British Surgeons in South Africa

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone would be able to shed some light on this for me. I'm trying to get hold of my grandfathers service records but I don't know which country to start looking in. I'll list the small pieces of info I know.

• he was born in the UK and also trained to be a surgeon there.
• he is listed in a UK medical register to 2 different Durban, SA addresses in 1942 (I can't find a passenger record of him going there)
• he was listed in a British list of promotions under the section "South African forces" as being promoted to captain.
• he listed "Robert's heights officers mess" as his place of residence in 1948 on his marriage certificate.

What I want to know is did the British army have medical personnel in those areas around those dates, or were brits seconded to South African forces, or is it possible that somehow he joined the South African army?

Thanks heaps for any help you can offer

 

Hi Jabinm

I doubt he will be on any passenger list because a) it was during the war and lists were not publically available - even now, b) he would probably have travelled by troopship and they do not let you access passenger lists.

Your best bet would be to obtain his service records - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-records-of-deceased-service-personnel

There is also a British/Commonwealth sister site to this one - http://ww2talk.com/index.php

TD

 

was that list in the London Gazette ?
If so can you share a link to it.
Can you give us his name & any number he had.
More you give us the more we can help.

 

Thanks for all your replies. It was in the London Gazette that I got this information from, I have attached the document.

He always told my mum he was in the British Army so I'm curious why his name is under South African Forces on the gazette.

I unfortunately I only have minimal information about him at the moment;

Name: Lancelot James Wigston
DOB: 30th June 1908
Married: 10th April 1948 (Listed Roberts Heights Officers' Mess in Pretoria as his place of residence)
Service Number: 176709
He left South Africa aboard the Dominion Monarch in 1951 so he must have been discharged somewhere between 1948 & 1951

 

Hi Jabinm

Can I ask the reason behind your research? - are you a relation?

TD

 

Hi TD,

Yes I'm his Grandson. My main reason is that I am hoping to prove British Citizenship via double descent. Basically my mum was born in SA in 1949 and wouldn't usually be able to hand down her British citizenship unless it turns out her father was employed by the Crown at the time of her birth.

Even if it turns out that's not the case I'm still interested to learn a bit about his service as I know a lot about my paternal grandfather's service but not much at all about my maternal one.

 

Lancelot James Wigston in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
Name: Lancelot James Wigston
Registration Year: 1908
Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep
Registration district: Berwick
Parishes for this Registration District: View Ecclesiastical Parishes associated with this Registration District
Inferred County: Northumberland
Volume: 10b
Page: 532

His marriage cert from South Africa

his address on the image is 'Officers Mess, Roberts Heights' which you would need to check out what records they have of him there and what they say.

He is mentioned here a couple of times - http://www.familyrelatives.com/sear...midwives.php?page=1930&fn&order=desc&ofield=n

Might be worth searching through this lot - http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/searchbna/results?memberlastsubclass=none&searchhistorykey=0&keywords=lancelot james wigston&from=1900&to=1949

There are a couple of family trees on Ancestry that include him:
Lancelot James Wigston
1908–1985
BIRTH 30 JUN 1908 • Berwick, Northumberland, United Kingdom
DEATH 1985

It seems he died in New Zealand

TD

There is some here on the development of Roberts Heights - http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol023ng.html

 

Deleted - duplicate post

TD

 

Hi Jabinm

As mentioned earlier in this thread it may be worthwhile joining the sister site http://ww2talk.com/index.php as there are to my knowledge South African members who may be able to assist you in finding proper records for your needs. There are also New Zealand members who may be able to help.

If you have not already obtained his service records then the link is - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-records-of-deceased-service-personnel you will need his death certificate (or a copy at least) - hence the note above re NZ members. His service records should tell you when he 'left' the British Army. It may also be an idea to check out his files at the British Medical Council - if there is such a place - or similar, as they should have records of where he was and when, which again may lead to to some further information/leads

TD