6923710 Cpl George William Arthur Young identified from CVA Archive documents
Posted by Pete Rogers (Admin) on Fri 28 Nov 2014 16:56:01 EST
Bill Brown
Hi Linda...he is identified in a series of photos on our site. If you do a search on the gallery search facility on Bill Brown you will find them. If you send me a photo of your father from that time for comparison and evidence of his Commando Service I will have a look. My email is in the Contact Us section on the Home Page
Posted by Pete Rogers (Admin) on Sat 15 Nov 2014 17:41:17 EST
Correct identification
Is the commando identified as Bill Brown a definite identification ? I ask because I think the "unknown" standing centrally is my father Bill Brown, who I believe served with Nobby Clarke.
Posted by Linda Noyes on Sat 15 Nov 2014 12:00:35 EST
Cooments from Mark
Hi Mark. A lot of the statements you make are factually incorrect. You have my email address if you wish to contact me and I will advise you....Pete
Posted by Pete Rogers (Admin) on Sun 02 Nov 2014 17:29:15 EST
Hi Peter
To add further weight as to this pictures date and finally put end to date of this picture not being correct ,please think about this, you will agree that they are waring different caps and different regimental cap badges ,in 1942 it was agreed by the powers that be that this was absolute nightmare and as such by october 1942 all commando units were issued with the green beret ,moreover they most certainly would have been by November 1943, so this picture must be some where between 1940 and 1942 ,as to the cap badges i know that some commando units had different ones for example middle eastern commando etc however, theres two many different cap badges in the picture ,any how if there all No1 commandos(Please note i don't that they all commandos) they'd all be waring The Royal Marines cap badge by Nov 1943.Please accept my apologises as i'm not trying embarrass you or your association if any of my post sound that way ,that is not my intention in anyway, it just bamboozled as why grandfather...
Hi Peter
To add further weight as to this pictures date and finally put end to date of this picture not being correct ,please think about this, you will agree that they are waring different caps and different regimental cap badges ,in 1942 it was agreed by the powers that be that this was absolute nightmare and as such by october 1942 all commando units were issued with the green beret ,moreover they most certainly would have been by November 1943, so this picture must be some where between 1940 and 1942 ,as to the cap badges i know that some commando units had different ones for example middle eastern commando etc however, theres two many different cap badges in the picture ,any how if there all No1 commandos(Please note i don't that they all commandos) they'd all be waring The Royal Marines cap badge by Nov 1943.Please accept my apologises as i'm not trying embarrass you or your association if any of my post sound that way ,that is not my intention in anyway, it just bamboozled as why grandfather is in a picture dated Nov 1943 When in fact he died on the 25/5/43 now i know why , i accept it is difficult and can be misleading to get historical facts correct but this simple observation i have made and is factually correct.
Yours Sincerely
Mark
Posted by Mark Harrison on Sun 02 Nov 2014 17:11:00 EST
Hi peter i recently emailed you with regards to my grandfather No46 Sergeant John Rigby No 2613497 ,and you recommended that i obtain a copy of his military record, i have done that ,i had to get it from the grenadier guards adjutant ,He has informed that my grandfather was a cooks sergeant who achieved Full sergeant status i.e. Gold Sergeant ;from his record i can deduce that he served with following units grenadier guards 2nd Bt 9/2/1933 ;Transferred to HB=Heavy Bomber 29/4/40 Transferred to 3 = reconnaissance 16/6/1940 Transferred To Y Company 18/6/40 Y company = Royal Marines Based Defence Unit ie protection of Naval Bases From this i think its likely that his duties would have been to work within Heavy bomber plane maybe on the guns or something like that apparently on these planes it needed Ten Crew to man it; i would assume that their duties would been to bomb or shoot down any enemies approaching any of our naval bases.With regards to Y company My Grandfather then transferred back To HB=Heavy...
Hi peter i recently emailed you with regards to my grandfather No46 Sergeant John Rigby No 2613497 ,and you recommended that i obtain a copy of his military record, i have done that ,i had to get it from the grenadier guards adjutant ,He has informed that my grandfather was a cooks sergeant who achieved Full sergeant status i.e. Gold Sergeant ;from his record i can deduce that he served with following units grenadier guards 2nd Bt 9/2/1933 ;Transferred to HB=Heavy Bomber 29/4/40 Transferred to 3 = reconnaissance 16/6/1940 Transferred To Y Company 18/6/40 Y company = Royal Marines Based Defence Unit ie protection of Naval Bases From this i think its likely that his duties would have been to work within Heavy bomber plane maybe on the guns or something like that apparently on these planes it needed Ten Crew to man it; i would assume that their duties would been to bomb or shoot down any enemies approaching any of our naval bases.With regards to Y company My Grandfather then transferred back To HB=Heavy Bomber 11/8/40.Ycompany was a commando trained unit of the royal marines so it seems very appropriate to me that all personnel protecting these naval bases receive the very best training available order to protect the bases and themselves in order to survive.Most of my grandfathers service seems to of been at home during the 2nd world war protecting these bases until he went North Africa 26/2/1943 and was killed on the 25/5/1943 as result of a land mine,he was in jeep at the time.Whilst all of this apparent with regards to your photograph i think could have been no later than the 26/2/1943 or indeed much earlier ,i also think it may not be solely commando No1 operatives ie there maybe other types of commandos in the photo to, i suppose you have go through all their military records to find this out, Any how No 46 is Sergeant John Rigby.
Yours sincerely
Posted by Mark Harrison on Sun 02 Nov 2014 13:37:43 EST
Ref comments posted with query on date
Email sent to Mark
Posted by Pete Rogers (Admin) on Tue 12 Aug 2014 06:49:55 EDT
The date of the photograph of number commando is wrong ,it was taken in April 1943 and not November 1943 I know this to be fact as No 46 is my grandfather ie seargeant john rigby and he was killed on 25th may 1943! however that is not to say that the film may not have been developed until November 1943.
Best regards
Mark
Posted by Mark Harrison on Sun 10 Aug 2014 18:58:00 EDT
Photo updated
With details about Charles Hustwick
Posted by Pete Rogers (Admin) on Thu 24 Jul 2014 17:17:10 EDT
LCpl Jim Fearns ("Bracken")1/5 Commandos
Submitted by his daughter, Janet.
Taken in Hong Kong in 1945 after the Japanese surrender.
Posted by Janet Fearns on Tue 01 Jul 2014 14:29:41 EDT
LCpl Jim Fearns ("Bracken")1/5 Commandos (wearing helmet)
Submitted by his daughter, Janet.
I think this was taken before departure to Asia, but whether to Burma or Malaya, I don't know. I don't know any of the others in the photo.
Posted by Janet Fearns on Tue 01 Jul 2014 14:28:23 EDT
Comments noted
Enqs in hand re previous comment from Phyllis.
*** Contact details now passed by email ***
Posted by Pete Rogers (Admin) on Sun 08 Jun 2014 13:24:40 EDT
Tom Malloch Buchanan died 10 June 1948
Tom Buchanan was a friend of my late father-in-law, who was a PoW in Java. They either met whilst in the camp or at Bara. I would like to try and contact Tom's relatives as they may be interested in a number of letters written from Tom to my father-in-law Ronald Frank Pettitt when Tom was moved to East Kilbride to recuperate. I also have a condolence note written from another ex-PoW written to Ron following Tom's death.
If you can track the relatives (Alex Kean?) I would be very happy to send him scanned copies of these letters. Tom's personality shines through these letters and they give a good insight into their illnesses.
Posted by Phyllis Livingstone on Sun 08 Jun 2014 03:31:39 EDT
Photo updated
Jimmy Smith identified by his daughter Pamela Hook as 309
Posted by Pete Rogers (Admin) on Mon 02 Jun 2014 13:23:12 EDT
