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- Tracing my Grandfathers WW2 service record
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| Tracing my Grandfathers WW2 service record | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 8 2013, 08:56 AM (1,023 Views) | |
| Highlander | May 8 2013, 08:56 AM Post #1 |
Scottish Member
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Recently I've been looking into my Grandfathers service records during WW2. He died in 2000 but my grandmother is still alive (95) and helping with my enquiries (although she still finds it hard to believe 1939 was 74 years ago!)  He was a Sapper in the Royal Engineers, 49th Infantry Division (Polar Bears) I don't have much info from the family side, other than that they know he built pontoon bridges and cleared mines in France but have found a wealth of information on the internet relating to his regiment etc so I should be able to track his movements from being enlisted right through to being disbanded in 1946 He already have several good stories relating to him and hope to put them together with other members and relatives of the same unit on their website once I'm finished. He was a joiner to trade and enlisted in 1939. When he died I was given his joiners toolboxes but I have never really looked at them until recently. At the bottom of one of those toolboxes I found this! Spoiler: click to toggle Its a flare gun, we believed it was a British issued model but after a bit of Googling I've found out it is actually a WW1 German issue. The factory that made them was in Lille France and when they were under German occupation they made these for the German army. We know he brought it back from France but know nothing more about it. They may have been still in use by the German army at the start of WW2 and its just been brought back as a souvenir or there may be another story behind it, i shall investigate further. Edited by Highlander, May 8 2013, 09:51 AM.
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| The Red Shadow | May 8 2013, 09:41 AM Post #2 |
The Seeker
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That's very cool stuff! Its amazing the things you learn about your family and, as seen above, what you find when you go looking. 
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| floorcat | May 8 2013, 09:44 AM Post #3 |
Nintendo sixty-floorcat
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That's truly awesome, Highlander!! It's kind of crazy (and a bit saddening) that most people's lives & accomplishments are all but forgotten two generations later. So I find it so remarkable (and inspiring!) that you're going back and tracing through his history... and the fact that you know how interesting it is (and have physical artifacts to prove it) makes it all the more amazing!
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| Highlander | May 8 2013, 10:03 AM Post #4 |
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Scottish Member
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I do distinctly remember him telling one story about evacuating from Dunkirk. He was onboard a fairly large ship with thousands of men packed tightly onboard (standing room only) A Stuka divebomber dropped a huge bomb right down the funnel of the ship, it penentrated through two levels of the ship but it failed to go off. My Grandfather was involved in bomb disposal and was one of the group sent to disarm the bomb. When they opened it they discovered it was full of sawdust instead of explosives. They later discovered the sawdust had been put in by Czech workers (under German occupation) If that bomb had been live, many thousands would have died. |
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| bluedogrulez | May 8 2013, 10:37 AM Post #5 |
Racing for Fulcon Capital
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What an amazing story! Those Czech workers are heroes to persons (and generations) they knew they'd never meet. Tends to restore one's faith in humanity. . . . |
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| DeeMoney | May 8 2013, 03:46 PM Post #6 |
Outback Adventurer
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Great story Highlander. I remember when my Grandfather died at the end of last year. The treasure trove of things we found was amazing. We found a British issue WW1 pistol. It was pretty rusted and a bit stiff, but a nice piece of history to find. It's good digging back into your relatives and finding out what they did and what type of people they were. Thanks for sharing mate
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| Highlander | May 9 2013, 02:22 AM Post #7 |
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Scottish Member
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Yeah, the only problem with finding old guns in toolboxes is that, even though this is a flare gun and doesnt fire bullets, i also found out when researching them that they are classed as a firearm. The UK has pretty strict firearm laws and I've basically been keeping a firearm without a license (minimum 5 year jail term) for 13 years!  I wouldn't have liked to try my chances in court with that one! Anyway, it is now under the control of a friend who holds the relevant licence
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| scooter77 | May 9 2013, 03:38 AM Post #8 |
New Zealand Member
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This is a great story Highlander, i would be interested in any information you find out if your happy to share, i am a WW2 collector and am fascinated in this part of history, its a shame you didnt get any more information off you grandfather before he passed, i regret not talking to my grandfather about his time, all i know is he was a desert rat in north afrika but nothing else really, i do have a couple of his things but no information, a lot of veterans dont like to talk about the war and he was one. If you want i can put a pic up of your flare gun on a war forum im a member on and see if the community can give you any more information on it you dont already have. Good luck with your investigations
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| Highlander | May 9 2013, 04:12 AM Post #9 |
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Scottish Member
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Yeah I will do once I start to gather stuff together I actually posted some pics of the flaregun on a war memorabilia forum, thinking it was a British model and got directed to (would you believe) a "Flare Gun Collectors" forum! where they told me all about the model I had, where it was made etc... Isn't the internet great!! on a similar note, in the early 90's when PC's and the internet were just starting to go mainstream, I bought a PC knowing the kids were going to be growing up with them and not wanting them to miss out. My father collects and shows antique motorbikes, he has a Royal Enfield Interceptor from the early 60's which is immaculate and was almost complete apart from the small leather tool case and tools that were attached to the front forks and the actual bike manual. He told me at the time there was no way he would ever find this manual or the tool case for it as he had been searching for years. We went on the internet and Googled (or Asked Jeeves as I think it was then) for these parts and within the hour found a guy with a manual and tool case in Niagara Falls, Canada Now this was in the time where the world wasn't as well connected as it is now, Canada was a far away country at the other side of the world we knew little about. Within the week an immaculate leather tool case and manual arrived for the huge sum of $19 delivered (my father I'm sure would have paid $500!! He still tells that story to this day, the look on his face is great to see, he really sees it as one of the great wonders of the world
Edited by Highlander, May 9 2013, 04:13 AM.
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