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Reginald J. Fuller, Sqdn 425 at Tholthorpe, Yorkshire

Gus Wah

Gus Wah

master brummie
In September 1944, my father’s Canadian air force crew with Squadron 425 in Yorkshire was completed with the addition of a British engineer named Reg Fuller. Sgt. Fuller’s service number at that time was 2221635, but after the war he was commissioned and his rank and service number changed to Pilot Officer 197671. That is all the information I have. Not a single shred more has turned up.

I have been writing a book about my father and the six amazing young men who shared that perilous experience between October ‘44 and April ‘45. Sgt. Fuller contributed enormously to the integrity of the crew. The problem is that I have tried to find remnants of his family for more than a year without luck.

Sadly all remaining crew members here in Canada have now died. Of course Fuller is a common name, but I’m hoping that by reaching out in your area I might be blessed with a response. I would love to share information with anyone who might know something about Mr. Fuller or is a surviving member of his family. Maybe, just maybe, someone has maintained his photos or military records.

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With much gratitude to anyone who can help.
 

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Yes, at 16 he'd be absolutely too young. Visually he looks to be in his mid-20s. My father was just 21, but training for all of these young men started in about 1942 when they qualified with a minimum of 19 years of age. Thank you!
 
There are two Reginald John Fullers, one registered Dec qtr 1917 Biggleswade and the other Sep 1919 Bradfield.

The former died in Bedfordshire 2008.
 
I think you can rule out the Reginald registered 1919 Bradfield, he appears to have been in the Royal Artillery and died in Italy in 1944.

There appears to be a family tree on Ancestry with the Reginald John Fuller registered Biggleswade. If you are a member you could try them.
 
There are 2 trees - one is private and the other makes no reference to any war service. One suggests he died in 2008.
 
He appears on a search at
www.forces-war-records.co.uk

Forces War Records - Historical military records

Discover original military records including personal documents, photos, and stories from brave men and women who served. Access sources from the US and UK national archives today.
www.forces-war-records.co.uk www.forces-war-records.co.uk
I have no idea what information you would get as you need to subscribe to see the records. It may only cover war service
 
Janice, yes, I've been to this site. Of course I had to pay for access, and that access offered names of dozens of artillery or navy vets, mostly from WWI whose name was R. Fuller. The site's title is misleading. Desperados assume that their database must include everyone, but in my case it was nothing more than a ruse.
 
This might be a different site than the one I mentioned in my prior post. And like a hopeless romantic, I paid the fee again. This is the entirety of the record promised to researchers:

"They were enlisted at Birmingham. They enlisted after October 1942."

... and nothing more. I suppose at least it confirms that Mr. Fuller was likely to have been from the B'ham area.
 
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In fairness I should mention that the data concluded with "Other collections may hold more or different data for this person."

Caveat emptor. ;)
 
Janice, yes. I searched him with his service number(s). The first one provided the scanty record I mentioned earlier. The second service number, which he received a year or two after war's end, provided nothing.

The Biggleswade death notice unfortunately provides no names for next of kin, but it does state that he died at 90. That would mean he was born in about 1918, and that almost accords with MVS's comment above. He/she stated, "Dec qtr 1917 Biggleswade ... died in Bedfordshire 2008." I note that Legacy's notice also says he died at Bedford Hospital.

Maybe we're on to something! :rolleyes:
 
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Sorry that site provided no useful info.
The notice refers to wife and family. Will look for possible children later.
 
You may know this but some material at the National Archives can be downloaded for free at the moment. You need to register for an account but it is free to do that.
There are digitised Operations Record Books for 425 Squadron

Search results: 425 squadron | The National Archives

The official archive of the UK government. Our vision is to lead and transform information management, guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow and bring history to life for everyone.
discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk
 
Gus Wah said:
The Biggleswade death notice unfortunately provides no names for next of kin, but it does state that he died at 90. That would mean he was born in about 1918, and that almost accords with MVS's comment above. He/she stated, "Dec qtr 1917 Biggleswade ... died in Bedfordshire 2008." I note that Legacy's notice also says he died at Bedford Hospital.
Click to expand...
His wife seems to have died in 2012
www.legacy.com

View Bess Fuller's Notice on bedfordtoday.co.uk and share memories

BESS FLORENCE FULLER 'Bessie' Passed away peacefully at home in Haynes on 21st January 2012, aged 96 years. Loving wife to the late Reginald. She wil
www.legacy.com
No children named and I haven't found any births for Fuller with mmn Joy.
 
Janice: You are a star. I've ordered wills for several of these people, and yes, they were inexpensive. It takes three or more days for the wills to be prepared. Until then, I'll just need to soothe my suspense.

With much gratitude for your trouble, although I suspect it's something you really enjoy. :)
 
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Hope the wills are of some use. I am not sure whether the other lady (Joy) left a will as I didn't look for her.
This forum is good at helping and all free, so long may it continue to run on the donations it gets.

Yes I do enjoy the challenge of tracking down people and answers if I can.
Please do let us know how you get on - it is nice to know the end of searches we have a hand in here on the Forum.

NB: There is a will for Joyce Cutler.
 
A small update: After confirming birth, residency, and death in Sandy for Reginald J Fuller, and after finding a pile of relatives, there is now doubt that it's even the right man. Obviously the key to confirming his identity would be to tie his service numbers to his family record, but so far none has been found. The folks in Sandy say that their RJF was a gunner in the Somerset Regiment, and that is arguably a long shot from the RJF who was an engineer with the RCAF.

I might be back to square one.
 
What a pity? I did wonder if a British engineer would belong to the RCAF. Why did you think he was British? Perhaps there are Canadian WW2 records you could check.
 
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There is a baptism for a Carol Ann Fuller in Harborne (which is an area of Bham) 21 Apr 1943. Her dob is given as 4 Dec 1942 and her parents are listed as Reginald John and Margaret Mary Fuller.

There is a birth reg. for a Carol A Fuller mmn Davies, Dec qtr 1942 Bham.

However, there doesn't appear to be a marriage for a Reginald J Fuller to a Margaret M Davies listed in England or Wales, or to anyone named Mary or Margaret.

So, as suggested maybe he wasn't British (English or Welsh) and he (and his wife?) just lived in Bham at the time of enlisting..
 
pjmburns said:
What a pity? I did wonder if a British engineer would belong to the RCAF. Why did you think he was British? Perhaps there are Canadian WW2 records you could check.
Click to expand...
Oh no, Janice, make no mistake. Many British engineers had secondments to the RCAF, especially those with crews assigned to Halifax bombers. This was because there were no Halifaxes in Canada for training of our own engineers. It was critical that airmen in these roles know the aircraft extremely well. Wikipedia states:

By 1941 bomber crews included men of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force or Royal New Zealand Air Force and by 1942 there were entire squadrons of those Commonwealth Air Forces in which a very substantial percentage of the airmen were from the parent countries. Soon afterwards there were multiple Canadian and Australian bomber squadrons although both types almost always had British flight engineers as very few flight engineers were trained by those air forces.
Click to expand...

As for Reginald's nationality, well, my father made it crystal clear that he was English. Bear in mind that the Canadians in the Alouette Squadron were all bilingual Francophones. Imagine the contrast. There's little data on this, but I've gleaned that French speaking airmen were ordered to speak only in English on operations for the benefit of their English engineers.
 
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MWS said:
There is a baptism for a Carol Ann Fuller in Harborne (which is an area of Bham) 21 Apr 1943. Her dob is given as 4 Dec 1942 and her parents are listed as Reginald John and Margaret Mary Fuller.

There is a birth reg. for a Carol A Fuller mmn Davies, Dec qtr 1942 Bham.

However, there doesn't appear to be a marriage for a Reginald J Fuller to a Margaret M Davies listed in England or Wales, or to anyone named Mary or Margaret.

So, as suggested maybe he wasn't British (English or Welsh) and he (and his wife?) just lived in Bham at the time of enlisting..
Click to expand...

From your research, it does sound as though Carol A. Fuller was Reg's child. It would make perfect sense if Reg was from Birmingham. What's missing for me is that my father never mentioned that Reg was a father of a two-year-old. Perhaps it was a personal detail Fuller never discussed with the others.

As for the question of Fuller's nationality, I can't see any possibility that Reg was not British. He remained in the RAF after the war, at least for another six years. My father recorded the service numbers of each of his crewmates, and I quoted Fuller's RAF number in my original post. I also quoted the replacement service number he was given in 1951 when he received his commission from RAF headquarters. This was published in the London Gazette supplement of 16 Mar 1951.
 
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Carol's baptism may just be a coincidence.

Unfortunately there just doesn't seem to be any other sign of a likely Reginald Fuller in Bham - birth, marriage, ERs or 1939 register.
 
The vanishing Mr. Fuller. :)

Oh, well, I'm still indebted to both of you for such a great effort. I will try to find Carol A. somehow. I'm optimistic that if I ever find her, she will confirm the errant Reg. I'll keep you informed, and again, a million thanks.
 
MWS said:
Carol's baptism may just be a coincidence.

Unfortunately there just doesn't seem to be any other sign of a likely Reginald Fuller in Bham - birth, marriage, ERs or 1939 register.
Click to expand...
Where did you find the baptism? I can only find a birth record for Carol Fuller. Thanks - just curious.
 
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