Your ancestors in WWII

Eddi · Sep 30, 2021

What nation did your ancestors fight for in the Second World War?

What service were they in and where did they fight?

My maternal grandfather served on destroyers in the Royal Navy

Apparently he was on the Arctic convoys to Russia and also in the Indian/Pacific Ocean

My maternal grandmother served in the Women's Land Army

My paternal grandfather didn't serve, as far as I'm aware (he was foreign)

Spirit of Light · Sep 30, 2021

My ancestors in Norway did not fight at all in WW2

John53 · Sep 30, 2021

My paternal grandfather was too old to enlist and was a train driver so was considered an essential worker. My paternal grandfather was also too old also but served as an air raid warden which was a pretty sweet job in this part of Australia until a Japanese sub shelled Newcastle. My great uncle was sent to Singapore and was captured and spent the war in Changi POW camp. He was on a work detail outside of the camp when most of his mates were sent to the Burma railway, he was lucky as very few of them survived.

9-10ths_Penguin · Sep 30, 2021

My maternal grandfather was in the RCAF and worked as a radar operator (land-based). I believe he was in England and Europe, but I'm not sure of the details.

My paternal grandfather worked in the shipyards in Belfast.

Estro Felino · Sep 30, 2021

As far as I remember my maternal grandfather passed lots of time in captivity with the British. So I guess he fought in Sicily in 1942 and then he was captured. But I am not sure whether he fought elsewhere before 1942.

My paternal grandfather was a public servant of the Ministry of War (later called Ministry of Defense), so I guess he didn't serve in the war.

The Crimson Universe · Sep 30, 2021

Don't know bout my grandpa but my grandmama was probably sitting in her rocking chair sipping coca cola while her mother did her the 'victory rolls'. lol

SalixIncendium · Sep 30, 2021

My grandfather served under Captain Morgan.

pearl · Sep 30, 2021

Had two uncles, one in the Army Air Core and the other in the Navy. One in the AAC flew B17, 'flying fortress, the bull', made it through the war and was killed on a training mission over Jacksonville Tennessee. The uncle in the Navy was in the battle of Midway and survived. My Dad was a Colonel in the Army stationed in Greece.

RestlessSoul · Sep 30, 2021

The Rum guy?

Revoltingest · Sep 30, 2021

I had an uncle who fought for US in the Pacific.
Most of his fellows there died in the war.

Mock Turtle · Sep 30, 2021

My father was a fireman, in London, during WWII, and not sure if he lost his hearing then or might not have been called up because of such - he would have been about 30 then. I also had an uncle who died during the Dunkirk mess, and one of the few times I saw my mother cry was when she talked about him. Not sure of others, although one uncle served with the Royal Engineers and in telephony - surviving and being a most entertaining character. My mother worked as a machinist in a factory, probably producing weapons of some description. I have/had some photographs of other relatives in uniform but not sure what they did.

SalixIncendium · Sep 30, 2021

Yeah. He was an alcoholic.

lewisnotmiller · Sep 30, 2021

My paternal grandfather was a sergeant in the Army, in an anti-aircraft battery (Bofors guns)
He saw action in Crete, the Middle East and Papua New Guinea.

My maternal grandfather couldn't serve due to a birth deformity (crippled hand) but he worked in an aircraft factory producing military aircraft both during the war and long after.

Oooh...I should add...my wife's paternal grandfather signed up just in time to serve with the occupation forces in Japan after the war. Right up until they found out he was underage and had lied on his application. He ended up in the Old Melbourne Gaol for a short while (any Melbournians here would be familiar with that!). Colourful character, although he was obviously pretty old by the time I met him. Rumour is he only joined up because it seemed like a good idea to get out of the country for a while, and once he was cashiered out of the Army, he earned his living as a tent boxer (as well as working in a brick factory).
Tent boxing - Wikipedia

lewisnotmiller · Sep 30, 2021

He was lucky, although it's strange to call anyone at Changi lucky. Still...compared to the horrors of the Burma railway...
*shakes head sadly*

Stevicus · Sep 30, 2021

My parents were both children when the war broke out. My father was 10 and living in Illinois at the time, while my mother was 4, living in California.

My paternal grandparents were in their 40s and continued their civilian jobs. My grandmother was a teacher, while my grandfather was a mechanic. (My grandfather was a veteran of the WW1 era, although he spent his military career in Laredo, TX. He didn't go overseas.)

My maternal grandparents were in their 30s. My grandmother was a teacher (just like my other grandmother), and my grandfather was a salesman for a chemical company. My grandfather had enlisted in the Army about 10 years earlier, although he hated it and bought his way out. (You could buy your way out of the Army back in those days.)

Although, I had a relative who served in the Marines in the Pacific. He saw some combat. Another uncle enlisted in 1943 when he turned 18, although I don't think he was sent overseas. I also had an uncle-in-law who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was decorated.

beenherebeforeagain · Sep 30, 2021

My dad served in the Navy, trained as a pilot but then got reassigned a we had too many pilots late in the war, and took part in the bombardment of Japan from the USS Chicago, where he served as a catapult officer (primary duty involved in launching and recovering two seaplanes that did recon or delivered the mail...

My uncle served in the Army cavalry. He was in charge of a motor pool in Tokyo right after the surrender. Somehow, they learned where each other were, and they got together. Uncle Tom was able to assign himself a small truck and they went on a tour of the city and its environs...

Other more distant relatives also served...

exchemist · Sep 30, 2021

My maternal grandfather was already his 40s, but was enlisted in WW2 as an engineer, active service mainly in France and the Low Countries after the D Day landings. He was partly responsible for a pontoon bridge across the Rhine at Nijmegen. My paternal grandfather was old enough to be called up in WW1 (naval cadet) so was too old for WW2 and was an ARP warden in Birmingham in WW2, as was a great-uncle. Mostly on the roofs of public buildings, dealing with incendiaries. My father was too young to see service until after VE day but was called up and spent some time in occupied Italy (Trieste) - which gave him a lasting love of Italy (and a healthy respect for the controlled violence of the American Military Police

.)

metis · Sep 30, 2021

I met my father when I was three because he had been serving in the Pacific theater under MacArthur.

My father-in-law was in the Italian army without choice, and he was captured in northern Africa and spent 4 years in a prison camp in England, and his best friend spent several years in a gulag in the Soviet Union [a complete horror story, let me tell ya].

exchemist · Sep 30, 2021

And, strangely, none of these people suffered from bone spurs................

The Hammer · Sep 30, 2021

My maternal Grandfather served in WW2, but I am unsure of what branch he served in. He would have served for the US.

Your ancestors in WWII

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