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George W Davies (royal Glosters in photo)

R

rachel enright

Guest
antwerp.jpg


This is my dad on the left... I'm told the uniform in the photo is The Royal Glosters , but he served in the Royal Warwicks in his earlier army career..

Does anyone own the young man next to him ? It would be lovely if he belonged to someone. ;o)
 
Rachel,
Great photo.you might try posting it to a local Gloucester newspaper,a lot of the Gloucesters were from the county.
Looking at your dad's medal ribbons,I can see the Korean star and the U.N. medal,so you dad,would probably have been with the 1st. batt.at the battle of the Imjin River.When a chinese officer took the surrender on,what became known as Gloucester Hill,he was moved to remark,"if you British fight so hard 12,000 miles from home, heaven help anyone who tries to invade your country".
 
That is a really lovely piece of information there, thank you ;o)

He first signed up in the royal Warwicks 2nd battalion , and was sent to dunkirk. I'm not sure what company he was with at this time as i believe that the 2nd battalion was divided into companys whilst there.
I'm pretty sure now that he wasn't involved in the Wormhout massacre as his name isn't listed as a survivor. But he could have possibly been with c' company which was moved away from Wormhout or he could have even got back to England with another company or battalion. (still finding info out on this)..

He transferred to the Royal 2nd Glosters on 25th August 1945.. I'm guessing that the Imjin incident was during this time.

I'm still a real novice to this war history but slowly the bits are falling together ..

Thanks again
regards
rachel. ;o);)
 
1945.jpg


Here is another photo of my dad.. (he's sitting down).. This was taken in 1945.. Earlier than the first one.
 
Rachel,
The battle of the Imjin River was April 1951 in Korea.where the Gloucesters earned their name "The Glorious Gloucesters".They were also given the distinction of wearing a cap badge in the back of their berets,because they were surounded and had to fight to the rear as well.
It is one of the epic battles of history,and well recorded in Gloucester.
 
Ray do you understand the service records? I have my dads service records for his Korea conflict. Would it be worth showing you on here to see exactly how he was involved ?
Kind regards Rachel ;o)
 
Got it.. cheers Ray ;o).. I didn't reply there because i didn't know how to hahah a..
I'll post my dads Korea records here and see if anyone can help to decipher them. It says he was in the 2nd Glosters , but i can only find info online about the 1st battalion in Korea. Maybe they merged or something. You may know !.. You may spot something that i haven't on them..
 
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Well,he was a "Z" reservist,they were men who had served during the war,and were liable for recall in an emergency,so,he may not have been listed as on the strengh of the 1st.batt.regulars ,but he was with them anyway.His home posting would have been at what is now, Imjin Barracks in Gloucestershire.
As an aside,a lot of "Z" men when recalled said "we have done our bit"and rightly refused to go to Korea,so they went to prison for 6 months instead.I knew someone who returned from Korea crippled,and said he wished he had taken the Winson Green option.
 
Yes i see the class 'z' reserve on there.. I think that was at the end of when he served in Korea . I've got his other papers too which i will post on later on. He served in the Royal warwicks 2nd Battalion and went to Dunkirk. He was then involved in the Normandy landings and transferred to Glosters 2nd in 1945. When he finished with them he was class B reserve. Until he was called up for Korea. I'm guessing that B is different than Z in some way.. It's like a maze of info isn't it..

Thanks Ray ;o) much appreciated ;o)
 
Rachel,
After my army service with the regulars,I was on the reserve...but I can't remember which one.
As it was a bit dodgy, and I could be recalled at anytime, I transfered to the T.A.Royal Artillery,they were for home defense only...:):):).
 
I don't blame you Ray..
You had probably seen and done enough by then i bet..
Which service were you in ? Was it the Glosters too?

Kind regards
Rachel..
 
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