The Glosters in WW2 - Forest of Dean FHT Forum

I have a feeling there won't be, but is there anywhere online where you can check when someone joined the Glosters near the start of the second world war? There is a site where you can check Aussie regiments, but I think the rules are different in the UK.

And would a married man born in 1912 have been automatically conscripted in 1939 in the UK or would he still have been exempt in 1938 and so joined up voluntarily? Very curious to know as I only know the Aussie situation again.

Thanks muchly everyone

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I have a feeling there won't be, but is there anywhere online where you can check when someone joined the Glosters near the start of the second world war? There is a site where you can check Aussie regiments, but I think the rules are different in the UK.

And would a married man born in 1912 have been automatically conscripted in 1939 in the UK or would he still have been exempt in 1938 and so joined up voluntarily? Very curious to know as I only know the Aussie situation again.

Thanks muchly everyone

At the outbreak of war, on 3 September 1939, the Military Training Act was overtaken by the National Service (Armed Forces) Act, and the first intake was absorbed into the army. This act imposed a liability to conscription of all men 18 to 41 years old. Men could be rejected for medical reasons, and those engaged in vital industries or occupations were 'reserved' at a particular age beyond which no one in that job would be enlisted. For example, lighthouse keepers were 'reserved' at 18 years old. From 1943, some conscripts were directed into the British coal mining industry and become known as the 'Bevin Boys'. Provision was also made for conscientious objectors, who were required to justify their position to a tribunal, with power to allocate the applicant to one of three categories: unconditional exemption; exemption conditional upon performing specified civilian work (frequently farming, forestry or menial hospital work); exemption from only combatant service, meaning that the objector had to serve in the specially created Non-Combatant Corps or in some other non-combatant unit such as the Royal Army Medical Corps.

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster & Hereford Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

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Great, thanks muchly.

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Hi again DownUnder,
I'm afraid I think you've answered your own question wrt online WW2 records, and it's "no". However I'm off to my local library tomorrow so shall do some digging for uptodate info while I'm there, so maybe I'll be able to add something more then, I do hope so.

Officially all WW2 British Army Service Records are still held by the M.O.D and will be for some years yet unless an individual's is requested by next of kin.

This site gives a fair indication of the situation;
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/prose01/WW2_Army.htm
From the above website is this webpage to use for requesting Service Records.
http://www.veterans-uk.info/service_records/service_records.html
If one satisfies the M.O.D.'s stringent requirements wrt proving next of kin, then most applicants should eventually receive some documents as none were damaged or lost (unlike the WW1 Records). However as the Army was the largest of the British armed forces with about 3,800,000 men & women, there is a long waiting list of perhaps a year.

Alternatively, assuming the Records are similar to those for WW1 Soldiers which I'm more familiar with, it's likely a Soldier's Medal Roll will show the approximate date of enlisting. By coincidence it seems this information is held at Gloucester.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/prose01/Gen_Medal_Rolls.htm

However as with the Service Records they're only available to next of kin, I'm told this can be a difficult process. See this helpful forum post
http://www.ww2f.com/topic/26956-requesting-uk-service-records/

Those Records that are readily available albeit perhaps thro subscription websites are usually associated with casualties of war.
http://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Learning_C&childpagename=UKLearningCenter%...

The National Archives at Kew keep records associated with WW2, as follows;
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-subject/secondworldwar.htm

This site is a good guide too
http://www.war-experience.org/research/

The following book is a very comprehensive guide indeed and strongly recommended, available in many public Libraries.
"Tracing Your Second World War Ancestors, A Guide for Family Historians" by Phil Tomaselli. Pen & Sword publications. Paperback 176 pages. ISBN: 9781848842885. Published: 17 October 2011.

This author and particularly publishers have produced several books specific to particular branches of the Forces and other specialised Family History subjects. Although I cannot find this particular WW2 book, the Glos Libraries Catalogue shows several of their books, found by searching "Pen & Sword family history". All are highly recommended.
http://prism.talis.com/gloucestershire/items?query=%22Pen+%26+Sword+Family+History%22&a...

Hope this helps,
Jeff

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Thanks! Great answer as always.

I'm only familiar with Oz where the basics of a every WW2 soldier's enlistment - date of enlistment, place and date of birth, date they were demobbed, next of kin etc - are available free online. Then you can pay and get the full record from Canberra. I thought it was different in the UK!

Split the difference. We have birth and death certs with much more information than yours on them but you have so much more info free on the internet when it comes to BDM and archives.

We'll have to meet in the middle which is always good. Maybe the Ashes can be a draw too!

Thanks again for covering my query so thoroughly.

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Hi again DownUnder,
hope you're well, nice to see you're still researching hard. Following my trip today to my local library I've just added a little more to the above post, gleaned from borrowing the aforementioned "Second World War Ancestors" book. If you have any more specific enquiries and the various links don't help, please contact me and I'll try and help you in a general way, such as more specific detail wrt applying for Records from the M.o.D. etc.

Yes it is interesting the Australian Government have a different approach to the various FH records than here in Britain, but as you say it's all swings & roundabouts.

Regarding your suggestion (or plea?) to share the Ashes, I've deliberately not contacted you lately for fear you'd think I was rubbing it in. To be absolutely honest as interesting as the cricket's been, I'm sure we'd all have liked your team to be a stiffer challenge, but after too many years of "hurt" I for one don't mind. I'm "happy" to be proven wrong, but I feel the mistake of not forcing the follow-on was "the" key moment of this Series especially given the fact that it ALWAYS rains in Manchester and quite possibly Durham too.

Draw ?. Sorry, "NO deal".
:-)

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I've got a few questions about the Glosters during WW2.

Were there lists of wounded and killed in the newspapers at the time and if so, which local ones in the FOD area would have carried them and also which Gloucester newspapers?

Also, which newspapers would have articles about when the Glosters came home to the FOD area?

So a friend of mine can go delving through the archives for me.

Many thanks

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Hi

I've got a few questions about the Glosters during WW2.

Were there lists of wounded and killed in the newspapers at the time and if so, which local ones in the FOD area would have carried them and also which Gloucester newspapers?

Also, which newspapers would have articles about when the Glosters came home to the FOD area?

So a friend of mine can go delving through the archives for me.

Many thanks

Dean Forest Mercury and The Citizen archives would be a good start

--
Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster & Hereford Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

Forest of Dean FHT Forum

The Glosters in WW2 (General)

UK conscription WW2

UK conscription WW2

British Armed Forces Records WW2

British Armed Forces Records WW2

WW2 Glosters Records

Newspaper Archives for the Glosters

Newspaper Archives for the Glosters

Newspaper Archives for the Glosters