262472 Gnr. William Sidney Shea British Army 5th Maritime Battery Maritime Royal Artillery from:Manor Park, East London WilliamShea was my father. He enlisted at Romford, Essex into the Essex Regiment Territorial Army as a private on 9th of October 1940 and was posted to the 70th Battalion. He was then attached to the Infantry Training Centre on 1st March 1941, remaining there until 15th July 1941. He was then transferred to the Royal Artillery as a gunner on 30th October 1942 and posted to the 5th Maritime Battery (DEMS). On 14th December 1944, he was attached to 2/8th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers until he was transferred to No. 20 Infantry Holding Battalion, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry as a private. On 13th of August 1945, he was posted to 1st Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment. He was released to the Royal Army Reserve on 24th September 1946 and discharged from Reserve Liability on 30th June 1959.
During his time with the Maritime Royal Artillery, he served on the following DEMS vessels:
- Ara (from 25.11.42 to 26.11.42 – joined at Shoreham, discharged at Southend)
- Basil (from 1.12.42 to 23.12.42 – joined at Shoreham, discharged at Clyde)
- Nordlys (from 1.3.43 to 28.5.43 – joined at London, discharged at London)
- Largs Bay (from 16.6.43 to 06.11.43 – joined at Liverpool, discharged at Cardiff)
- Bente Merske (from 6.12.43 to 29.2.44 – joined at Cardiff, discharged at Liverpool)
- Nea Hellas (from 9.4.44 to 2.8.44, and then again from 20.8.44 to 18.10.44 he joined at Glasgow, discharged at Glasgow)
Bill saw overseas service in India from 16th of April 1945 to 10th of July 1946. When the war ended, he was in an Army Field Hospital in Burma recovering from a gun shot wound to his knee. For his wartime service, he was awarded the following medals: 1939/45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; and War Medal 1949/45.
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