more info you can give, the better), but the form doesn't imply that you must know service no and rank. (I can guess at rank, but would rather omit this in case it isn't correct and it holds up the application).

Does anyone know if I can still get the medal with only name and dob? 

I was going to get the medal first, then apply for service record and war diary when I have service number and rank, as I thought it would be the most logical order to do this ... what does everyone think? 

[SandraC]

Hi All

Granddad was born in 1910.  So far as we know, he was only in India & Burma.  I remember him trying to teach me to count in some Indian language but I have no idea which.

From what Dad remembers, he was a driver - HGVs - & he taught the Indians to drive also (excellent since he was of the age to have never taken a driving test himself!)  He is recorded as a motor lorry driver on the birth certificates of both my aunts & my Dad (1934-1939).

He was de-mobbed at the end of the war & came home on the same boat as my other Granddad (who he didn't know until later).  Both had sons born in 1946/7.

None of the other children were born during the War - my younger Aunt was born in July 1939.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions.  Is it worth trying the regimental archives - I don't know if he was a Manc or a Lancs Fusilier but it would have been one or the other.  His own father & his uncle were Lancs Fusiliers in WWI - did people tend to go in the same regiments?

Thanks
Sandra C

[ScouseBoy]

do you know his date of marriage  and place of marriage?

[IMBER]

Much depends on the person's name.  When my wife applied to the RAF for her late father's records they told her that they could not find him without his service number but with a name like John Robinson that's hardly surprising! More unusual names can make a difference.

[SandraC]

Hi Scouseboy

Yes I do but how will that help?

His name was Walter Platt

Regards
SandraC

[Ruskie]

Much depends on the person's name.  When my wife applied to the RAF for her late father's records they told her that they could not find him without his service number but with a name like John Robinson that's hardly surprising! More unusual names can make a difference.

Surely they'd be able to find someone with full name and date of birth? Are they trying to make it easier for themselves perhaps by only searching via a service number?

So that means that if you don't know the service number you can never get any serviceman's records?
With nothing searchable online how will you ever be able to find that out? Here in Australia all WW2 service records are free and viewable online ... 

[ScouseBoy]

Also Place of birth  or town of residence at enlistment date are important bits of data to  get the right record.