Norman Pollitt . Royal Navy HMS Manchester from Manchester My grandfather, Norman Pollitt served aboard HMS Manchester throughout World War 2. He was part of Operation Pedestal when the ship was torpedoed. He ended up in hospital in Malta returning to England 6 months later. He passed away in 1999.
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Pte. Hugh Mcclean Pollock . British Army Welsh Regiment from Belfast Hugh Pollock is my grandfather who was captured by the Germans in create.
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Rifleman James Wallace Roger Pollock . British Army 1st Btn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) from Greenock (d.22nd May 1944) My family would love to hear from anyone who might have known or met my uncle, James Pollock of the 1st Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).
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LAC. James Pollock . Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve from La Plata, Argentina (d.8th Sep 1944) James Pollock was the son of William and Myra Pollock of Buenos Aires; husband of Elsie Caroline Pollock (nee Randrup), of La Plata, Argentina.
He was 31 when he died and is buried in the Buenos Aires (Chacarita) British Cemetery, Argentina.
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P Pollock . British Army Highland Light Infantry P Pollock 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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Pte. Robert Morton Pollock . British Army Seaforth Highlanders from Shotts, Lanarkshire My father Bobby Pollock was captured at Valery en Caux and transferred to Stalag XXb Marienberg, Poland.
Like many, he never spoke about his experiences or his time in captivity. This is why I am grateful for the stories of the men who suffered a similar fate.
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Lt. Pollyblanc . Royal Navy HMS Athene
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Third Off. George Edward Polson . Merchant Navy SS Sea Glory from Shetland (d.11th Jul 1940) My Grandfather, George Polson was in the Merchant Navy, he was Third Officer on the SS Sea Glory (Dover) which was torpedoed and sunk SW Ireland by U 99 There were no survivors.
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CPO. Jim G J Polwarth . Royal Navy HMS Aurora from Dudley, Northumberland Jin Polwarth served from Nov 1940 and was on HMS Aurora.
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John "Jack" Pomfret . Royal Navy Royal Marines from Lancashire My father, John (or Jack) Pomfret served in the Royal Marines in WWII. If anyone remembers him please get in touch.
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Margaret Joan Pomfret . Auxiliary Territorial Service My mother was in the ATS during WWII. If anyone remembers her please contact me.
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Capt. Charles Fredrick Pomphrey . British Army 2nd Btn. Royal Scots from Scotland I met a group of older guys in a `spit and sawdust' type pub in the Old Town, Edinburgh around 1984 with my brother. Somehow we got onto the subject of fighting the Japanese during WWII. They told us that our father, Charles Pomphrey, saved all of their lives, especially when crossing a river xxxx. They knew him by the nick name 'black bastard'. Not very nice, but he did have black hair, dark brown eyes and a moustache. They trained in India and Africa and fought in Burma and other regions.
We have a photograph of my father being introduced to King George during training in Bulawayo. All of the chaps we spoke to said that they owed their lives to the fact that he was a great strategic and forward planning officer who knew his stuff, even though he was of a young age.
As children we were brought up in a very strictly styled regime probably due to our father's time in the Army and the tropics. You will find that those who fought in these conditions and witnessed the horrors of this type of warfare very rarely speak of their experience. I know, however, that some of my brothers did manage to glean some informative snippets from my father. He never really wanted to have to remember or discuss his war experience.
The letter that he received after the war states the following:
The Second Division
France 1939-40
England 1940-41
India 1941-44
Arakan 1943
Kohima-Assam 1944
Burma 1944-45
Capt. C. F. Pomphrey
For your service in the Division.
Our success has been largely due to the determination and devotion to duty displayed by all ranks, and we may all feel justly proud that by these successes we have maintained and enhanced the already fine record of the Second Division. Well done. Good luck in your future life.
3 Sept. 1945 G Glicholson, Maj. Gen. Commander 2nd Division
A very basic and politic style of letter for what these men had to endure, experience, witness and suffer as far as I am concerned.
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P/O Hubert William " " Pond Belgium Croix de Guerre 1940 with palm. Royal Air Force 431 Squadron from Halifax, Nova Scotia (d.27th Apr 1944) I am seeking any information and pictures about Hubert Pond and his short time at Croft Airfield.
Hubert was the adopted and only child of Harold and Ethel Pond, Halifax, NS.
He lost his life on April 27th, 1944 while flying with the 431 Squadron. He is buried in Heverlee Cemetary Belgium. The crew were
- 1Lt Earman USAAF KIA,
- Sgt J.Graham KIA,
- F/O WG Dundley RCAF POW,
- Sgt. JFL Perry RCAF POW, F/O DM King RCAF POW,
- Sgt JJ Cooke RCAF KIA,
- P/O HW Pond RCAF KIA
They were on a mission to the Montzen rail yards when the Halifax MK 111 was shot down by a night fighter.
I am having great difficulty finding any information except the statistical, including what happened to his parents. His mother was presented with his Belgium Croix de Guerre in 1948. There are so many wonderful accounts of the men who sacrificed so much on this site and others, it grieves me that Hubert Pond may just be a name on a stone with no one to remember him.
My mother Catherine (nee Pattison) McMillen and Hubert were close before he left for England. All my years growing up she kept out a picture of this young serviceman, we just knew him as her friend Hubert. I am intending to copy that picture and hopefully have it installed on this wonderful site.
I am also looking for a picture of the Memorial at Dalton Village nearby the airfield. Any information any one could supply will be gratefully accepted.
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Spr. Ralph Frederick Pond . British Army 663 Artisan Works Company Royal Engineers (d.17th Jun 1940) Ralph Pond of 663 Artisan Works Company, Royal Engineers lost his life in the sinking of the Lancastria.
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Walter "Monday" Poniedzialek . United States Army 540th Combat Engineers
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Rifleman Cecil A. Ponsford . Army Kings Royal Rifle Corps  The above is a photograph of the funeral of a POW, about March 1943. The exact
location of the funeral is not known but it is assumed to be near Fort
Rauch in Poland, German POW camp Stalag 21d. I believe the deceased man was RFN Cecil A. Ponsford, POW No.2474
at Stalag 21d who lived near to my father, Albert Palmer, in London before
the war. On the back of the photo is an address, written in pencil, of a
place in London where Mr. Ponsford's relatives lived at the time. The
address side of the photo has a German Stalag 21d rubber stamp on it,
ready to be sent by Red Cross back to London, but for some reason, the
photo postcard was not sent. My father had possesion of Mr. Ponsford's
photo's during the rest of his stay as a POW. It's possible that the
Germans did not want Mr. Ponsford's possesions sent back to his relatives
due to the nature of his death. This was the man, according to my mother,
who was shot by German prison guards for whistling persistently whilst out
with a working party. This would have broken the Geneva Convention & the
Germans would not want his relatives to know.
This postcard belonged to Mr. Cecil A. Ponsford who died as a POW at Stalag 21d as explained in previous emails. My father held this card, & others, until the end of the war & it was not allowed to be sent back to Mr. Ponsford's family by the Germans due to the nature of his death. Mr. Ponsford POW number at Stalag 21d was 2474.
It shows a group of 9 POW's dressed up and performing a stage play at Fort Rauch Stalag 21d.
On the back of the postcard can be seen Mr. Ponsford's address, the card was written in pencil & the message side of the card has been deliberately rubbed out & the German rubber stamp has been scratched out. This could have been done by the Germans before my father took posession of it.
I can just see a date in pencil which says 24/3/1943
These photographs, also belonged to POW Cecil A. Ponsford,
my father had these in his possesion after the death of Mr. Ponsford before March 1943. The top picture picture shows 3 POW's on stage giving an amateur dramatics performance for the rest of the POW's at Stalag 21d. The bottom
shows a POW football match with Fort Rauch Stalag 21d in the background, date of photo possibly 1942.
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Joseph Ponting . British Army 3rd Btn. Parachute Regiment Joseph Ponting served with 3rd Parachute Battalion, he was taken Prisoner of war and held in Stalag 12c.
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Pte. Anthony Francis Pook . British 4th Btn. Northamptonshire Regiment from Torquay (d.30th Jul 1943) I am trying to trace my Grandfather Francis Pook's movements during his service, he unfortunately was killed in 1943, we know that he is remembered at Cassino memorial. However there seems to be some confusion of where he met his end, I believe that his official death was recorded as being in Scilly, however several years after the war my Grandmother received a letter from a gent in Ireland who gave an account of my Grandfather demise, who claimed he was machine gunned by a German fighter plane in North Africa, however his body/remains was then moved to main land Italy where his battalion was serving?
There was also some confusion on whether he was serving away from his unit.
I would really like to know where he served and of course where/how he died.
Would appreciate any news or indeed where I would be able to find this information.
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Pte. Anthony Francis Pook . British Army 4th Btn. Northamptonshire Regiment from Devon (d.30th July 1943) My grandfather Francis Pook was unfortunately was killed in 1943. I am trying to trace his movements during his service. We know that he is remembered at Cassino memorial. However, there seems to be some confusion of where he met his end. I beleive that his official death was recorded as being in Sicily. However, several years after the war my grandmother received a letter from a gent in Ireland who gave an account of my grandfather's demise. He claimed he was machine gunned by a German fighter plane in North Africa, however his body was then moved to main land Italy where his battalian was serving. There was also some confusion on whether he was serving away from his unit. I would really like to know where he served and of course where and how he died. Would appreciate any information or indeed where I would be able to find this information.
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F/Sgt. Stanley William Pook . Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 15 OTU from Southampton (d.8th April 1942) F/Sgt Pook was killed on 8th April 1942 when 15 OTU Wellington L7818 took off from Harwell for cross country excercise. It was involved in a collision with Spitfire R6686 from 57 OTU flown by P/O J.R. Lee. Both aircraft crashed a few hundred yards apart in the valley of the Broadwater stream near Cold Ashton 9 miles ESE of Bristol, all on board the Wellington were killed as was P/O Lee and are buried in various cemeteries in the UK.
Wellington crew were:
W/O G.E. Leeke
Sgt W.F. Good
F/Sgt S.W. Pook
Sgt E. Coleman
Sgt F.K. Fairclough
Sgt W. Wilson
The Spitfire pilot was from Texas
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A Poole . British Army A Poole 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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Albert Henry Poole . Royal Air Force 80 Squadron from Birmingham Albert Henry Poole served as ground crew for 80 Squadron RAF
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Marine. Charles Reginald Poole . Royal Marines 42 Commando from Telford Charles Poole served with 42 Commando in HMS Promise.
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Sgt. Christopher John Stafford Poole . Royal Air Force 103 Squadron from Peterborough (d.5th May 1940) I can just remember my Uncle John Poole taking me on a motor boat at Great Yarmouth in 1938 when I was four. He was killed in those horrendous days for 103 Squadron on 10th May 1940 having taken off in Fairey Battle K9270 at approx 1345hrs from their field at Betheniville in France. The plane was shot down near Hotton, Belgium about 85 miles from base. I have a few photos of 103 Squadron at Betheniville from the Imperial War Museum but none of K9740. Just another of those almost countless unsung heroes.
I have a photograph of John taken when on leave during Feb. 1940 and I am trying to find out as much as I can about my uncle.
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Sgt. David John Poole . Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 50 Sqd. (d.24th Dec 1943) My Uncle was stationed at RAF Skellingthorpe with 50 Squadron.
He was Sgt David John Poole (W.Op/Air Gunner) Aged 23 yrs.
His Lancaster was brought down over Hanover on 24 December 1943 and he is buried in a War Grave in Hanover War Cemetery - section 5, row D, grave 13.
His widow re-married in the 1950's and is still alive today. David was loved and missed for many years by all who knew him.
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Leading Fireman Dennis Herbert Poole . National Fire Service from Malmesbury My father, Dennis Poole served in our local fire service at Malmesbury, Wiltshire. He served right through the WW2 and up until 1961.
I know one particular story he used to tell us and that was about an aircraft that crashed on the outskirts of Malmesbury. When Malmesbury Fire Service got to the site there was very little left of the plane and the bodies of the fliers had been buried in the earth with the plane. So the family of these airman could have coffins my father said they put stones into the coffins to weight as if they had bodies inside. I have recently learnt that this plane was an experimental plane and my father and his colleagues were told to keep quiet as to the sort of plane involved.
I am trying to get some information about another incident involving my father during WW2. It was during the blitz on Bristol and because of the scale of this blitz the fire service called in all the engines from as far afield as Malmesbury. When they got to Bristol they were told where to go and the raid was still going on. My father was up the top of one of the longest ladders and while he was up there fighting the fire there was a blast at the bottom of the ladder and when he descended the ladder he found a lot of his colleagues had been killed by the blast. I have been told he was awarded a commendation for helping his colleagues in the face of continuing during a raid. I am quite confident the story is true but would love to find some more information as to the award given to my father.
My father was also involved in saving a young boy's life from drowning after he fell into a river at the bottom of his house. For this he was awarded a resuscitation certificate from The Royal Humane Society in September 1943.
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Joan "Tish-Teddy" Poole . Womens Land Army from Birmingham I was 17 and just right for the draft into one of the services so I volunteered for the W.R.N.S. But not being tall enough, I decided on the Womens Land Army. I served for a little over 3 years, from April 1942 to June 1945. My first job was Near Kidderminster. I hoed potatoes, planted potatoes, harvested crops etc. We dipped sheep and chased them a lot.
Threshing time, I was on the back of the rig when one of the farm boys snuck up behind me and dropped a nest of naked baby mice down my overalls. I jumped up and down to shake them out then the barn cats made short work of them. I was then sent to a dairy farm near Worcester. Got to be a good milk maid too then requested to transfer to a farm in Quinton near B'ham. I biked about 5 miles to and from the farm where I cleaned out cows, pigs, chickens, horses etc. There was always something to shovel. Also I had a daily milk round with horse and trap. I had to bottle all the milk by hand and put the tops on. Then deliver the milk. I washed a lot of empty bottles. I had a horse tear the back out of my leather jacket, while I was in it. I was not pleased. I had a lot of fun though and I wouldn't have missed it for anything. I got married to a Yank and came to America in 1946 and I am still going strong.
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KF Poole . British Army KF Poole 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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Leslie Hubert Poole . British Army East Kent Regiment from Gillingham Kent My Father, Leslie Poole served in the British Army in World War II. I am almost sure he was in the East Kent Buffs but I do not know which Battalion unfortunately.I do know, however, that he was in France, Belgium, where he boarded with a family in or very near Haacht. (I remember their surname but will not put it here for privacy reasons.) He was in Bali, Italy at the end of the War as I have a photograph that he had taken there and he wrote on the back of this photograph "Bali, 1945".
I know he was a driver. I remember him telling my siblings and I that he drove an officer around and this officer ordered him to drive right through the Black Forest. My Father was, of course, terrified but had no choice!
He also told us that he had to often go ahead of the Battalion on a motorbike.
I also remember my Dad telling us that after he had met my Mother (who was a Leading Wren) when they were both stationed in Gt. Yarmouth, he was sent to France and remembers standing on the deck of the ship feeling extremely sorry for himself and wishing he was at home and with my Mother.
I would love to hear other people's memories of this time. I only wish I had had the interest that I have now when my Dad and his contemporaries were still alive.
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Pte. Mervyn Owen Poole . British Army 4th Btn. Royal East Kent Regiment from Sheerness My father Mervyn Poole enlisted The Buffs on the 2nd Feb 1939 and was posted to France 16th April 1940, part of the BEF. His last day of freedom was the 16th May 1940. He was taken prisoner 17th May 1940 until 9th May 1945. He was in Stalag XXa and XXb at Mariensburg, Poland. He spent most of his time working on the farms. My father was part of the long march. He was returned to the UK on the 10th May 1945 and discharged 30th April 1946.
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