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National Service

  • Thread starter Thread starter RayD
  • Start date Start date
paul stacey said:
I remember "Marchwood", they had army steam trains, and huge cranes, was a massive place , must all be gone by now.Paul
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It was a massive site it had branch line off the main line in Southampton it was used for bring heavy equipment in Tanks and armoured vehicles. from what I remember it was a blue saddle tank engine. The Royal Engines Railway Regt was at No 8 Regt Longmoor and a lot of the wagon at Marchwood had Longmoor signed on them.
 
Anyone remember the "NAAFI CLUB", on the island in Aldershot, it was pretty new when I went there, had a barbers , bar, reading room,(Remember them),, the bar was nearly destroyed in 63/4, by the SWBR, who had just come back from Kenya, they recone that the Provost Lines , (Glasshouse), near Buller Barracks,was full to overflowing. I was a patient, in the Cambridge Military Hospital at the time , and remember the walking wounded being brought in, and the Provo's and MP's talking in the NAAFI. Paul
 
paul stacey said:
Anyone remember the "NAAFI CLUB", on the island in Aldershot, it was pretty new when I went there, had a barbers , bar, reading room,(Remember them),, the bar was nearly destroyed in 63/4, by the SWBR, who had just come back from Kenya, they recone that the Provost Lines , (Glasshouse), near Buller Barracks,was full to overflowing. I was a patient, in the Cambridge Military Hospital at the time , and remember the walking wounded being brought in, and the Provo's and MP's talking in the NAAFI. Paul
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Did you see the T/V program about Cambridge Military Hospital it very interesting it was the best known hospital for treating soldiers wounds it was famous for the treat of burns it's complete wreck of a place today if it has been pulled down
 
No Ray , I did't I had short stay , in 63/4, it was a great place, with loads of QARANC, s, and the food was first class, they treated nearly all the injured from the "ADEN" campaign. Paul
 
jmadone said:
Can't find anything regarding military service on Ancestry but have found him on the 1939 register living in Great Brook Street. You may be able to access this record yourself but if not and If you want details of the entry let me know and I will forward it to you.
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Hi thank you jmadone & Others that have replied to my Post It means a lot,

Yes i already have the 1939 census with my dad living with his granny Florence stubley & Aunts, It was actually 16 Lawley St Off Brook St that they lived at On the 1939 Census..
Dad also lived at 3 Priestley Rd Sparkbrook with his Granny & Aunts, that's the address i think he may of Used to Join up for national service,..found the family on the midland Electrol Reg..
Have already done my family tree So know a far bit Of the family and where my father was.
My father sadly died aged only 50yrs old in 1982.. Its Just sad that I Can't seem to find any info Of his National Service Number Or Military Record ..he was born "Kenneth John Burgess" Born 26th April 1931 & he did his national service from 1948-1950..

Also I don't think ancestry have records Of National Service,

Regards

Lisa
 
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Lelou said:
Hi Everyone,

I'm New to the Birmingham History Forum & this Tread, Re-National Service,

My father did his national Service from 1948-1950,
His name was Kenneth john Burgess( But had a Nick name from his days there called (Binga Banga) Don't ask me why because i don't know, could be that he loved to Preform & Sing, & could be from the song back then (binga banga bonga in the Jungle) haha

Sadly we don't know Our dad's Service number Or what he did from his time serving in national service, We do know he was in the Warwickshire Reg, he was born in 1931 in B,ham, Could Of been the Royal engineers(Not 100%)

He served on the Suez canal, & In Abu Sultan, Port said & fanana the Rifle range in Egypt ,

I have a few Photo's of his days spent in Egypt & a Beautiful leather Photo Album with pyramids on that we brought back, which i will always treasure, My dad died quite young aged only 50yrs old in the early 1980s, So we didn't get a chance to ask him all we wanted as we were Only teenagers when he passed away,

In the photo album he has written a few names of Pals he must of served with & friends he knew from the R.A.F,
We heard that we could of got a medal for his service on the Suez canal campaign but sadly didn't know his service number,

ill add a few photos from his time in Egypt, he also had written on one of the Photo's(Roll On the Boat) most likely waiting for the boat to take him back home,

First Photo is of my dad(Kenneth/Ken Burgess) taken in tent 4, On the Xmas Eve Of 1950 says on the back of photo in Egypt, Enjoying a few drinks & a Cigar by the looks of it,

2nd Photo Is my Dad Ken Looking all Dapper & dark in his Uniform Just back home fresh off the boat with his mate Gerry?(Says on back of photo) Outside the house he lived in with his Grandmother Florence Stubley On Priestley Rd in Sparkbrook,

3rd Photo Is a beautifully done water coloured painting Of dad in his Army Uniform

4th Photo Is my Dad & Mom, Ken & Pat) this is when he must of finished his national service & met Our mom In C&A in Town(Birmingham town Centre) Mom worked at c&a, & we heard that Our dad met her when he was doing some Electrical work for C&A, early 1950s, they married in 1955.

I have a quite a few Photos of dad in his national service days, some are very tiny photo's, don't know what Camera they Used to get those, I can post some if anyone would be Interested in seeing them,

I would love to know more Re- his days spent in Egypt, Would he have a Service Record does anyone Know?


I know this tread is a few years old, so hope some will get to see my Post,

Regards

Lisa
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Some more photos of dad in Egypt with some of his mates, also one of my parents 1951, & back of photo..drunk again roll on the Boat..hahaha.. I think he may of been in the Royal Artillery with white on his uniform, as i mentioned, we really don't know much about his national service days, from 1948-1950, I do have a photo somewhere with dad sitting with his Riffle, & says in Fanta rifle range, well sounds something like that, Just like to wish my dad heavenly birthday wishes today, 26th april, miss you always dad
 

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maypolebaz said:
The Gunners wore their lanyard on the right shoulder when I was in.
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Hi Paul, Yes you are correct, It is a white layland, & think he may of been in the Royal Artillery, how could i get hold of my father's national service records? does anyone know?
 
You will need his service number I'm afraid,
The white lanyard and belt were sometimes worn by regimental policemen i.e. within the regiment they were serving in, we had them in REME a bit like an internal police force not Military police (Redcaps)
 
Eric Gibson said:
This might be the site for you, I'm sure they will appreciate your input especially if you have photos. ( Sorry it's no longer open for comments etc. but there's plenty to see.)

http://suezcanalzone.com/
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Hi Eric, I have come across the above website before, but have no Idea how I'd contact the owner & send Dad's photo's & Info, I don't think it gives that Option, but thank you anyway!
 
Eric Gibson said:
You will need his service number I'm afraid,
The white lanyard and belt were sometimes worn by regimental policemen i.e. within the regiment they were serving in, we had them in REME a bit like an internal police force not Military police (Redcaps)
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Hi Eric,

I know i need his Service number, but how could i Obtain it, write to the M.o.d Perhaps?
But would they be able to give me his service info & number with being his daughter?
sadly my mother is no longer with Us either, So there are Only left Us daughter's, I have all his other Info, Birth Cerft, ect

That's Interesting, The white lanyard and belt being worn by regimental policemen,

But I really don't think my Dad was a regimental Policeman, I'm Pretty Certain now that he was in the The Warwickshire Royal Artillery when he served his national service, I know i have Reference on a back of a few photos stating he was stationed in Port Said, Abu Saltun, and In Fanara the Riffle range, also he wore a blue cap, I have posted a few Photo's of him On here,
I remember him saying that you'd have to sleep with One Eye Open in your tent, otherwise the Arabs would slit the back of your tent & finish you off,

there are quite a few Photographs i have posted on here, Re-his national service days in Egypt, with guys he served with, Would be Interesting to see if anyone on recognises anyone in the Photos

thank you for you reply,

Regards

Lisa
 
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Lelou said:
Hi Eric,

I know i need his Service number, but how could i Obtain it, write to the M.o.d Perhaps?
But would they be able to give me his service info & number with being his daughter?
sadly my mother is no longer with Us either, So there are Only left Us daughter's, I have all his other Info, Birth Cerft, ect

That's Interesting, The white lanyard and belt being worn by regimental policemen,

But I really don't think my Dad was a regimental Policeman, I'm Pretty Certain now that he was in the The Warwickshire Royal Artillery when he served his national service, I know i have Reference on a back of a few photos stating he was stationed in Port Said, Abu Saltun, and In Fanara the Riffle range, also he wore a blue cap, I have posted a few Photo's of him On here,
I remember him saying that you'd have to sleep with One Eye Open in your tent, otherwise the Arabs would slit the back of your tent & finish you off,

there are quite a few Photographs i have posted on here, Re-his national service days in Egypt, with guys he served with, Would be Interesting to see if anyone on recognises anyone in the Photos

thank you for you reply,

Regards

Lisa
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Lisa
All military records are kept at The National Archives, Kew. Tel No is 02088763444, you would need to give them your fathers full name, his date of birth and probably his birthplace and they might be able to help you, alternatively there is a military records site at www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records, where you can fill in a form and send away.

Bob
 
Bob Davis said:
Lisa
All military records are kept at The National Archives, Kew. Tel No is 02088763444, you would need to give them your fathers full name, his date of birth and probably his birthplace and they might be able to help you, alternatively there is a military records site at www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records, where you can fill in a form and send away.

Bob
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Hi Bob,

Thank you so Much,

That is really helpful, I have all the Info of my father's that you mentioned that isn't a problem,
I've trawled Military Records on Ancestry in the past looking for my dad's service number, but never seem to find anything,
But don't think the records on ancestry Obtain National Service Records,

But will definitely try The NA above & see if they can help at all,

All the Best

Lisa
 
Lelou said:
Hi Eric, I have come across the above website before, but have no Idea how I'd contact the owner & send Dad's photo's & Info, I don't think it gives that Option, but thank you anyway!
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It used to be possible but the owner apparently gave up running it after having done so for years, all the old stuff is there but cannot be added to, maybe someone else will resurrect it in the future.
 
I don't suppose you have a medal for your dad from the Suez Canal Zone, I have mine and my name and service number are stamped around the edge.

PS. Regimental policemen wore blue caps (or berets) white belts and white lanyards.
PPs, this from Wiki.
Regimental Police or Regimental Provost are soldiers responsible for regimental discipline enforcement and unit custody in the British Army, other Commonwealth armies and some armed forces structured in the British tradition. They belong to the regiment or corps in which they enforce discipline rather than the Royal Military Police or its equivalent.
 
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Eric Gibson said:
I don't suppose you have a medal for your dad from the Suez Canal Zone, I have mine and my name and service number are stamped around the edge.

PS. Regimental policemen wore blue caps (or berets) white belts and white lanyards.
PPs, this from Wiki.
Regimental Police or Regimental Provost are soldiers responsible for regimental discipline enforcement and unit custody in the British Army, other Commonwealth armies and some armed forces structured in the British tradition. They belong to the regiment or corps in which they enforce discipline rather than the Royal Military Police or its equivalent.
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Hi Eric, Sadly he should have received a medal for his service in the Suze canel but we didn't know his Service number, dad died in 82 aged 50, & i have always longed to get his medal for him..I've took at pic of his cap & zoomed in as much as i can to try & figure out what badge & Reg he belonged to..he would definetly be from the Warwickshire Reg when he did his national service in 1948-1950..as he was born in B'ham..just can't figure out this badge..Would you have any clue?
 

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That's a difficult one, not clear enough to get a proper idea but I would be pretty sure it's not the Royal Warwickshire badge.

Doing national service he would have been posted to any regiment or corps where they needed soldiers not necessarily the local regiment or even in their civilian occupations, we had coal miners, steel workers and even an Invergordon highland shepherd posted with us in REME training as vehicle mechanics.
 
Em95 said:
My grandad. Frank E Cockrill
Served in Malaya as a national serviceman post ww2. 1950s? 1960s? In the tank regiment. He is from Erdington /kingstanding
He did boxing when he was in the army and there's a picture of him in the army with a trophy for boxing. Looking for anyone who may have served with him
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It is amazing how your 11 year exams and what you chose, could affect your whole life those days. Because I went to Moseley School of art and worked for Bill Bloye the sculptor, when I joined the RAF they did not know what to do with me? I ended up as a batman to a sports officer and worked in the officers mess. BUT I did get to ride my bike a lot otherwise it was a complete waste of two years of my life. Have to chuckle, reading what some chaps ended up doing, going allover the world
 
Hi John,

Yes, but when I did mine a few years ago, it cost £30 and it arrived as 2 x A3 pages in colour. The Records Office was I think in Glasgow, but I'm sure ChrisM will have up-to-date information. They're not particularly fast, but you should see something in a month to six weeks.

Maurice :)
 
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John,

I'm sure this is already on this long thread somewhere, but I was looking for some sort of clerical job from the RAF, so in my six possible choices, I listed all clerical jobs with the sixth one being a statistics clerk. The officer went through number 1 to 5 and said "no vacancies" to each and then asked if I had a degree in statistics. Now most people do statistics as part of an HND or degree in business studies, computing or maths, as on it's own it is little more than a one term study. I replied, "Of course not' and then he started asking about my hobbies and interests - radio, electronics, photography, music, etc. "Right, Airborne Wireless Mechanic it is then".

I, like most in my flight, volunteered to serve abroad, and not one of us got the chance. We heard later that many of the previous flight wanted to stay in the UK and all bar two were sent abroad. It was largely one big sham.

Maurice :)
 
Some crease in the left trouser leg. Interestingly enough, some Lee Enfield rifles were made by BSA at a specially built factory in Shirley. It is also interesting to see that the much maligned Lee Enfield is now receiving rave reviews as a fine weapon. What was the cap badge?

Bob
 
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