hi my name is janine i live in sheffield and i have been researching my family tree for 4 yrs now and i never knew how many of my family members and my husbands family had military connections. I am now hooked on the subject and i am wanting to research it further. Its a shame i didn't know too much about my grandads past before he died 28yrs ago as i would have told him how proud i was of him, but he did share some stories with me when i was a young girl. I only got to know two years ago that he was a rear gunner for the lancaster/wellington bomber and that the plane was shot down on the way home-he received three medals for this. this is my main research along with a few more bye for now janine
Howdy Janine and welcome to the forum. Glad to have you with us. You are not alone in your quest as there are others here, including myself, who also are looking to find out more about the role their relatives had in the war but is now too late to ask them. Good luck on your research and happy posting.
Welcome, Janine. As posted above, most of us are anxious to find out more. Ask questions, and you will be amazed at the number of responses you will get. 2 questions: 1. Do you know what unit your grandfather was in? 2. What medals did he receive? Let's start there and build on it.
For a war forum we are pretty peaceful folk.. No question is stupid as otto would point out. Nervous doesnt matter.. We re family round here.
hi and thanks for making me feel welcome the answer to your questions is my grandad was called kenneth pursehouse he was on a lancaster/raf;no 159575 aircrew he was based in lincoln and the short version of the story from my nan is that the plane had come back from germany and crashed[i think in lincolnshire] it came down tail first so my grandad was one of the first to get treatment and was taken to hospital with injuries [fractured skull] i think this was around the end of 1944. his medals at the end of the war were 1939-1945 star battle of britain france and germany star[atlantic] war medal 1945 he never collected them he never talked much about his raf days and said he didn't want the medals. he suffered from blackouts and nightmares up to when he died and my nan said what he saw in the war changed him forever, my nan is very british and says she is respecting his wishes by not talking about it but has no problem in me finding out for myself any help would be appreciated many thanks janine
Well in the USA you can just write or mail a form to the National Personnel Records Center and they'll most likely replace the medals but I heard in Britain things are different. From what I heard is that Britain does not replace any medals ever. However, this was some time ago and I'm not sure if its true anymore. Here is something I found: " Ministry of Defence Medal Office. The Ministry of Defence Medal office controls the issue and replacement of medals. Before claiming unclaimed WW2 medals you will require a record of service from the Army Personnel Centre. To replace issued medals you will be required to furnish proof of loss (police report or insurance claim etc.). The full cost of any replacement medals may be payable. It is possible for members of the public and non-serving personnel to download a Medal Application Form from the Army website www.army.mod.uk by clicking on “Medals/Badges”, the 2nd bullet under the Veterans heading. Additional advice may be obtained from the Medal Office on 0800 085 3600 or by email from JPAC@afpaa.mod.uk" British Army Records Centre - Officers and Ranks 1922 onwards Goodluck
welcome to the form Janine, sounds like your grandfather had a tough time during the war, i wish you well in your research
Hi,i'm genie. I'm glad to become a member of you,I am interested in world war II.I am here just because i want to know more about world war II. I love peace,i hope the world will peace forever. The two world wars has brought us tremendous disaster,we don't hope this kind of things occurred again.
Hello Janine, I'm sure we"ll end up finding what operation your grandfather flew. If he crashed in Lincolnshire this could mean mean three things: accident upon take off, landing or during a cross country flight. (training) The problem is that I haven't pinpointed his squadron up to now so it's seeking a needle in a haystack . If we focus on his medals, he flew in 1944 to targets in France and Germany and was possibly a gunner (Sgt rank )
hi skipper if you look in the military geaneology section i have posted all the details that i have may be this may help regards janine
Hi Janine,no need to be nervous. Although it can be daunting when you first start. But that's what forums are for to help & inform. I'm a new member here too. I'm sure,in fact i know that you'll get help here from as many members as poss in the subject(s) you're wanting help with. Stewy
