Hello everyone I have been looking at stories posted here and have been fascinated by them and I have joined the community in the last day or so to see if anyone would be able to help me with mine. I am researching my Great Uncle John whom I have heard spoken of since I was a small child. He was very much loved and I wanted to see if I could piece together his last few movements during the last few months of his life. His name was John Hughes Jacques and was a private in the Northamptonshire Regiment. His number was 4987503. He volunteered to join the army but I don't know when - can anyone point me in the right direction on how to out find that information and where I could get a copy of his Enlistment Notice? I assumed from the stories that I had heard that he was in 'Signals' but there seems to be some confusion as to whether he was a signaller or not. I also understood that he was in 2nd Battalion but on one of the letters that I have he has written No3 Batt. on the return address. Could anyone help me out with that please? He was killed on Saturday 30th October 1943 aged 19 and his body is at rest in Monte Cassino War Cemetery. We are not sure however whether he was killed and buried there or whether he was killed somewhere else (Anzio?) but buried there. My mum went to see his grave a couple of years ago and says that there were several young men killed on the same day on either side of his grave. My last question, which is perhaps a bit strange is, does anyone know what the weather was like where he was on the day he was killed? I hope that someone will be able to help and I am going to try to attach some bits which I also hope are of interest to you too. Many thanks. Julie
Hi Rosy Redd, I would suggest the first place to try would be the Northamptonshire Regimental Association. If you can contact them on the net I am sure they will do all they can to help. You may get help on www.steelbacks.org.uk Cheers Keith DCXIV
Thanks Keith. I have sent them an email and hopefully I will get some info back. Anything really would be brilliant. I noticed after I had posted his picture that the name of the photographer and the town were printed on the back. Would it have been normal for a photograher to go to the troops to do the photo or the troops to go to him? The photograher was in Troia. Jules.
If you are the NOK you can apply to the MoD for his Army records, which in the UK costs about 30 pounds. This information should answer most of your queries. In Memory of Private JOHN HUGHES JACQUES 4987503, 2nd Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment who died age 19 on 30 October 1943 Son of Joseph Wilson Jacques and Olive Jacques, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Remembered with honour CASSINO WAR CEMETERY Cheers Geoff
Hi Rosy. At the time the troops would probably go to the photographer to get an official portrait done to send home. and at this time all photographers put their name/address on the back of the photos. As to being in the signallers, he probably was but attached to a different regiment as part of their comms teams. He may not have been a signaller as such himself, but he could have been one of the techies who helped set up and run all of the equipment. Signals wasn't like the compact backpacks the boys use now, we are talking things like vans with their own generators to power the radios. It isn't unusual either for men to move between battalions, especially in war time. If your uncle was a specialist, as in signaller, then he would probably have been moved where needed. If 3bt lost their man and needed someone urgently, then your uncle could have been sent to replace him. Unfortunately there isn't much more we can do until we get his service record. When you apply ask for a full photocopy of his records, NOT the written summary which doesn't give you everything. i am also afraid you will have to wait a number of months for these records as veterans of all conflicts are automatically put at the head of the waiting list ahead of NOK.
Thanks Spidge! I just have to get my great aunt to sign the consent form for the MoD. I'm hopeful she will want to know where her brother was... Do you still need photos for your project? I'm in Southern Germany. Are there any this way that you are looking for? I might be able to help.
Thank you Kitty. You have given me a much clearer picture of what they would have been doing at that time. Also if the soldiers went to the photographers then he probably was in Troia and that gives me a better idea of where he was. He sent his picture with his final letter home just 8 days before he was killed. Also thank you for the note about the photocopy! I am on a sharp learning curve here and any information is a real help.
Hi Rosy, Although Australia was 12,000 miles away, the losses of Australians in the RAAF/RAF (Bomber Command) over Germany were the greatest. Besides those buried there (1,401) there were hundreds more listed on the Runnymede Memorial as their bodies were never found. I have the following: Becklingen (80) Berlin 1939-1945 (231) Cologne (3) Durnbach (263) Hamburg (46) Reichswald Forest (334) The ones I do not have: Hanover (130) Kiel (33) north Parchim (1) Special Memorial to the crew of the Halifax http://www.cwgc.org/CWGCImgs/Parchim Cemetery.jpg This is the one on the CWGC site however it is a very low res photo. Rheinberg (244) Sage (34) north Schoenau (1) I know this is France but it is closer to someone in Germany. If one of those cemeteries with one in it is close to you that would be great. Cheers Geoff
Kitty, until I get my great uncle's service record I am happy to make an educated (!) guess about where he went from Sicily into Italy. I would like to try to find out roughly where he lost his life. As he was in 2nd Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment I have read tonight that he would have been a part of The Fifth Army Infantry Division and then later Eighth Army. So I guess he was part of Operation Baytown into Calabria and then made slow progress up to Salerno. I know for a fact that he was near Foggia but after that I don't know where the Nothamptonshire Regiment went nor his battalion. I am looking for the Regiments movements after Foggia - did they go Campobasso, Larino, Termoli route or did they head north west...I can't seem to find any record of them and the local library here doesn't have books about British Regiments! Also I have some military abbreviations that I could do with some help with please. They are IRTD, BNAF & CMF Thanks again
Quote{ My last question, which is perhaps a bit strange is, does anyone know what the weather was like where he was on the day he was killed?} End Quote Welcome RosyRedd hope you enjoy the site. For this information you will need to know where he was killed. From his army records you will find much. However they also do not include much information about what the soldier was actually doing usually just things like postings and other basic info. You may need both army records and info from the Regt for this, However once you know where he was killed I would first try googling for the information, I imagine their are several sites dealing with historical weather conditions then contact the local Village, Town or Cities historical society they usually have weather reports, or contact the local meteorological group who could point you in the right direction for such information. Good luck
I will try that Cobber thanks. I am pretty sure where he was killed now. I'm sorry I have another question ;-/ I hope you don't mind...Does anyone know how long the Northamptonshire Regiment trained for before sending the men on Active Service...I have one of my Great Uncle's letters that he sent from Newquay and a picture that he drew in Lincoln while he was stationed there. Unfortunately he hasn't dated it and I still don't know when he joined so I haven't been able to work the information backwards. He writes that everything at the NAFFI is so expensive compared to Lincoln and he doesn't think his money will last until Christmas! I think he was probably trying to get his mum to send him more money :-D Thank you again.
IRTD = Infantry Reinforcement Training Depot BNAF = British North African Forces CMF = [Australian] citizens Military forces
