• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Royal Warwickshire Regiment WW2

I

IanAlton

Guest
Hi All,

I am researching my Grandfather Owen James Alton (Jim) who joined the 1st bn Royal Warwickshire Rgt in October 1939. He was then posted briefly to Deolali before advancing into Burma.
His army number was 5114647 and his rank was Regimental Sgt Major.
He served under Lt Col A.C. Hordern.
Upon joining the army, Jim's trade was as Transport driver (Heavy) he went on to Mechanic, carrier and MT sgt, anti tank & Mortar Sgt
I have lots of images of my Grandfathers batallion if anyone else has relatives who served with Jim, I would gladly scan and email copies.
Sadly Jim died from cancer in 1969 (7 yrs before my birth) and Dad died in 2006 (leukeamia) so I have no family to ask about my Grandfather.

When my Dad was a boy, I remember him telling me that as a family they lived at 'the council house' in Birmingham under the clock? Does this make sense to anyone?

Please message me and I'll get back to you

Cheers

Ian Alton :)
 
Ian Alton, It is not a good idea to post your email address it might be used by scammers. Len.
 
My Brother was in the 8th Royal Warwickshire Regt. He saw service in France 39/40, came home via Dunkirk.
I cannot find anything about his service in the regiment. After the withdrawal from France he was transferred to the "Yorks and Lancs" and went to Burma. Can anyone help?
 
003.jpg004.jpgJust found these two old newspaper cuttings of the Royal Warwicks on training exercise prior to WW2.

On the first photo my father is centre, with black hair very nicely parted, and on the second photo he is second fro the left. I think they were taken around 1936, because above the first photo is a race photo taken during an Olympics. It says L.A or Berlin, but as L.A. was 1932, I believe, looking at my father, it was Berlin in 1936. I remember my mother taking me down to see my father, on exercises, in South Wales, probably during the time of the second photo.

Eddie
 
Another photograph of my father. On the back it just says 1940, so I think it must have been upon his return from Dunkirk. He was a very strict disciplinarian. When he finally left the army, at the end of WW2, he continued to be very strict at home, and until I was 18, when I joined the army myself, he would never allow us talk at the Sunday lunch table, until we had finished our meal.

Living my life as a musician, this irked, and I could not wait to leave home. However in his later years, he mellowed enormously, and our children, (his grand children), could do no wrong.

Upon reflection, now I am in my later years, I realise that he was a fine family man.
Eddie
 

Attachments

  • Dad, around 1940 001.jpg
    Dad, around 1940 001.jpg
    146.4 KB · Views: 23
Hello. I have received, finally, the service records of Edward Poyser, number 2573903. On his statement of services, there's an entry for 7th January 1939 which says 2nd Battalion R Warwick R and that he was posted on completion of training at the RPDD. I was sent a list of abbreviations with the records but can't find RPDD listed. I've also Googled it and can't find anything there either. Can anyone help/advise please? I'd love to know what it stands for.

There's a record before that, too, from 23.8.38 which says 1/RPDD. I assume that's 1st battalion at the same place?

Later, on 29-6-39 he was in close arrest and awarded 14 days by the CO for "Misconduct" and again on 29.6.40 awarded 168 hours detention by CO for "Misconduct". Can anyone advise what 'offence(s)' he may have committed to get that/those as it doesn't give details. There is a note below that says AFB 104/91 discharged BMH Meerut or Murut? I can't make it out to be honest. There's then another note that says continued on B 103? but I don't appear to have a copy of that, although to be fair, I don't really know what it's supposed to look like.

Sorry if that's all a bit vague but does anyone with more knowledge than I make more sense of it than I can please?

Thank you. Nick
 
Are you able to scan and post the bits like " meerut" that you can't decipher? We might be able to have a go.
 
I can't find the forms for WW2 but in WW1 Army forms 103 and 104 /variety of numbers seem to relate to njuries sustained while fighting. That would tie in with the BMH reference.

I have a ww1 AF B104 (not 91) which was sent home to inform my grandfather's next of kin he had been injured
 
Are you able to scan and post the bits like " meerut" that you can't decipher? We might be able to have a go.

Hello Janice. Thank you for your feedback. Much appreciated. I am extremely busy tomorrow morning/early afternoon but I'll see if I can do with some judicial folding. Unfortunately, as I said, all the photocopies are A3 size but my scanner is A4. Maybe I can simply fold the relevant one in half and do it that way. :)
 
It looks as if the 1st battalion ended in India so it could be an Indian name.
Is it possible to photograph it?
 
It looks as if the 1st battalion ended in India so it could be an Indian name.
Is it possible to photograph it?

I can't do it now Janice as I'm getting ready for a Twitch stream at 10pm. That might last an hour, give or take. I'll do a scan as soon as its finished ok? At some point he was in the 2nd battalion and also with the TA at various points. He seemed to move around a bit. :)
 
Another photograph of my father. On the back it just says 1940, so I think it must have been upon his return from Dunkirk. He was a very strict disciplinarian. When he finally left the army, at the end of WW2, he continued to be very strict at home, and until I was 18, when I joined the army myself, he would never allow us talk at the Sunday lunch table, until we had finished our meal.

Living my life as a musician, this irked, and I could not wait to leave home. However in his later years, he mellowed enormously, and our children, (his grand children), could do no wrong.

Upon reflection, now I am in my later years, I realise that he was a fine family man.
Eddie
A smart Gunner !
I'm interested to see your Dad is wearing a bayonet on his belt, I thought it was only the infantry that did that.
 
A smart Gunner !
I'm interested to see your Dad is wearing a bayonet on his belt, I thought it was only the infantry that did that.

Well they don't like it up 'em you know ... they do not like it! :D

He does look very smart though.
 
Ok thank you all for your patience but finally I've got the scan done that I promised Janice a day or two ago. The place or hospital name I can't make out is at the bottom. The AFB 104/91 is in the left margin as you can see with the 2nd battallion reference to training at the RPDD is in the centre. I have no idea what any of those mean or refer to. I'm hoping I'll find a reference to B103 as I work my way through the rest of it. :)

Edward Poyser statement of service sheet.jpg

Once again thank you in advance for any input. Always appreciated.
 
Back
Top