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F/Sgt. S. C. Alidis . Royal Air Force 57 Sqdn. F/Sgt Alidis was a member of the crew of a Lancaster bomber which was shot down on 11th November 1944. Info is from Chorley's Bomber Command Losses 1944:
11/12 Nov 1944, 57 Sqn, Avro Lancaster I, Serial No. LL939, Code DX-H, Op: Hamburg
F/O S Bowden, Pilot (died)
Sgt AC Brett, Flight Engineer (died)
Sgt LW Nagley (pow)
F/S SC Alidis (pow)
Sgt JA McLaughlin, Wireless Operator/Airgunner(died)
F/S FC Green, Airgunner (died)
Sgt C Bayford, Airgunner (died)
Took off 1654 East Kirkby. Hit by flak and crash-landed circa 1927 near Beckdorf, 8 km SSW from Buxtehude. On the first impact one engine and the rear turret were torn away, the rest of the Lancaster bouncing back into the air and flying on for over a km before smashing back to earth. The two survivors are believed to have baled out, as did Sgt Brett but his parachute failed to deploy. He lies in Becklingen War Cemetery, while the others who died are buried in Hamburg Cemetery, Ohlsdorf.
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Pte. Donald James Alison . British Army Coldstream Guards from Bridgwater, Somerset Donald Alison told stories of guarding home and foreign VIP's visiting London. He stood guard over Churchill, who even during the Blitz disliked his personal bunker and would come out on a balcony, and chat with my grandfather with his brandy and cigar and remark on his concerns of the Eastenders.
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Cpl John Gordon Alison . British Army 1st Battalion Cameron Highlanders from Freshfield, Formby, Liverpool
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Pte. Mba Fobasa Alius . West African Frontier Force African Pioneer Corps (West Africa) (d.28th June 1942) Private Alius was buried in the Limbe Botanical Gardens Burial Grounds in the Cameroons.
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Sgt. Amy Alker . Auxiliary Territorial Service from Bedford My grandmother Amy Alker worked as an ATS cook in the officers mess.
I have many menu cards with written compliments of her cooking from officers attending the dinner.
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Pte. Hodgson Wilson "Bill " Alker . British Army 6th Btn. C Coy. Durham Light Infantry from Willington, Durham Hodgson Alker was born in April 1919 at Willington, Co Durham. He enlisted in the Durham Light Infantry on the 15th of November 1939 and was posted to No 3 Infantry Holding Battalion
He arrived in France on 13th of March 1940 on the SS Ulster and was
posted to C Company, 6th Battalion, DLI on the 18th in Belgium, at Smeerchebbev Loersegem. He saw action in Northern France at Arras, Vimy Ridge and Beaurins in the Battle of Arras 1940. Made it back to
Dunkirk and was evacuated at 20:00 hrs on 1st of June 1940 on a Minesweeper from the Mole. He was then deployed on the south coast defences at Cullompton.
He embarked from Scotland on 23rd of May 1941 on the SS Duchess of Windsor, Canadian Pacific Line. On 27th of May all convoy escorts disappeared as they were hunting the Bismark. He disembarked in Egypt on 10th of July 1941 having sailed via South Africa, Aden and Port Suez. 6th DLI embarked for Cyprus on 27th of July 1941 on the Destroyer HMS Kimberley, Kokinni Trimithea.
They moved to Palestine 3rd of November 1941, on HMS Nizam, Napier and Jackel and entered Iraq on the 14th, being based at EskiKellek, Kirkuk and Habbaniya before leaving for Egypt on 13th of February 1942.
They were engaged in the North Africa Campaign at Gazala, Mersa Matruth, El Alamein, Mareth, Wadi Akarit, Enfidaville, Canal Zone. The Battalion then embarked for the Invasion of Sicily on 29th of June 1943 on the Winchester Castle and landed at 3:00 am 10th of July 1943 at Avola Floridia, moving through Solarino, Primosole Bridge, Catina, Alterella to Riposto. Bill embarked for the UK on 16th of October 1943 on the Sibajak and arrived 3rd of November 1943 to take his first leave for two and half years. The battalion were based at Shudy Camp near Thetford, while training for Normandy. The embarked for France on 3rd of June 1944 at Southampton on HMS Albrighton and landed in King Green Sector on Gold Beach, Normandy at 11:00 am on D Day near Ver sur Mer. They then saw action the the
Battle of Normandy at Conde s Seulles, Tilly Seulles, Villers Bocage, Auny, Mont Pincon, La Cannardiere, Conde s Noireau St Honorine la Chardonne until they were pulled out for rest on 18th of August 1944. At the end of the month they joined The Pursuit to Brussels through Nerrin, Gondecourt, Seclin, Vendeville, Tournai, Bizencourt, Ninove, Shepdaal to Brussels. They were in action in the The Battle for Gheel in September 1944 during the push into Holland, protecting the right flank at Eindhoven on the 16th, and on through Breugel, Lieshout, Beeken Donk, Uden,Grave, Nijmegen, Haalderen.
6th DLI returned to England in December 1944
The Battalion was disbanded and the men who had survived all of the campaigns from the beginning of the war were sent back to England to train others for active service. The remaining men were sent to join other regiments.
He was posted to Skipton Camp in Yorkshire and was training new recruits when he met his first wife Edith Child.
1946-12-16 The camp closed on 16th of December 1946 and Bill was released to the reserve the following day. He returned to coal mining in 1946/7 first in Lancashire then back in Willington Co Durham.
Hodgson never talked about war to his family and only in later life visited France with the Legion. He dies in 1992.
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Sergeant Kenneth Herbert Allaker . RAF VR (d.21st November 1944) During the second World War the Allied and German soldiers, who were killed in Goirle, Noord Brabant, the Netherlands and in the neighbourhood, were buried at the Roman Catholic cemetery from the parish St. Jan in Goirle.
After the war the remains of the German soldiers were reburied in Ysselsteijn (near Venray) and most of the allied soldiers were reburied in Bergen op Zoom (War Cemetery and Canadian War Cemetery) and in Leopoldsburg (Belgium, War Cemetery).
At this moment there are 27 Allied graves in Goirle. Every year we commemorate the victims of World War II, both soldiers and civilians. We know their names, but who were the persons behind the names? What were their lives before they died? Where did they come from? How did they die? Under what circumstances?
It is my intention to give the victims a face, to write and keep the story behind the gravestones because we always will remember the soldier who died for our liberty. We can forget names, but not faces. I will try to write down all their stories for the next generation so they will know who was commemorated.
Maybe someone can help me in this matter. Send me a letter or an e-mail with additional information, a photograph or a copy of any personal document, which I can use for The Memory Book or a website.
Sergeant Kenneth Herbert Allaker was a Navigator with the RAF VR, No. 1471670. He was killed in action on the 25th May 1944, age 22.
Thank you in advance for your help
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AG Allan . British Army AG Allan served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Pte. Alexander Allan . British Army Green Howards (Yorkshire Regt) from Alnwick My dad, Alec Allan was in India when this photo was taken, he is standing on the right with no shirt. He also spent months in the Burmese jungle. He was in charge of a pack mule called Satan.
Any information or service details about him would be much appreciated.
He was also an army boxing champion. He came from Alnwick, Northumberland.
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F/O. Arthur Raymond Allan . Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 144 Squadron (d.26th April 1944) Arthur Allan died when his Bristol Beaufighter crashed on a building killing himself and others on the 26th of April 1944.
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Sergeant Audrey Allan . ATS My grandmother, Audrey Allan (Miller), passed away this past October at
the age of 90. She served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service,
reaching the rank of Sergeant (Section Leader), at least until 1942 and
perhaps into 1943; I know she was in a mixed-gender anti-aircraft
battery and manned a radio, sending verbal IFF's (identification, friend
or foe) to inbound aircraft. I don't know which unit(s) she served
with, but perhaps the "St. Anne's-on-Sea" note on the back of one of the
pictures will provide some information should anyone seek it.
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Pte. David Thomas Christian Allan . British Army 4th Btn. Royal East Kent Regiment (d.16th Nov 1943) My father David Allan died on 16th of November 1943 on the Greek island of Leros, having served in Malta during the siege.
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DML Allan . British Army DML Allan served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Pte. Donald J. Allan . British Army 5th Btn. Black Watch from Invernesshire Rather than be called up Donald Allan volunteered so that he had his choice of regiment. He made it through the war almost unscathed but sadly passed away in 1974 before I could get to hear of more of his experiences but I do know that at one time he was a company runner and had a very lucky escape crossing the Rhine.
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Douglas Allan . British Army Sherwood Foresters My uncle Douglas Allen served with the Sherwood Foresters and was captured in the fall of Crete. He was a POW for the rest of the war. I have his portrait, which was painted by a fellow POW who signed it with the initials `TEMF 1944'.
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G Allan . British Army Royal Armoured Corps G Allan served with the Royal Armoured Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Sgt. George Harry Clement "Bob" Allan . British Army 9th Battalion Royal Fusiliers from Twickenham I have in my possession an Order issued to my father, Sergeant George Allan. This order was issued from Commandant No. 2.D.C. telling him to proceed at once with two privates per 32 seater (Dvr. Rolfe) to D.Z. to report to Captain Voorhees at Le Marchant Camp. The order gives a list of things to be taken along with the names of Pte. King, Pte. Lockey and Pte Darnell who were to be in my father's party. The order says c/o Post Office, Beaconsfield 6th of June 1944.
My father told us the story of how he was ordered to go to the south coast and escort back a high ranking Italian prisoner of war. I do not know who accompanied my father, possible the privates mentioned above. They had to catch a train there and back. On the way back due to bombing the train was stopped and everyone told to get off. As my father was escorting a prisoner it was decided, by police who had stopped the train, that the safest thing to do was to take the prisoner to the local police station and lock him up for the night. At some point the prisoner asked to go to the toilet. After some while my father became suspicious and on breaking down the toilet door discovered that the prisoner had climbed out of the toilet window (he was of small stature apparently). My father gave chase worried that he would be in deep trouble with his commanding officer for allowing a prisoner to escape so possibly losing his stripes. Being a P.T. instructor in the army my father was fit and eventually caught the prisoner in the town. However, due to the air raid they were told to go to the nearest shelter and stay there for the rest of the night. The next morning my father and prisoner returned to the police station where it was planned to lock up the prisoner until a suitable train arrived, but the police station was no longer there it had taken a direct bomb hit. Had the prisoner not escaped the night before, my father, the prisoner and any privates accompany them would all have been killed.
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Sgt. Jack Allan . British Army A Squadron Lothians and Border Yeomanry from Loanhead Jack Allan's tank was blown up on 4th June 1940, near Abbeville. He suffered a head wound and was taken prisoner by the Germans.
He was forced march to Holland with the rest of the 51st Division, then on barges up the Rhine and eventually to Stalag IXC at Bad Sulza. He was in several camps including Mulhausen. He organised an escape from Oechsenberg camp, but was recaptured within a couple of days. He was
marched west in 1945 by the Germans, then abandoned. He assisted the advancing American tank units and flew home from Brussels to UK.
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Sgt. James Keir Allan . Royal Air Force 237 Sqd. from Avondale, Southern Rhodesia (d.24th April 1945) Sergeant Allan was the Son of David Andrew and Mary Allan, of Avondale, Southern Rhodesia.
He was 20 when he died and is buried in the Trecella Civil Cemetery in Italy.
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Cpl. James "Carrots" Allan . British Army 6th Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) from Glasgow
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James Dobie Allan . National Fire Service from Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire My dad, James Allan lived all of his life in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, Scotland. This picture taken in 1944. He was an electrician and during the war was working on the MTBs being built on the Clyde. Being in a reserved occupation, he served in the National Fire Service.
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Pte. John William Allan DCM MM. British Army Aux. Mil. Pioneer Corps from Newcastle-on-Tyne (d.7th August 1940) Private Allan was the Son of George and Margaret Allan; husband of Beatrice Lavinia Allan, of Newcastle-on-Tyne. Also served in the 1914-1918 War.
He was 49 when he died and is buried in the S.E. Corner, Grave 6 of Carrigeens Cemetery, Co. Sligo, Ireland.
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Cpl. John Allan MM.. British Army 10th Btn. Royal Scots Fusiliers (d.27th Mar 1941) John Allan is buried in Bothwell Park Cemetery, Uddingston, Lanarkshire.
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W/Sgt. Osborne Ronald Allan . Royal Artillery 27th Field Regiment from Dudley My father, Ron Allan, served in the Royal Artillery and the Royal Signals.
We have only found out recently that he was in India and Burma during 1945 and my cousin informed me that my father had told his brother he was in Changi but never told his own family (wife and children). We are not sure if he was a POW or part of the relief personnel that liberated POW's. We are also not sure if he encountered fighting while in Burma.
We have his army records but there is minimum information on them and it has so much code it is difficult to make sense of. We have only just started to look at the history so we are unaware of most avenues of information.
My father went to India, being at Bombay on the 2nd of April 1945 and transferred to India Command. On 1st of June 1945 he came under ALFSEA (Allied Land Forces South East Asia) at this point he was granted the War Sevice rank of Sergeant with immediate effect. On 13th of October he was posted to 34 Battery of 27th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, from 31 Battery. On 27th of October 1945 he was granted aaa pay as A1 ?ligo @ RO W/o pm ?? (not sure that is what is written or what it means). On 25th of January 1946 he was granted add pay at Rs 6 shillings per measum for the period 29th Dec to 25th Jan 46 to no 4 Brit transit camp for 28 days. On 21st of Feb 46 he was recorded SOSX/8A on Embarkment from Rangoon for UK.
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Sgt. Osborne Ronald Allan . British Army 27th Field Battery Royal Artillery from Dudley My Father Ron Allan, served with the Royal Artillery during WW2.
He spent most of his time in the UK in South West coastal regions and including Ireland and Scotland.
From his records it was obvious he was trying to see more active action overseas as he kept resigning his post to get more action.
In 1945 he was transferred to the Pacific region and was part of the Allied South East Asia Force in 27th Field Battery R A (jungle force) to drive out the Japanese from Burma.
He returned home from Rangoon in 1946.
My cousin informs me my dad told his brother he was at Changi, presumably part of the army force that released the prisons of war held there, but I have no information to say whether that is the case as the army records are vague and mostly say W/S (war sergeant) increased pay. If anyone has any information on this regiments' actions during that time I would love to know, as I only accessed my dad's records after his death and he never spoke to us about any war experience during his lifetime.
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PM Allan . British Army PM Allan served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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W Allan . British Army Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders W Allan served with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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F/O William Allan . Royal Air Force 514 Squdn. from Edinburgh
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F/O Leslie Alexander Allan. . Royal Air Force 76 Squadron. (d.3rd/4th Mar 1943 )
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Corporal Charles Albert Allard . Royal Air Force from London I have just discovered a letter written from my mother to my father, Charles Allard in September 1940. He was apparently stationed in Blackpool while my mother remained in London. The letter describes her homelife during the Blitz and gives an amazing insight into the hazards of daily life at the time. My mother died some time ago and was predeceased by my father. Until the discovery of this letter, I had not known where he had been stationed and would love to know how to access his Service records. I have photos of my father in uniform and indeed he was wearing this when he married my mother in 1941.
On the back of the envelope, another name is jotted down AC2 Awcott, E.F. 1377172 - I wonder who this was? I would be so grateful to be given any relevant information.
This letter was found only two weeks ago,tucked down in a sofa which I am having reupholstered. The upholsterer kindly sent me the letter as soon as he discovered it. I would love to hear from anyone who might have known my father or anything about him.
Editors Note: Blackpool was the main initial training base for new entrants into the RAF at that time.
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