jilsur Posted 27 September , 2011 Share Posted 27 September , 2011 If I can't find a record for my grandfather, I think it means that his were destroyed in WW2. However, if he registered for war service under his proper name but it was later found out that he had previously assumed another to evade family fury, and his 'wife' was getting any allowance for their children under an assumed name, are his records hiding at another repository as they weren't a straightforward case? Or were they only held at the repository which was destroyed and gave rise to the 'burnt records'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinBattle Posted 27 September , 2011 Share Posted 27 September , 2011 The easy answer is to say "Impossible to know"!!! but that doesn't help! There are some Regiments (Guards?) and Branches of Service (Royal Artillery?) that may have records elsewhere, but the vast majority of Infantry records were destroyed by Luftwaffe bombing in Round 2. You, of course, have the additional complication than the rest of us who have just ONE record to try and search!! How will you know if there is another set of records if he joined under an assumed name? Why would there have been any "family fury" at him joining up? He could hardly avoid it if he was of legitimate age to serve, so can't see how or why he'd need to assume another identity! If you've searched under both versions of identity and not found anything, then like most people, you just have to accept that they are gone. You may still be able to find a Medal Index Card, have you looked for that under each name? That would at least tell you who the Army thought he was, and his Service details might be found from that information! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retlaw Posted 27 September , 2011 Share Posted 27 September , 2011 On the subject of service records, having spent the past 15 months on Ancestry, searching for men who served in the 11th Battalion East Lancs, & other service men in my patch, I've come to the conclusion that several 1000 records were not burnt, or with the unburnt records either, but were being used at the numerous pension offices around the country. When these pension offices were closed or amalgamated with other offices, the records they had held for pension purposes, were destoyed rather than returning them to the head office. There may even be some records still lurking in a dark corner of some of the older pension offices. I've happened across several folders empty, with a slip showing them as sent to whatever pension office. Retlaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jilsur Posted 28 September , 2011 Author Share Posted 28 September , 2011 Thank you both for your replies. There was no family fury involved at his joining up. I do know that there was an investigation following his name difference from his wife's in connection with his pension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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