Army Information.

[damarshall]

Please could anyone give me some information on why my Grandad James henry Davies born 1913 worked as a labourer sherwood forrester.
He lived in middlesex.he then ended up  in Wolfertswil St Gallen Switzerland in 1944.

If anyone could give any information or have any ideas then i would be most greatful

[MaecW]

Hi,

One possibility I can think of :
"The Sherwood Foresters" was a British Army Regiment. They served in the North African and Italian campaigns during WW2.
If your grandad was in this regiment perhaps he was taken prisoner, later escaping from a PoW camp, (as many did after the Italian surrender) and making his way to Switzerland (which was neutral territory)?
I don't know what records were kept of ex PoWs arriving in Switzerland but perhaps somebody else can help here ?

Good hunting !

Maec
 

[km1971]

It really depends how and when the 'labourer sherwood forester' was written. He may have been a labourer and also a member of a Militia/TA battalion of the Sherwood Foresters. Labourers within a regiment were usually called Pioneers.

To be in Switzerland in 1944 does suggest an escaped PoW. The Red Cross are digitising a series of PoW cards they have. At present they charge c£150 for a lookup for WW2 , and half that for WW1

Ken