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J Currie . British Army J Currie 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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J Currie . British Army Royal Armoured Corps J Currie 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. J. Currie . RAF 77 Sqd.
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JD Currie . British Army JD Currie 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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JH Currie . British Army East Surrey Regiment JH Currie served with the East Surrey Regiment 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. John Richard Currie DFM.. Royal Air Force 44 Squadron. from Liverpool My father, John Currie was shot down in 1941 and spent the rest of the war in various POW camps. He was awarded the DFM, his citation reads:
'Sergeant Currie has taken part in 33 operational flights involving a total of over 200 hours flying. He has always been keen and efficient and has shown coolness and courage in all operations. In April he took part in a daylight raid of warships in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire and attacks by a squadron of enemy fighters. The aircraft was badly shot up, and in part due to the skill in which he was able to obtain correct wireless telegraphic bearings that the aircraft made a successful return to its base. Sergeant Currie has also taken part in bombing raids on all the important targets and has given valuable assistance to his navigator. He has set an excellent example to other Sergeants in his squadron by his continuous devotion to duty.’
John Richard Currie, who was born in August 1920, enlisted in the Royal Air Force in January 1939, and commenced his operational tour with No. 44 Squadron, a Hampden unit operating out of Waddington, Lincolnshire, in March 1940, as an A.C.1 Air Gunner. And it was on 12 April, in a strike against enemy shipping in Kristiansand Harbour, that his aircraft, captained by Pilot Officer F. E. Eustace, was attacked by Me. 109s, 44’s Operation Record Book noting that the tail plane was damaged and the W./T. mast shot away. A full account of this disastrous excursion into Scandinavian waters appears in Christopher Shores’ definitive history of the “Phoney War” and Norwegian campaign, Fledgling Eagles:
‘First off of the attacking force were seven Hampdens of 44 Squadron and five of 50 Squadron, which departed from Waddington from 0815 onwards, while 12 more Hampdens of 61 and 144 Squadrons set off from Hemswell. The latter formation, unable to find any targets, turned back; the former, led by Squadron Leader D. C. F. Good of 50 Squadron, having also found no vessels at sea in the bad weather prevailing, headed instead to attack two naval vessels in Kristiansand harbour. As they made their bombing run the weather cleared and the Bf. 109Es of II/JG77 struck. At 1215 the fourth section of bombers was seen to be in heavy flak bursts, and two bombers were observed to fall in flames. These were L4083 (Flying Officer M. W. Donaldson) and L4073 (Sergeant G. M. Wild) of 50 Squadron. At that moment the fighters were seen making a beam attack, and within seconds the third bomber of the section, L4081 (Pilot Officer M. Thomas), and two more from the 44 Squadron part of the formation - L4099 (Flying Officer W. G. Taylor) and P1173 (Flying Officer H. W. Robson) - were all shot down in flames. Taylor’s aircraft had apparently been hit by flak, and was lagging when caught by the fighters.
For 25 minutes the Messerschmitts kept after the remaining Hampdens and when they finally broke off due to shortage of fuel and ammunition, all the bombers had been damaged, two of them badly. In Squadron Leader Good’s L4168, Air Gunner Corporal J. Wallace shot down one Bf. 109, for which he was later awarded a D.F.M. P4290 (Pilot Officer F. E. Eustace) of 44 Squadron was attacked by two Bf. 109s and badly damaged, but one of the attackers was eventually shot down by cross fire from another Hampden. L4074 (Pilot Officer M. G. Homer) from the same unit was also repeatedly attacked, receiving cannon shells in the right wing, left engine and through the astro-hatch. Sergeant E. Apperson, the Rear Gunner, put a burst into one fighter and saw flames from the engine - this was later confirmed to bring the credited score to two destroyed and two seriously damaged.
Four of the bombers crashed into the sea south-west of Kristiansand, while Flying Officer Donaldson’s aircraft crash-landed on a nearby island, where three of the four crew were captured - the only survivors of the five aircraft. As the bombers limped home Pilot Officer J. B. Bull’s L4064, another 50 Squadron aircraft, came down in the sea 120 miles east of Newcastle, the crew being lost, while 44 Squadron’s L40491 crash-landed at Acklington, the crew unhurt. Only five made it back to Waddington, where Squadron Leader Goo was first to land at 1555. The Germans pressed home their attacks closer than was wise, or indeed was necessary with their cannon armament, and the Hampdens’ gunners’ return fire had been more effective than they realised ... ’
May witnessed the Squadron attacking a number of railway targets, while in June, as a recently promoted Sergeant, Currie completed another eight sorties, mainly against oil plants, two of them in the Hamburg region; July and August witnessed a further spate of similar operations, in addition to strikes against an enemy aircraft factory and a power plant. Finally, in September, among other activities, Currie participated in attacks on Magdeburg aerodrome and enemy shipping at Calais, his final sortie being a strike against a power station in Berlin on the night of the 23rd-24th.
Currie volunteered for a second tour of operations in the following year, when he joined another Waddington unit, No. 207 Squadron. But on the night of 16-17 August 1941, his Manchester bomber, captained by Pilot Officer H. G. Keartland, was shot down by German night fighter ace Hauptman Werner Streib of I/NJG1, crashing in flames at Oberkruckten. Luckily, however, he and his crew were able to bale out and became P.O.W.'s, Currie eventually being incarcerated in Stalag 357 at Kopernikus - in the interim having been held at Stalag Luft III from May 1942 to June 1943.
Werner Streib, winner of The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves and Swords, accounted for 66 Allied aircraft, all but one of them at night. His most successful sortie was flown in a prototype of the Heinkel 219 on the night of 11-12 June 1943, when he shot down five bombers in 30 minutes.
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Capt. John McGill Currie MC.. Canadian Army 1st Battalion Royal Hamilton Light Infantry from 9 Ravenscliffe Ave, Hamilton, Ont. Capt. John Currie was held in Oflag 9C having been catured during Operation Jubilee (Dieppe) while serving with the 1st Btn. Royal Hamilton Light Infantry
Dieppe Men Liberated, Taken prisoner in the Dieppe raid of August, 1942, Capt. John McGill Currie, 9 Ravenscliffe Avenue, and Cpl. Alonzo Comfort, 88 Bay Street South, have been liberated by the advancing Allied Armies. Both men were members of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry and enlisted in September, 1939, and were seriously wounded at Dieppe.
Obituary for John McGill Currie:
Robin and Heather announce with sadness the recent passing of our beloved Uncle John. In his 97th year, John McGill Currie died peacefully in Toronto, Ontario. John was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He was the son of William Mark and Olive C. Currie. He was the younger brother of Terry and Kay. John was educated at (Highfield) Hillfield School in Hamilton then attended Upper Canada College in Toronto. Upon graduation from UCC, he attended the University of Toronto for his degree in Engineering. With the declaration of World War II, John joined the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. He arrived in England 1940. After much training, the Regiment took part in what would be the disastrous landing at Dieppe in August 1942. Captain Currie's skillful planning underfire, courage and leadership were of the highest order during the raid. He was wounded and captured at Dieppe. He remained in German prison camps until his escape to Allied lines in 1945. In 1946 "In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the combined attack on Dieppe" he was awarded the Military Cross. Returning home to Hamilton, John worked in his father's business. Several years later he married the lovely Ann Lee. They enjoyed many happy years together in Burlington, Ontario. They so enjoyed their many friends, The Tamahaac Club, The Hamilton Club, and their travels to England, Italy and visits to the United States with Ann's daughter and husband and Ann's grand- daughter. A Private Service was held. In remembering John we ask you to consider making a donation in his memory to The Canadian Red Cross or to The Sunnybrook Foundation.
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K Currie . British Army K Currie 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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R Currie . British Army Highland Light Infantry R Currie served with the Highland Light Infantry 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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RA Currie . British Army Royal Armoured Corps RA Currie 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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RB Currie . British Army Royal Armoured Corps RB Currie 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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T Currie . British Army T Currie 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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P/O Jack Currie. DFC. RAF 626 Sqn
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F/Sgt. Stanley William Guy Currigan . Royal Air Force 9 Squadron from London (d.1st Jan 1945) My mother often spoke about her brave brother Stan, she knew he was a wireles operator/rear gunner of a Lancaster, who sadly was killed in action.
Later we found out more details; Flight Sergeant Stan Currigan was the wireless operator/air gunner of Lancaster aircraft NG223 from No 9 Squadron which took off from Bardney at 0745 hours on the 1 January 1945 to attack the Dortmund Ems Canal. Crew members were:
- 182747 F/O P W Reaks - Pilot - Killed
- 1569472 Sgt T Scott - F/Eng - Killed
- 1581274 F/Sgt F Alton - Navigator - POW
- 658883 W/O Bates - Air Bomber - Killed
- 1593005 F/Sgt S V Peace - Air Gunner - POW
- 1675387 F/Sgt W G Bamworth - Air Gunner - POW
It was later reported by the International Red Cross Committee that the aircraft was shot down by flak at 1120 hours on the 1 January 1945 near Schmiedshausen killing four of the seven crew members including my uncle. The other three crew members were taken Prisoners of War.
My uncle, F/O Reakes and Sgt Scott were buried by the Germans at the scene of the crash and Sgt Bates in the cemetery at Graven. After the war my uncle, F/Sgt Currigan and his comrades were reverently re-interred at the Reichswald Forest British Military Cemetery in the district of Kleve,Germany. I would love to hear from anyone who has any stories about Stan or any association, thanks.
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D Curry . British Army D Curry 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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DJ Curry . British Army DJ Curry 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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F/Lt. George William Curry DFC.. Royal Air Force 75 (New Zealand) Squadron from Hebborn George Curry completed a tour of duty with 75 (New Zealand) Squadron at RAF Feltwell, which was part of 3 Group Bomber Command. George was awarded the DFC during one of the Bombing missions in 1941.
After operations, he was posted to RAF Pershore to train pilots on the Wellington Bomber as part of 23 OTU.
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SO1 John Curry . Royal Navy H.M.S. Drake. from Rostellan (d.17th May 1946) Stoker 1st Class Curry was the Son of James and Nora Curry, of Aghada; husband of Margaret Curry, of Rostellan.
He was 61 when he died and is buried in the Upper Aghada Cemetery, Aghada, Co. Cork, Ireland.
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PT Curry . British Army Royal Armoured Corps PT Curry 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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L/Stkr. Thomas Arkless Curry . Royal Navy HM Submarine Trooper from Crook Town, Co. Durham (d.17th Oct 1943) Still greatly missed by his family, Thomas Curry, along with all the crew of HMS Trooper, was lost east of Leros, patrolling the Dodecanese. R.I.P.
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SPO. Thomas Curry . Royal Navy
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Ldg.Stokr. Thomas Arklass Curry . Royal Navy HMS Trooper from Crook Town, Co. Durham (d.17th Oct 1943) Thomas Curry served on the Submarine HMS Trooper. On the 17th of October 1943, while patrolling in the Aegean Sea west of the Dodecanese and for the latter part of the patrol, east of Leros, the T-Class submarine HMS Trooper went missing, presumed sunk. The German Q-ship GA45 claimed to have sunk her, but she was in a different part of the sea at the time. Her loss was probably due to having hit a German mine. Leading Stoker Thomas Curry, a much loved son, was lost along with all crew. May they rest in peace!
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TI Curry . British Army TI Curry 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. William Arthur "Art" Curry . Canadian Army from Midland Point, Midland, Ontario My father, Arthur Curry, never did speak very much about the war. He was a very good shot with a gun as he grew up on a farm and was familiar with shooting and trapping. His family was very poor and he had to work in the Bush in order to support his large family. He was one of 7 children in the family and he was the second oldest son. His father favored the eldest son and allowed him to go to school and obtain an education. He was very abusive to my father and made him stay home and work in the Bush or in the fields.
This lack of education tormented my father until his dying day as he was very intelligent and felt that he had been abused and neglected. One thing that worked in his favour was that because he had worked outside so much, he had a very good sense of direction and could use the stars to establish his location. He was trained to be a sniper and because he was a great shot and because he had a good sense of direction and because he always felt at home in the Bush, he was sent on many missions.
He was captured three times, twice behind enemy lines and managed to escape each time. He said that he was in Stalag 4B and watched as Dresden burned!
He worked picking potatoes on a farm when sent out as a prisoner at one time, but most of the time he worked in a coal mine. It was very hard labour and there was very little and poor food. He says that they would get pumpkin soup. Pumpkin, seeds and all mashed and heated up with water. He said that it kept one from dying but was not sufficient for the hard work they were doing.
After he escaped, he joined Paton's American Army. The Americans de-loused them and then fed them. They were so emaciated that they had to feed them slowly as they were told that they could die if they ate too much too quickly.
He never spoke about his years in the war and never had any antagonism against the German people. He saw many atrocities and had PTSD even years later, when I was growing up. I would wake up in the night and he would be having flashbacks and crying and moaning in his sleep. I would be terrified that my big, strong, silent, father could be so terrified and traumatized. There was no access to psychiatry in those days. How he suffered mentally! The physical scars did not go away either. He was very hard of hearing, as he had been close to explosions and I learned as a little girl to speak very clearly and very loudly if you wanted to tell him something.
The other scar he had was that he had fallen off the tailgate of an army truck onto the hardtop highway when the chains broke after going over a bump on the road. He landed on his tailbone and of course passed out. The driver of the truck came and picked him up. They did not take him to a hospital or provide any medical care. He said that he could limp around after a few days but his coccyx and pelvis were broken. He had severe arthritis in those joints when he came home after the war and suffered terribly all the rest of his life.
When he was 62 years old, the doctors did a hip replacement but they could not fix his pelvis. His left leg was shorter than the right one. They replaced his right hip after a few years and then the left one again. I don't remember a time when he was without pain, either mentally or physically. In spite of all that, he was a very joyful person and was able to make good friends and taught himself to read and write.
I was rather afraid of him as a small child because he was so silent and would seem to be off in his own thoughts. As I grew up, I learned to appreciate what a truly remarkable person he was. We lost him in March 2014 at the age of 89. There were so many people at his funeral, they had to turn people away. He and my mother raised 6 healthy children and never asked for any help from anyone. His 4 proud sons preached at his funeral and his 6 loving grandsons carried his casket. His youngest grandson carried a wreath to put on his gravesite. He had lived a long, often difficult life, but we were proud to have had him as a father. In spite of his lack of opportunity, he made sure that all of his children went to school and had every opportunity to be successful.
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L/Cpl. William "Tut" Curry . British Army Durham Light Infantry from Sunderland William Curry served with the Durham Light Infantry and was held in Stalag XXA as a prisoner of war.
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Flt.Lt. William Richard Fortesque Curry . Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 299 Squadron from United Kingdom (d.12th April 1945) Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) William Curry is buried in the Thornby Cemetery in Denmark.
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WL Curry . British Army Royal Armoured Corps WL Curry 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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Sydney James "Dick" Cursons . British Army Royal Army Medical Corps from London My London born husband's father Sydney James (Dick) Cursons was in the RAMC and was wounded at the landing at Dunkirk. He lost his left arm on that day when a shell burst nearby on the beach. We know nothing more of his war service, and would be grateful if anyone is able to help us with information please.
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DG Curston . British Army DG Curston 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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Pvt Charles Oliver Curtin . United States Army 399th Infantry Regiment from Wash., D.C. Charles Curtin served with 399th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division.
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