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Tracing dad's war

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Amazinggrace
Posts: 42
Joined: 14 Jun 2020, 16:22

Tracing dad's war

Post by Amazinggrace »

A few years ago I obtained my fathers service record. I made copies for my siblings.
We know that dad was evacuated from dunkirk,landed at Juno beach on D day,
was one of the first allied soldiers into Bergen Belsen when it was liberated.
My sister would like to know where else he went on his journey.
He was in the RASC, attached to the 11th Armoured div.
Can anyone suggest where there might be more info.
Would there be war diaries?

Thanks
Grace ;)
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AdrianBruce
Posts: 358
Joined: 14 Jun 2020, 18:57
Location: South Cheshire

Re: Tracing dad's war

Post by AdrianBruce »

There is a lot of not-very-well-informed speculation and thinking out loud in my response...

War Diaries are going to be important and are to be found at Kew - see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hel ... world-war/ for a guide.

You probably know that the 11th has a Wikipedia page on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_Armo ... d_Kingdom) The lists of references at the end of that article might help you dive down to identify more readable sources. (Incidentally, the 11th was formed after Dunkirk, so his story at that point will be found elsewhere).

As far as Diaries go, the Diaries would presumably be those for the 11th Armoured Division and / or the diaries of the RASC units concerned. You probably need both, because the RASC unit's diaries might not make much sense without the higher level view.

There are archived Orders of Battle (ORBATs) for the 11th on https://web.archive.org/web/20160326045 ... ?UniX=3274. However, there is no mention of any RASC units attached. That doesn't mean that there weren't any because I can't (from an uninformed, civilian viewpoint) see how the Division could function without RASC units. But it may make it more difficult to link the two things together if the linkage isn't as obvious as being in the ORBAT. For instance, would the RASC units concerned serve only the 11th? I have no idea...

Good luck with all that - Dunkirk and D-Day in one career... Wow. And Belsen....
Adrian Bruce
Amazinggrace
Posts: 42
Joined: 14 Jun 2020, 16:22

Re: Tracing dad's war

Post by Amazinggrace »

Thank you Adrian,
You have given me something to go at. My sister is disabled and housebound and does not have a computer.

I seem to have gained the job of family historian,so I will see what I can find for her.

Many thanks
Grace. :)
VALLMO9
Posts: 757
Joined: 13 Jun 2020, 21:28

Re: Tracing dad's war

Post by VALLMO9 »

Grace - Do you know what RASC company your father served with? It should say on his service record you have. That will be the key to gaining further details of his 11th A/D journey.

Company (Coy) examples for the RASC (circa 1944-1945) would include:

171st Armoured Brigade Company, Royal Army Service Corps.
174th Infantry Brigade Company, Royal Army Service Corps.
173rd Divisional Troops Company, Royal Army Service Corps.
287th General Transport Company, Royal Army Service Corps.

Knowing your father's RASC company might enable you to locate online information or "orders of battle", in the meantime.
Amazinggrace
Posts: 42
Joined: 14 Jun 2020, 16:22

Re: Tracing dad's war

Post by Amazinggrace »

Thanks Vallmo9,
I have looked at his service record and cannot firnd a company.
When his grandson went with his school to nNormandy some years ago,dad wrote out a bit of history for him .

I seem to think it mentioned which company he was in. I will try and find it.

Thanks.
grace :D
Amazinggrace
Posts: 42
Joined: 14 Jun 2020, 16:22

Re: Tracing dad's war

Post by Amazinggrace »

Hi VallMo9,

After much searching have found the piece of paper.

It says 171 company,11th Armoured Division,29th Armoured Brigade. Brigade commander "pip" Roberts.

So plenty to go at.

thanks
Grace. :D
VALLMO9
Posts: 757
Joined: 13 Jun 2020, 21:28

Re: Tracing dad's war

Post by VALLMO9 »

Excellent! :D Certainly enough info now to Google around with. Below are some links for 1944/45 171 Coy war diaries at the TNA, but obviously for in-person only searching.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov. ... r/C4442509
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov. ... r/C4446320

Also, see this informative WW2 forum link for further details regarding the 171 Company. It also mentions a book, which may be of interest.
http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/in ... coy.52186/

As mentioned in the thread: "171 Company were part of the RASC assets of the 11th Armoured Division, and in the final days of WW2 were in support of 29th Armoured Brigade"

Amazon has the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/TAURUS-PURSUAN ... B00KYVDUU2

As regards the book, one WW2 forum chap advised the OP: "Of special interest to you was the 171 coy 'Tattler' a timeline with locations and dates from D-Day to VE-Day as they supported 11th Armoured across NW Europe". So it sounds like a good book for your sister. :)
Amazinggrace
Posts: 42
Joined: 14 Jun 2020, 16:22

Re: Tracing dad's war

Post by Amazinggrace »

Thanks so much VALLMO9,
You are a star.
I have ordered the book for my sister,She has a birthday coming up so it will be perfect.
Grace. :D
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