I thought it was about time I really started a serious effort to research my Mum and Dad's wartime experiences. I had this project in mind for some time, but other things kept getting in the way. So this little post is more of a 'to do' list for me about how to start researching a relatives wartime history. I wanted to list some of the things I needed to know to get the ball rolling, and manage the jobs I have to complete at each stage.

1. Service records application - what I need first
To begin my project it would be ideal if I could get hold of my parents military service records, but in order to do this there are some details I need about them in order to apply for these records.

To recieve the service records I must first of all prove who I am, and also provide as much information about my Mum and Dad as I can to successfully retrieve the required information about their military service. I do this by filling out the Certificate of Kinship. ** It is worth knowing that you have to either be the service person themselves, next of kin or an interested party with the consent of the service person to be able to get hold of these records. **

Next I need to fill in the SAR (Subject Access Request) form, this gives the record body (Navy, Army, Air Force, etc) all the information they require to do the search, and you also need to be specific about what sort of information you want - like medical records while serving of HMS 'X', or whatever.

To fill in the SAR I will need specific details about my parents - like name, rank and service number. I will also need to know what unit, regiment or formation they belonged to. This will require that I, in the first case, simply ask my Mum for her details, but my Dad's details will have to be gathered from his Army Pay Book (which currently resides at a local war museum).

> So - 'To Do' number 1:-

1. Phone my Mum and ask her about her service details
2. Contact the local museum and request the return of my father's Army Pay Book

Next post: In my next post in this series I will collate all the information, show you where to get the appropriate forms and go through the form filling process...

I recently visited a local war museum - see: Eden Camp museum - and was very proud to find my mother and fathers photos being displayed. Eden Camp museum maintains an excellent repository for veteran's photographs, and family members enjoy browsing the many hundreds of pictures looking for their particular loved ones.

Above: The display boards with my mum and dad's photos - highlighted in red. Mum is part of the 'Unsung Heroes and Heroines' display, while dad can be found in the 'North Africa' section.

It's really nice to see my parent's photos surrounded with other people that either in the same service or maybe they may have even known. It was also very touching that many families brought their children along and would point out to them 'grandad' or 'grandma'.

Above: Close-up of mum and dad - surrounded by 'old pals'!

While dad passed away a number of years ago, mum was happy to hear that her photo is still displayed at Eden Camp. And while in her 80s mum still shows an interest in her days in the army, as this week she meet some other fellow women veterans for a small reunion dinner.

It seemed appropriate that I start of this new section of my site, documenting my family's part in World War Two, with a Christmas entry. At this time of year it would be nice to remember all those serving in our Armed Forces in far away and dangerous places, so here's a bit of a festive memory from my Dad's photo album.

My father served with the Royal Army Service Corps (what we would now know as logistics) as part of the 8th Army in North Africa. The role of his unit was to keep the units at the front line supplied with food and other supplies by managing the mountains of stores and the trucks that transported them.

Right: Dad recorded the menu served to the members of his unit, Christmas 1943. It seems a pretty good one, and certainly not what the troops at the front were probably eating. Click on the picture to see a larger version. 

Despite this being a 'second line' roll, military historians will appreciate that it was logistics and the flow of supplies that in the end played a vital part in victory in North Africa.

Above: The men - and dogs! - of the 14 Base Supply Depot, Royal Army Service Corp, 1943. My father is on the second row, sixth from the left.

I am not entirely sure about the location of this Christmas meal, though from 1942 my father and his unit seem to have been stationed in or near Alexandra, and maybe at a petrol depot at Mersa Matruh - but I cannot confirm this.

14 BSD and the sort of work they did are - I believe - mentioned in chapter 11 of a book called, appropriately, 'Petrol Company' by A. L. Kidson. An electronic version of this chapter - Back to the ‘Blue’ - is available online at the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre, and it gives an account of the fighting around Mersa Matruh and the part played my 14 BSD.

Left: Photo my father included of the venue of the unit's Christmas meal. This looks more like a building in a larger city - like Alexandria - than in Mersa Matru, which was just a small harbour town.

 This particular Christmas celebration must have been quite a significant one for the troops of the 8th Army, for while the war still raged on the Axis forces in North Africa surrendered on May 13, 1943. This victory, along with that of our Soviet allies at Stalingrad in February 1943, marked a turning of the tide against Germany and it's allies. From here on in, Germany was on the defensive.

MENU

Soup 'Minestrone'
Roast Turkey
Roast Pork - Apple Sauce
Roast Potatoes
Assorted Vegetables
Christmas Pudding - Rum Sauce
Mince Pies - Oranges - Nuts - Sweets
Tea - Coffee
Beer & Cigarettes

Looking at the menu, I can't help feeling how lucky my Dad probably was - although, by this time, he and his comrades had earned it. But it would be interesting to compare this rather luxurious war time menu with that being enjoyed at the home front - what with the strict rationing (I will ask my mum about this) - much less what our Soviet ally would have had to make do with!

Useful links:-

> 'Christmas 1943: A Meal Interrupted' - menu aboard the U.S.A.T. Evangaline, 1943
> BBC 'WW2 People's War' - Christmas in Italy 1943 by Peter G Whiting
> Russian Rations of The Great Patriotic War By Knackerstaff

> The Wartime Memories Project - The Royal Army Service Corps
> The Royal Army Service Corp entry on Regiments.org
> Back to the 'Blue' - account mentioning the 14 BSD at the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre