[Sussex] Military experts

[junior]

I used to work with a few Tankie's from the RTR. I'm sure they used to wear those hats.

 

[blue'n'white]

I’ve searched through Ancestry and doesn’t come up with his assumed name. He did have his name changed from an early aged when his mother remarried but tried both variations and still nothing

As a last resort you might want to try the Imperial War Museum. I assume there's no other living relatives that may have any ideas.

 

[Dave the OAP]

I went into a bar in Heidelberg in 1987, and there were old street signs on the wall, including 'Adolph Hitlerstrasse'. An old guy in his 70s (at least) started talking to us in German. I had to leave. A strange visceral experience.

I had a similar experience at berchesgarten in Bavaria back in the early 80's. It is the area where the SS had their training camps etc and we were sat at a cafe having a drink and Over in the other side of th cafe was a guy dressed as Hitler, uniform , hair cut etc. We couldn't believe what we were seeing that someone could be so brazen....until we spotted this guy and his wife wander over and engage him in conversation. He was about 6ft 6 , short cropped blonde hair and his wife was also tall and very elegant. They were no spring chickens and the conversation was in hushed tones. We started to feel actually quite uncomfortable and it was topped off by the ending of th conversation with the guy straightening up and I can't swear it, but it appeared that he clicked his heels! I looked at the mrs and she was shocked as she saw it too.

We paid up and left pretty smartish as we felt very unwelcome around that area in Bavaria!

 

[Mr Bridger]

As a last resort you might want to try the Imperial War Museum. I assume there's no other living relatives that may have any ideas.

No all have sadly passed away apart from my father who is struggling with his memory now, thanks for the advice.

 

[Swillis]

You could try asking on a militaria collectors forum, this one has a uniform and cap badges sub forum.

http://www.historicalwarmilitariaforum.com

There are loads of forums like that If you Google, I'm sure they would be able to recognise the uniforms.

Good luck and hope you find what you are looking for.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Being a sad model maker, it is an odd picture as they seem to be wearing different coats and different caps...some have badges on them and some do not.

It does look a bit like the home guard units.

If you were that way inclined, you could narrow this picture down. There is snow on the ground so that could possibly shrink the time period if say there was no snow in the UK in say 1942! You also could write to any particular military unit, I did this tracing my great uncle who died in the First World War at Ypres without ever seeing his unborn son when he went to war, and get their historian to see if he recognises any of the cap badges and grey coats , especially as there are a few types. Just a Long shot, but worth trying.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Being a sad model maker, it is an odd picture as they seem to be wearing different coats and different caps...some have badges on them and some do not.

It does look a bit like the home guard units.

If you were that way inclined, you could narrow this picture down. There is snow on the ground so that could possibly shrink the time period if say there was no snow in the UK in say 1942! You also could write to any particular military unit, I did this tracing my great uncle who died in the First World War at Ypres without ever seeing his unborn son when he went to war, and get their historian to see if he recognises any of the cap badges and grey coats , especially as there are a few types. Just a Long shot, but worth trying.

The photo may have been taken in France, as per the postcard. The British were in France until May 1940.

War records can be researched here.
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/search

 

[Mr Bridger]

Being a sad model maker, it is an odd picture as they seem to be wearing different coats and different caps...some have badges on them and some do not.

It does look a bit like the home guard units.

If you were that way inclined, you could narrow this picture down. There is snow on the ground so that could possibly shrink the time period if say there was no snow in the UK in say 1942! You also could write to any particular military unit, I did this tracing my great uncle who died in the First World War at Ypres without ever seeing his unborn son when he went to war, and get their historian to see if he recognises any of the cap badges and grey coats , especially as there are a few types. Just a Long shot, but worth trying.

On the back of the postcard he wrote “ sailing for France sometime tomorrow “ that’s all.
This would suggest he still in the UK and it’s dated 3rd January 1940.
Have just posted on one of the forums suggested above but would like to know if there is a detailed log of troop/ battalion movements that gives a record of who sailed when and where?

 

[johnny jigsaw]

Have you already tried going through the MOD?

https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records

 

[Thunder Bolt]

The photo may have been taken in France, as per the postcard. The British were in France until May 1940.

War records can be researched here.
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/search

Scrub that link, as I know the service record of my Granddad in WW1 and my Dad in WW2, and neither of them show up.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

On the back of the postcard he wrote “ sailing for France sometime tomorrow “ that’s all.
This would suggest he still in the UK and it’s dated 3rd January 1940.
Have just posted on one of the forums suggested above but would like to know if there is a detailed log of troop/ battalion movements that gives a record of who sailed when and where?

There's a bit of info about the British Expeditionary Forces in France early 1940 here. This includes detail of some Territorial units arriving.
https://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/docs-france-norway-1940-british-expeditionary-force/

 

[Mr Bridger]

Scrub that link, as I know the service record of my Granddad in WW1 and my Dad in WW2, and neither of them show up.

It didn't show up anything when i tried it. On your original point of the royal pioneer corp would there have been a local ( Sussex) regiment

 

[Hampden Park]

they do look like crab hats

 

[Mr Bridger]

they do look like crab hats

Didn’t know what crab hats are so googled it. You think they were some kind of sub aqua special forces?

 

[Hampden Park]

Didn’t know what crab hats are so googled it. You think they were some kind of sub aqua special forces?

View attachment 100365

they are 'special', so yes.

 

[Mr Bridger]

There's a bit of info about the British Expeditionary Forces in France early 1940 here. This includes detail of some Territorial units arriving.
https://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/docs-france-norway-1940-british-expeditionary-force/

Will look into that , thank you.

interesting the first part of it thou where it reads,
The winter of 1939 was very cold, which limited the activity of the B.E.F.. Training continued into 1940, boosted with the arrival in France of the first Territorial Army formations. Five first-line divisions arrived before the German invasion, these being:

5 January 1940 – 48 (South Midland) Infantry Division;
20 January 1940 – 50 (Northumbrian) Infantry Division;
4 January 1940 – 51 (Highland) Infantry Division;
1 April 1940 – 44 (Home Counties) Infantry Division;
12 April 1940 – 42 (East Lancashire) Infantry Division.


winter was cold = check (snow on the ground)
5 January 1940 – 48 (South Midland) Infantry Division; = check , he said he was sailing on the 4th January 1940

the only thing with this is why a midland division when he was in Sussex?

 

[marlowe]

I went into a bar in Heidelberg in 1987, and there were old street signs on the wall, including 'Adolph Hitlerstrasse'. An old guy in his 70s (at least) started talking to us in German. I had to leave. A strange visceral experience.

Even in the 80s the Second World War seemed to have occurred in a whole different age in the midsts of history which we were far removed from, but when you think that the time between the end of the war and the mid 80s is the same distance in time between the height of punk rock and now it makes you realise how close it actually was as that is something a lot of us on here can relate to. It's weird to think that punk occured closer to the Second World War than its proximity in time to the present. I struggle with that realisation.

 

[Hampden Park]

- Crab hat

 

[Thunder Bolt]

they do look like crab hats

There seems to have been several pongo units with forage caps, when I've been searching, including the Pioneer Corps, and in photos of the BEF.
I suspect it is Army rather than the jolly what oh, boys.

http://www.astonbrook-through-astonmanor.co.uk/pioneers_1.html

 

[Blue3]

I went into a bar in Heidelberg in 1987, and there were old street signs on the wall, including 'Adolph Hitlerstrasse'. An old guy in his 70s (at least) started talking to us in German. I had to leave. A strange visceral experience.

High on the hill behind Heidelberg is a Greco Roman style monument that was blown to bits by the RAF the locals were still very upset about when I visited a few years ago