Hello All, I am a first-timer here so with all this wealth of information to take in, it's all bit daunting. For the past few years I have been researching my family's WW1 and WW2 records. I have several reams of paperwork and have spent many hours trawling through all the military abbreviations trying to make sense of it all. As far as I'm concerned, I'm doing OK. However, I am a little lost as to history and movements in June 1940. Yes, it's "Dunkirk-time" again. An Aunt of mine told me that my Father was evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk on June 1st 1940 so, naturally, I went straight to his records to find out. This is the extent of the information I can gather; - October 16th 1939, my Father signed up to join the East Surrey Regiment. - March 13th 1940 he was shipped out to France as a member of the B.E.F. - March 14th 1940 disembarked in France. - March 15th 1940 my Father was posted to No 1 Inf. Base Depot. - May 7th 1940 he was posted to No 2 Inf. Base Depot and attached to the Reinforcement Section. G.H.Q. Rouen. - June 1st 1940 'Disembarked France'. So, here's my dilemma; if my Father was attached to the Reinforcement Section in Rouen, does that mean that No.2 Infantry Base Depot was physically based in Rouen or elsewhere? If No.2 Inf B.D. was indeed in Rouen, then they would have been evacuated from Cherbourg and not from Dunkirk, correct? Or could he have been simply attached but posted elsewhere in the north? Does anyone know of/have the movement history of the East Surrey's or this infamous No.2 Inf B.D.? Looking forward to hearing from you. snaps
Here's something: The 2nd Surreys was in Malaya in 1940, where the Battalion served with great distinction against the Japanese, but with heavy losses. The 1stLeicestershire Regiment suffered a similar fate and the two battalions were joined together in the face of the enemy to form what was called the“British Battalion”. They fought on until the Army was forced to surrender in Hong Kong. Of the two battalions, only 265 men remained and of those 149 died during the three and a half years of Japanese imprisonment.
