Family history channel

[Spartan09]

@Dan Robinson

creating a seperate chat here to avoid derailing the questionable politics chat

 

[Dan Robinson]

Will be interesting for me to see what my son can get from his grandparents on both sides  due to his dual heritage.   

 

 

 

 

[Spartan09]

my great grandfather served as a petty officer on board submarine HMS Triumph.

i know the most about his story as i was fascinated by hearing about him from my grandfather as a child.  he had a picture of the submarine on the wall in his cottage.  i was studying WW2 in my history lessons at the time, and i got to hear the story of how his submarine was lost without trace,  and i was even shown a christmas card he sent home in 1941 shortly before the sub departed for its final patrol. i even emailed the submarine museum and royal navy themselves to get copies of his records, but it wasnt until a few years ago that i found out far more about the subs history

Triumph was actually supposed to be coming back to the UK for maintenance and crew leave,  but had to undertake one last patrol after another submarine developed a fault.

the submarine was to take a couple of SOE and MI9 operatives to an island called Antiparos, where they would then be taken to greece by fishermen, and then at the end of the patrol, the sub would swing by the island again to pick up a number of escaped allied POWs that had been dropped off by the greek fishermen (german and italian forces monitored all fishing boats, and imposed a 3 day curfew on all crews, otherwise the crew of a fishing boat would be arrested as allied collaborators)

the sub radioed that the commandos had been dropped off and was heading to their patrol area, listed in records as being near Piraeus,  and was never heard from again. 

while the sub was gone, the Antiparos operation was compromised (actually an interesting story in its own right) and theres a file in Kew where MI9 and SOE argue about who was to blame, as one operative captured was moonlighting for both agencies.

i also found out that my great grandfather recieved a kings commendation for bravery.  while the sub was berthed in Malta, a supply convoy came in and was promptly attacked by the germans.  one ship was set on fire and my great grandfather, along with several other shipmates and others on the quayside all ran up the gangplank to assist in fighting the fires, saving the ship and the supplies on board.


the wreck of the submarine was discovered earlier this week in deep water off the coast of Sunion   

 

11 minutes ago, Dan Robinson said:

Will be interesting for me to see what my son can get from his grandparents on both sides  due to his dual heritage.   

 

 

 

 

definately encourage him to ask those questions.  and if possible recored the conversations to preserve the information for the future.

my biggest regrets are that i didnt ask more questions, ask them earlier, or record the conversations

 

[Dan Robinson]

My nan's life was recorded on tape (born 1902), but she was so old it was out of order and garbled - it took hours for my dad to listen and transcribe.  I have a short version somewhere on my office PC.  I need to ask dad why she never mentioned what the soldiers of the family got up to.  Personally I think it is because they never spoke of it.  I know my Pathfinder uncle was very quiet about what happened during his service.  He was an unnervingly quiet person, yet very kind.

 

Honourable grandparents on the other side would have been children at the time, but hopefully we can get some tales from them when the boy moves there in a few months.  Thankfully my dad has been spending a lot of time researching his history and while I know there isn't much past the mid 1800's (we come from farmhands in Norfolk) I think he's found some interesting stuff from the turn of the century and WW2.

 

Nanny Hastings Memoires.pdf

[Asomodai]

Both of my Grandfathers served with the British Forces in Cyprus. 

 

My paternal Great Grandmother was a member of the SS Frauenkorps. She was never called up to guard the Concentration camps, but they say it was a close run thing towards the end of the war. My Paternal Great Grandfather was a medic in the German Army, but was a pacifist and (quietly was said to be) against Nazi rule. They both fled to Baden Austria when they realised the Allies were going to win the war. 

 

My Paternal Grandmother sadly takes after her Mother and is quite Fascist. Once she came to the UK she would have rolled up the rope ladder to prevent anyone else to get in. Very much a case of "F**k you, I got mine". She went on to attempt to become a Conservative Counsellor, but couldn't get elected. However was very active in Conservative party circles in the 80's and early 90's hosting various parties and dignitaries. 

Edited June 11, 2023 by Asomodai

[Leo Greer]

I think it’s incredibly interesting to hear the depth of history in y’all’s stories above and I appreciate the time took to share it. Airsoft be darned, we’re talking history now!

 

But Leo, what about your family?

My family history?

 

Oh boy… hang on tight…

 

 

On my dad’s side:

 

My grandfather was a cop who came from a genuine dysfunctional hillbilly family that crawled out of the mud somewhere in the 50s. He was the only one of his family to escape the hillbilly life, and is remembered for his work as a cop, private investigator, and for saving several children from a burning vehicle. He also had a medical grade thing for coupons, and took at least five toothpicks from every restaurant he ever went to. My father and I cleaned out his desk after his passing and found multiple gallon ziplocks full of them.

 

My grandmother is a “southern belle” who traces her family back to the Latimers of medieval England, in particular William Latimer, who served under Henry III and then later Thomas Latimer who arrived in Virginia in 1701. Due to her failing eyesight, she has developed a tendency to insinuate that various (extremely white) persons must be part Native American…

 

On my mother’s side:

 

My Grandmother’s family came from Palermo, Sicily in 1919, dirt poor immigrants, with the name Palazzolo. In fact, if you look up the name Palazzolo, chance are I’m closely related to anyone who comes up, as the name is pretty rare. My great-great grandfather was Giuseppe Palazzolo, better known as Joe. He cooked like no other, and had a large “doll” that sang in Italian and creeped the heck out of us kids. He also served in the US Navy during WWII—I’ll have to ask around a bit more for some details.

 

My grandfather’s family was nothing extraordinary, except that he somehow passed some African American genes down, despite being whiter than anything. He was also descended from Oliver Wendell Holmes. Who is famous for his poetry, philosophy, and his time as a Supreme Court Justice (chief American legal bigwigs). He made law, not war…

 

 

 

[Spartan09]

7 hours ago, Dan Robinson said:

My nan's life was recorded on tape (born 1902), but she was so old it was out of order and garbled - it took hours for my dad to listen and transcribe.  I have a short version somewhere on my office PC. 

That's one hell of a transcript,  and gives an insight into the home front during both wars.

 

Thank you for sharing

[EDcase]

My mother was living in occupied Brussels/Belgium.  She remembers seeing families being marched along the street with yellow star of David patches on their clothing.

There was a small lake in a forest near their house which was emptied in 1997 for the first time since the war.  I found loads of German bullets (probably from training) and several rusted civilian handguns (handed to Police) People threw them away because they would be shot if found with weapons.  This was just at the edge of the lake because it was too muddy further in.  There must have been LOADS of stuff in there cleaned out by the council.

 

My father didn't talk about his experience much and he's gone now.  What I did get out of him during my interrogations was:

As a newly trained pilot in his teens he was sent to North Africa to fly P40 Warhawks but was shot down on his first patrol.  He was the only one to survive out of his flight and only because a Bedouin found the crash site and took him to an allied outpost.

He then became a reconnaissance photographer in the nose of a B24 Liberator.

The only information about that part was he remembered flying over the beaches (duno which) a few days after D-Day to gather intel on progress.

He had these two medals (Distinguished Flying Cross & Air Medal) but he never told me the circumstances to attain them.

After the war he became a journalist (quite well known at the time in journalist circles) based in the Middle-East.

He apparently had a lot of adventures there.  Becoming friends with the President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser.

And suspected of being a spy by some other group.

Fun times...

Edited June 11, 2023 by EDcase

[Cannonfodder]

Unfortunately I know very little about what my Grandparents did in the war. What I do know is that on my fathers side my grandad was in the Navy and was on HMS Warwick when she was Torpedoed off the coast of Cornwall in February 1944.

 

On my mother's side my grandfather was an engineer at RAF Speke (now Liverpool John Lennon Airport) so wasn't drafted as it was a reserved occupation. As I understand it he was involved in building Blenheims and Halifax bombers. While my grandmother worked on the telephone switchboards for the fire brigade.

[Ebeneezer Goode]

Thanks to @Spartan09 for starting this one!

 

My family history that I alluded to in the other thread:-

 

Firstly, I goofed, it was my great-great-grandfather who fought in the Somme. Lived to the ripe old age of 96. Smoked like a chimney (pipes, none of these daft cigs etc), had a nip of Malt every night - he swore by its health benefits! - read his Bible every day and lived through some stuff, including losing his son (my great-grandfather) in a horrific mining accident (my dad's side were all miners). He never spoke of the Great War or his experiences of the Somme, other than one incident, where he recalled one of his comrades having to get his leg amputated in the field, and them all singing louder and louder to try and drown out the screams. Absolutely harrowing and massive respect for all those who gave everything.

 

On the other side was my great-uncle who as I also alluded to originated in Poland and was forced to flee the occupation due to his religion. He and his brother were being rounded up and put on the trains to the camps when they managed to escape and made it across Europe, settling in Scotland, anglicised his name and married my Granny's sister - funnily enough my Granny's side being a mix of Irish and... German! Having a German surname in the war/post-war years in Britain got them all a fair bit of stick at School etc.

 

Other family members did National Service - Gramps was in the RAF Coastal Command, had a Great Uncle who went to Malaya when the bother was on over there, all had interesting stories thst could fill entire books. My love and respect for them runs deep.

 

My own military connections are nowhere near as exciting, limited to being a former avionics engineer at a defence firm and currently serving as a CI with my local Air Cadet Squadron, however I have the relatively comfortable life I have due to the great sacrifices of my forefathers. Respect and gratitude.

 

Anyway, just my background, for what it's worth. Thanks to all others for sharing their equally treasured stories.

 

Eezer G

[SeniorSpaz87]

Ive got some history somewhere as well.

 

Great-great grandfather on my father's side was Henry Hulbert, a Brit who joined the US Marines prior to WWI due to some less than favorable circumstances, received a handful of medals including the Medal of Honor for actions during the Second Samoan Civil War, the Distinguished Service Cross for actions in Belleau Wood, and the Navy Cross and the French Croix De Guerre posthumously after he was KIA on Mt Blanc in 1918. He had a Clemson-class Destroyer (DD-342) named after him, which was stationed at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th, and is believed to be the first ship to have opened fire on the Japanese that morning, destroying one torpedo bomber and damaging several other aircraft, claiming an assist on a dive bomber. That was the really only moment of noteworthiness for the USS Hulbert, as she sustained no damage over the course of the war and spent most of her time as an escort, working with the newer US Fast Attack Carriers. She is accredited with rescuing a dozen pilots during that time. She was decommissioned in 1945. Her bell is on display at the Marine Corp's Barracks in Parris Island I believe

 

Great-grandfather on my mother's side was Arthur Rogers, a bomber commander in the Pacific theatre during WWII. He was the driving force behind the upgraded B-24D class of Heavy Bombers, during which he flew his personally-modified B-24 the "Connell's Special" on a solo bombing mission, taking several Japanese fighters down with the new nose-mounted ball turret he and his men salvaged off a crashed B-17's tail. Notable exploits of his were the allowance of Pappy Gunn to use his AF for fuel and ammunition (if you don't know Pappy Gunn look him up - he took a B-25 and mounted a French 75mm anti-tank gun in the nose, and used it to attack Japanese naval convoys by himself after the Japanese killed his family in the Philippines, where he worked as an ariel mail delivery service prior to the war), as Gunn at the time was essentially using a stolen B-25 for his vigilante attacks and some wanted him arrested and tried for it, and for the creation of the heavier-armed B-24D variant. He was involved in the Bikini Atoll testing in some capacity, though Im not sure to what extent. He passed away before I was born.

[Lozart]

All these tales of peoples grandfathers that served in WW2 is making me feel old! My Dad served in WW2 as an airframe fitter for the Fleet Air Arm in Malta. HIS Dad served in WW1 in the Royal West Kent Reg as part of the lot that went to India.

 

Apparently my Mums Dad served in tanks in WW1 but he was long gone before I came around so details are sketchy at best.

[Dan Robinson]

29 minutes ago, Lozart said:

All these tales of peoples grandfathers that served in WW2 is making me feel old

 

Probably won't help you - my grandad, I think, was in basic training when the Boer War started. LOL

 

Just waiting for my dad to send me some links and pictures.

[RostokMcSpoons]

Wow, some amazing stuff here already!

In spite of being fascinated by WW2 when I was a kid (Sven Hassel being my favourite author for quite a while, Commando comic being avidly read...) I never really questioned any of my family about the war.  A massive wasted opportunity.   I do remember my granddad on my mother's side telling me a tiny bit about his war service and so I've only got this as first-hand history:

• He was in the artillery as a gun-layer on a 25 pounder
• He bought home the gunsight off a captured 88mm Flak gun, He showed it to me once when I was very young.  Mint condition in its velvet lined case, I remember being very impressed with whole thing, especially the reticle when looking through it.
• He told me he was one of the very first of the artillerymen to advance over the Rhine, but because he'd got a terrible case of the trots, he had to go across with a cork up his bum   

My dad told me one great uncle was one of the very first POW's, as he got shot down in a Blenheim bomber doing a leaflet drop over one of the Low Countries, right at the start of the war.  Poor bugger must have spent 6 years wishing he'd at least been dropping bombs on the enemy.

 

I do vaguely recall being told my one of relatives flew as wingman to "Johnnie" Johnson, famed Spitfire ace, but never found out any more about that. 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[OTH21]

Pretty tame family history compared to others here. 

 

Of note:

 

Great-Great-grandfather was 32 when he died serving in the RAMC as a medic onboard the Glenart Castle Hospital ship, sunk in 1918 by a U-boat. Family tradition, that all first born sons carry his first name as our middle name. 

 

Maternal Great-grandfather served in the East during WW2 and ended the war as part of the occupation force in Japan. Supposedly had photos of the aftermath of hiroshima, which he'd smuggled home. My nan used to say he was in a 'commando' but I've tried to research formations that ended up in Japan and I couldn't see any. He was from the Isle of Lewis, with McLeod surname, so I presumed he'd joined a jock unit. I maybe wrong, and he could have transfered between units/formations. My mum said he never spoke of the war and very much had PTSD. 

 

My mums paternal grandfather was a train driver in London/Kent during the war, so was in a protected occupation. He did have a small box of paraphernalia, such as helmet for air raids, which I did see as a child. Unfortunately this went wayward on his passing. 

 

Dad's side.

His mother was born in Danzig to Polish/German parents. His mum fled Danzig via U-boat with her mother and brother in 1945 as part of Operation Hannibal. Supposedly they were meant to escape on the German liner the Wilhelm Gustloff, however secured passage on the U-boat and avoided the greatest maritime disaster. 

Not sure about the rest of her family, but it's probably safe to say the men would have fought/served on the German side in some capacity. I know she had cousins who remained in Germany and my dad kept in contact until the last remaining one died of cancer in the early 2000s. Their family surname was Hess. 

 

Dad's dad was born in Hertfordshire and served in the RAF Regiment for his national service, completing the majority of his time at an AA installation in the Troodos mountains of Cyprus. He came home, became a salesman and learnt to fly, and flew in civilian airshows in planes like the gypsy and tiger moths. He remains a plane fanatic, only stopping flying within the last decade. 

 

 

 

 

[Colin Allen]

3 hours ago, Lozart said:

All these tales of peoples grandfathers that served in WW2 is making me feel old!

One of my grandfathers served in the Royal Navy in WW1, seeing action at Dogger Bank and Jutland.

 

One of my great-grandfathers served in the Second Boer War and in WW1, ending up in Salonica.  I still have his mess menu from Christmas 1918, when he was still in Salonica.

 

Going back a bit further a relative was at Rorke’s Drift, winning the VC, while, even further back, another served in La Legion Irlandaise (later the 3e Regiment Etranger) in Napoleon’s army, rising to the rank of Chef de Bataillon and being awarded the Legion d’Honneur in 1814, although he never received the actual medal as Napoleon abdicated and the Bourbons returned to power for a while.

I just remembered another relative who went to America in 1861 to fight for the Confederacy (Boo! Hiss!).  Having managed to join up, he was captured and sent back to England, where he got on another ship and went back again.  According to family legend, he was again captured and, this time, was held prisoner.  He was pardoned after the war and one of my cousins still has that document.

Edited June 12, 2023 by Colin Allen

[Dan Robinson]

Got some more goodies from my dad this morning.... 

 

Service record of my Uncle, and some pics of my Granddad. 

 

 

Shows how bad record keeping could be as is says he was married to his sister LOL... 

 

 

 

 

Pathfinder Uncle was an oddball and refused promotions, so we don't have much to go on other than he got caught behind enemy lines before the battle of ARNHEM.  The poor fecker was in the salt mines and scraping the inside of steam engine boilers as a POW. 

 

Granddad, I think, was an instructor in the Royal Engineers for WW1, and too old to fight in WW2 so he and my nan were ARP warderns together.  Got a picture of them and of the bus depot coming later. 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Dan Robinson

[EvilMonkee]

My paternal Grandfather was a replacement for those killed during the Battle of Normandy.  He initially was in the Herts and Beds Regt but eventually saw action as an Infantryman with the Royal Warwicks (185th Infantry Brigade, 30th Corps), serving from August 44 all the way through to the end of the war (Market Garden, Crossing of the Rhine), was never wounded.  Only thing he ever told my Gran was having to burn out Hitler Youth Waffen SS with flamethrowers as they wouldn't surrender.  He was one of 6 from a platoon of 42 to come back.  He was just down the road from the famous King David Hotel bombing in Jerusalem in 1948.  I never knew him, he died aged 52 from the 1970s equivalent of MRSA and a dodgy heart valve (that I have inherited!).

 

For those of you who wish to know more, you can request service records via the link here:

https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records

 

Seems Grandad was a bit naughty whilst on leave and went AWOL for 4 days in Brussels!

Edited June 13, 2023 by EvilMonkee

[EvilMonkee]

10 hours ago, Dan Robinson said:

Got some more goodies from my dad this morning.... 

 

Service record of my Uncle, and some pics of my Granddad. 

 

 

Shows how bad record keeping could be as is says he was married to his sister LOL... 

 

 

 

 

Pathfinder Uncle was an oddball and refused promotions, so we don't have much to go on other than he got caught behind enemy lines before the battle of ARNHEM.  The poor fecker was in the salt mines and scraping the inside of steam engine boilers as a POW. 

 

Granddad, I think, was an instructor in the Royal Engineers for WW1, and too old to fight in WW2 so he and my nan were ARP warderns together.  Got a picture of them and of the bus depot coming later. 

What website is that from?

[gavinkempsell]

11 hours ago, Dan Robinson said:

Got some more goodies from my dad this morning.... 

 

Service record of my Uncle, and some pics of my Granddad. 

 

 

Shows how bad record keeping could be as is says he was married to his sister LOL... 

 

 

 

 

Pathfinder Uncle was an oddball and refused promotions, so we don't have much to go on other than he got caught behind enemy lines before the battle of ARNHEM.  The poor fecker was in the salt mines and scraping the inside of steam engine boilers as a POW. 

 

Granddad, I think, was an instructor in the Royal Engineers for WW1, and too old to fight in WW2 so he and my nan were ARP warderns together.  Got a picture of them and of the bus depot coming later. 

TBH, I wouldn't mess with him, can't have refused all promotions coz he has stripes in the first pic.

[Dan Robinson]

10 hours ago, gavinkempsell said:

coz he has stripes in the first pic

 

That's my Granddad, the one who refused promotions was an Uncle who had either severe ptsd or was Bipolar.  We can't figure out what caused what. We don't have any pictures of him sadly. But I remember him being a bit of a unit despite his age. 

 

 

11 hours ago, EvilMonkee said:

What website is that from

National archives... 

 

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7386637

Edited June 14, 2023 by Dan Robinson