A similar search to Graham using P Parry and G Richards yields no Phil or Philip for the first or Geraint for the second or connections with either variation to Shropshire or any Welsh regiment or indeed any other regiment. The search for Shropshire also included the Royal Artillery as both the Shropshire Yeomanry and the Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery became Royal Artillery units right at the star of the war.
This would suggest that your CWGC searches with those names and (sort of) regiments) was fine.
As far as war diaries are concerned, it is very seldom that they mention individual soldiers by name which is yet another problem. KSLI had two battalions in Normandy plus another that had become Royal Artillery, the Welch Fusiliers had three battalions in Normandy so your thought about specific battles in Normandy would entail a major piece of research and the end result won't tell you anything about the individuals at all.
Your difficulties are what you have already acknowledged - no clear name therefore no birth date or death date, no regiment. Frankly an impossible task from the military records point of view unless you are able from local sources to identify the men.
Picking up another quote of yours - What IS definite is that they were not around/alive after August 1944, Where does that info come from and does the source not know any more?
MaxD
Max D, many thanks for searching on my behalf.
The 'source' is information from a series of hand-written notes made some years ago, which I haven't had chance to follow up until recently. (I'm now retired.) The info. was given to me by another person whom I fully trusted.
I am 100% convinced these 2 men existed, otherwise I wouldn't be putting in so much effort to try and find records. But I'm not a Forces expert, so I had no idea where to look.
Based on the notes, I can narrow down the RICHARDS death/disappearance to between 6 June 1944 and probably 24 or 25 June 1944. 'Welch Fusiliers mortar crew' or variant on this. So [using my imagination] it seems he could have been a casualty of D-day itself, or was washed ashore later (or found in the water) but was unrecognisable, or came to grief on boats coming into the beaches during the next couple of weeks, or was lost a short way inland.
The 'Geraint' could easily have been a nickname, or a middle name. So, to begin, I need a Richards (any initials), British soldier, who enlisted into that particular fighting group, was alive on 6.6.44 but was not seen after the last week in June. The numbers can't be huge.
An 'impossible' task, you think... but I never quit! I don't mind a difficult and lengthy piece of research. My main aim would be to prove that these men did exist and were in Normandy at that time.
