Family in WW2

[Astraeus]

The fantastic actions of Captain Tom Moore in raising an unbelievable amount for NHS charities reminds me of some of my own family who served. Alas none of these are alive today and in fact two I never met but they mean a lot. Thought we could start a thread to remember family who served in WW2 in whatever capacity. Forces, merchant navy and home front. They all played their part in something that lasted for 6 years. Normal live gone and loved ones away from home often for years with family not knowing if they were alive or dead, wounded or captured.

I will start off with three. I will have to put in separate posts as my iPad not letting me post more than one in a post

Here is my maternal grandfather John(Jock) Cameron. A man who until his passing at 90 played a huge part in my life. From childhood until adulthood he was there never judgemental. He spoke often about the war but there were gaps. Things he didn't discuss. He told me a few things that my mother was not told. ( Belsen being one) and we found out other things after his death.
He joined up in early 1939 as he said it was clear a a war was sadly inevitable and they wanted to be trained properly and go together. He went with his brother Jimmy who was captured at St Valery and my Gran's beloved brother Sandy. More about them later. Granda served with 6th Batalion Seaforth Highlanders part of 51st Divisiom and saw action all over the world. They were frequently last out (Dunkirk) first in. He saw action in France/Belgium as part of the British Expeditionary Force, saw action in Africa, Madagascar which he described as a hell hole during the war. Fighting the Vichy French in fierce combat that had a terrible personal family toll (more later) He contracted Mailaria there and nearly died. Then back into Europe and at the sharp end of some vicious fighting again. The trauma of a concentration camp liberation. In Madagascar they were hived off to serve as part of a Commando attack. They were the second wave. They were at it every year throughout the war and was away from the UK for years. I was given custody of his medals and keep them at my mother and father's house. They can never be lost.
Here is my grandfather. A loyal family man who endured great suffering in a manner we can ill concieve.

[Astraeus]

Next up is Alexander (Sandy) Ross my grandmother's beloved brother. He joined up at the same time and went to all the same places until Madagascar. Sandy was a diabetic. He should not have been away serving but he believed it was his duty. During a particularly savage 3 days when casualties were high Sandy was wounded. It was a flesh wound serious but he should have survived. He was put on a hospital ship and word sent home that he was wounded.
Alas a few days later Sandy succumbed to his wounds. It was believed in part due to his diabetes. He was buried at sea. A crippling family blow like many felt on all sides during the dark days of global war. Obviously I never knew Sandy but he was a part of family life. I knew his mother until I was 7, my great grandmother (Grandma) who was ill all the time I Knew her. She described the day she knew Sandy was dead. My grandmother confirms she sat up one day and said Sandy is dead. She was told no he was OK by family and friends but alas she was bang on. To the day. Some things in life cannot be explained rationally. Sandy was gone.

Here is Sandy

I wish I had got to know him. Some things just not meant to be.

[Astraeus]

Next is another I never got to know. My Grandfather died from a brain tumour shortly before my mother and father married. He was 52. A fantastic gardener who was at one time and up to his death Gardner to the Sidney Thomson of the DC Thomson newspaper empire. The Courier, The Beano, Dandy, People's Friend Sunday Post and many other publications. Who remembers the Commando Magazines Stories? They too were DC Thomson publications. He won awards and lived in a tied cottage in the grounds of the mansion.

He served from 1940 until 1945 as an aircraft fitter in the RAF. He served mainly in India at Dum Dum Airfield. We are just in the process of finding out more about this as little was passed on. We know some of it from things he told my father and we have some photographs taken in India. One in the Indian holiday resort in the mountains that he spent some leave at. Snow on the ground.

Here he is, my beloved other grandfather.

[Astraeus]

I would love to hear your stories from that time, with or without pictures.

Chris

[breakfastinsmethwick]

Sadly, in this age of scammers, I don't wish to reveal the name of my relative who was one of the victims of this crash (see link below). He was my mothers brother, my uncle who obviously I never met. I was hoping to visit the crash site last year but never managed it. I will make it a priority when the present difficulties are sorted I hope.

http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/...and/r9584.html

My mother recounted that a cousin of hers was a “boffin” working on radar at the time and had witnessed the aircraft disappearing. It was many years before he could reveal this information to the family.

[FLYING BANANA]

My fathers father served in the First World War and what he saw had a lasting effect on him. When he returned from the fighting he was a changed man. Gone was the loving caring man, now he was a brute and a bully. He beat my father up so many times that me father ran away and joined up at the age of 16. He lied about his age, said he was 18. My father was sent out to India to serve in the infantry, it was here that after two years his true age was revealed. And he was sent home.

Meanwhile his father had died but my fathers Mother would live onto until 1948.
I never knew her as I was not born till 1949 but she doted on my brother, David was born in 1934.
My father was working for the GPO, BT now, and as he was a telephonist. When he joined up in 1939 he became a wireless operator with the 11th Armoured Division, fondly known as The Black Bull. Father had been seconded from The Royal Signals.
Each member of the tank had to be able to do all the jobs, so father had to be able to fire the gun, give orders and drive. Driving was one thing father struggled with. He never got the hang of it.

But needs must and if push come to shove he could get the tank out of trouble, or into more trouble if you listened to father. The tanks he served in were Cromwells, Churchills and the Ronson, nickname of the Sherman tank. Got the nickname because the would 'light up' after taking a hit. The armour was thin and the shells were stored in open bins on the outside.
The Cromwell weighed in a 28 tons and was powered by a Rolls Royce engine. Could reach 30mph in 5th gear. But it's firepower was it's downfall.

Father told me that if a Cromwell, Churchill or a Sherman was to knock out a Tiger tank they had to get within 500 meters and hit them in there weakest point, the rear. However the Tiger could knock out an allied tank at 2 kilometers.
Father never spoke much about the colleagues that he lost, only say that they had gone to war to fight for our freedom and that would cost lives.

They landed at Juno beach a week after the 6th and that's all I really know. Father would never speak of what he saw. All he would say that he helped to round up the German Paratroopers that were dropped in behind our lines. Most surrendered as they landed, a few put up a fight but were soon killed.
Father did say that as they drove through villages the locals would give the Allied troops food, cider and brandy. In return they gave the ration packs and cigarettes.

Father was de-mobbed in 1946 and went back to work with the GPO. He finally retired in 1965, and he still never learnt to drive. Father passed away on June 6th 1982.

There is a fabulous book out on the 11th Armoured Division by Patrick Delaforce.


My father-in-law fought at Monte Cassino. Again he never spoke of the horrible things that he saw. But he would always tell me this story.

One of the newly promoted officers at Monte Cassino wanted to see where the Germans were going to cross a river. So he took a jeep with my father-in-law as the driver with another soldier who was armed. They drove down to the river bank and as they arrived the Germans opened fire. The jeep was blown up and the officer was killed. My father-in-law and the soldier, who was injured, managed to get back to camp. My father-in-law was put on a charge for losing the jeep. Nothing was said about the officer that had been killed, his body was recovered.

[Briodyjl01]

I know a little of my family ww2 history.
My great grandad on my fathers side was a colour sergeant in the riyal marines. We know he was based at scapa flow in 1943. He used to live in Bradford Yorkshire and before ww2 he moved down to Sevenoaks in Kent and started working as an engineer at a London country bus depot and after the war he was chief mechanical engineer at two bus depots, Dunton Green and Tonbridge wells. After retiring he then went on to work at a car dealer in the 60s and 70s. this was a ROVER dealer!!!!
My grandad on my mothers’ side was a plaster and a very good one according to what I’ve been told. He is from Maidstone Kent. When war started, he was a young member of the royal navy. From his papers he spent a fair bit of time in the Suez canal as he mentions he used to swim in it. Also spending time around Gibraltar and Ceylon. He was a stoker in the boiler rooms of the warships.

[reworht]

My father served in the RAF as groundcrew. He spent most of the war at RAF Debden in North Essex. Whilst he was reluctant to talk about his experiences, he did admit to being thrown off a motorbike and sidecar by a bomb blast during the Battle of Britain. As the war ended, he was posted to RAF Langenhagen near Berlin, as part of the ground crew at temporary airfields set up to bring in supplies for ground forces. This a poor quality scan (the original is after all nigh on 75 years old!) of the Programme for Christmas Day 1945.

XMAS1945003 by Rod Thrower, on Flickr

As I grew up, there are only two things I can recall that my father ever mentioned in relation to the War -

1. He wouldn't listen to Abide with Me when it was sung on TV - he said it brought back too many painful memories
2. He always had huge respect for his brother-in-law (my mother's brother) who refused to take advantage of his reserved occupation status as a farmer and insisted on serving in the Green Howards as "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to Roland (my father) whilst I was ploughing a field".

Dad
RAF DAD001 by Rod Thrower, on Flickr

[macafee2]

My farther was a German Jew. Came to England via the Kindertransport
Blown off his cycle by a flying bomb and did not understand Ready Steady Go at a swimming gala.


macafee2

[Sdeh]

My great grandad was in WW2 and flew Spitfires he passed in the 80s but once told my dad he recalled when he was told to land on the HMS Glorious but couldn’t find it so he crashed landed the crashed in the ocean

My Grandad was in the Suez Crisis but don’t know much about what he did but I don’t remember him as he passed when I was only about 1 years old


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