TIPS please for locating details on WW2 soldiers, Shropshire Light Infantry etc

[guest259648]

Army records are extensive and scattered everywhere, help.
I'm looking for details of missing men, NOT those with known graves.
Please guide me in the right direction.

WW2 enlistment records seem to be unavailable yet. So what other strategies could I use to learn more about men who signed up to serve in 1. The Welch/Welsh Fusiliers and 2. The Shropshire Rifles [Shropshire Light Infantry/King's Shropshire Light Infantry], specifically for Jun - Aug 1944.

e.g.
* From which particular areas of the UK were these men largely recruited?
** How can I find out what these fighting units were actually doing in Normandy, during those months?
*** Are there any easily consultable lists of names regarding WW2 War memorials/Rolls of honour (because at the moment I'm having to check out every tiny village, and it's taking ages.)

The surnames I'm seeking are RICHARDS and PARRY.

Thank you for all suggestions.

[rosie99]

Those on war memorials should appear on CWGC website
https://www.cwgc.org/

[jim1]

WW2 service records are held by the MOD. They are accessible but cost £30 + death cert.
You would need to know which Battalion they belonged to in order to find out where they fought.
Men were conscripted from all parts of the UK & sent to whichever Regt. required them.

[AntonyMMM]

To research what particular units
were doing you would look at the War Diaries held at The National Archives (when open again)

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-operations-second-world-war/

[guest259648]

Those on war memorials should appear on CWGC website
https://www.cwgc.org/

rosie99...thank you, yes the CWGC website does list some very important memorials, however I don't think it deals with any small, local lists e.g. the names on Ludlow war memorial etc.  And the CWGC only deals with men whose graves are known, or - if there's no body - whose deaths are associated with a specific date. I can't find any references to the missing who may only appear on a roll of honour somewhere, as a soldier who definitely enlisted but then disappeared.

 Many families don't know what happened to their uncle/father/son, other than that he went to war and didn't return. So I'm wondering where these men would be represented in the records...

[guest259648]

To research what particular units
were doing you would look at the War Diaries held at The National Archives (when open again)

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-operations-second-world-war/

AntonyMMM... thank you for this, I didn't know these were available to the public. Do you actually have to visit, or can you view them online?

[guest259648]

WW2 service records are held by the MOD. They are accessible but cost £30 + death cert.
You would need to know which Battalion they belonged to in order to find out where they fought.
Men were conscripted from all parts of the UK & sent to whichever Regt. required them.

Thanks a lot Jim1, this is helpful. You say "£30 + death cert" - so would you have to produce a Death Cert in order to be allowed to see the records?

Perhaps you can also help me with this: if a man went missing in WW2 (i.e.was killed, didn't desert) but nobody saw him die, when and how would his death be reported or recorded? Would it be after the war, if he didn't come home? Would they guess at a date? Would/could a death certificate be issued, ever?

D

[jim1]

Service records can be ordered online:
https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records
If a soldier died but there is no body ( this would have been after enquiries through the Red Cross re POW's) or there is a body but no one was him die then death would be "assumed on or since" (the date of his last engagement).

[guest259648]

Service records can be ordered online:
https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records
If a soldier died but there is no body ( this would have been after enquiries through the Red Cross re POW's) or there is a body but no one was him die then death would be "assumed on or since" (the date of his last engagement).

OK. 'Assumed on or since', that's a useful phrase, thank you jim1.

So what exactly would be the date of a 'last engagement' for a man who took part in the D-day landings but then disappeared at some point during the subsequent fighting? Would it just be something like "June 1944" that gets recorded? And where would this be written?

The site you kindly sent me to, says this: [to order service records] "You need to know the person’s full name, date of birth and service number."  How can you find out more about a soldier's service if you don't have all these details?

D