Hello & Good Evening

[redspan]

Hello

I have no direct military experience myself, but my father and his brothers served in WW II and my grandfather and his brothers all served in WW I. Consequently there's a lot of family history that relates to time spent in uniform.

I'm also interested in military aviation, and the history of WW II and the way it shaped the world we live in today

Lookng forward to knowing more about you all.

TTFN

[La Langosta]

Hello

[redspan]

Hello La Langosta

[London Boy]

Hello Redspan.

Ex-RAF Regiment, ex-Met police. Current, Swedish MoD - both my full time job and my part-time TA activities.

My paternal grandfather served in the British cavalry in France in 1917 - blinded by mustard gas returned to his home and horses in Ireland.

Several maternal great uncles in the original IRA during the War of Independence 1919 -1921. And then in the Irregulars in the Irish Civil War 1922-23 fighting the IFS (Irish Free State) troops.
My mother's side of the family from out west always were more rebellious

One paternal aunt in the Transport Corps in Belfast during WWII. However in the 30s she'd also been one of Duffy's Blueshirts and supported Franco::::

Several paternal uncles in the 32nd Infantry Brigade of the Irish Army with the UN in Cyprus, the Leb, Palestine, and the Congo and other places from the late 40s and up to the late 60s.

[redspan]

Hello London Boy

Blimey, that's a mixed bag!

My father was in the RA in Burma during WW II. He joined up in the 1930s, probably due to the influence of his father who served in WW I:

Joined the 257th Field Battery, Royal Artillery (T) Lee Green, Middlesex, October 1936, aged 14 years. Mobilised for War, 1st September 1939. Served in the 20th Indian Division, 14th Army, in Assam and North Burma, 1943-45.

[Hyperlithe]

Hello Redspan, welcome to the forums!

What's with the military dating link?

[redspan]

Hello Hyperlithe, thanks for the welcome

I'm a full time network engineer but in my spare time I run a few social networks and dating sites (It keeps me out of mischief), but I'm here to make contacts with people who may be able to help me fill in the blanks in my family's military history. As well as direct ancestors I'm researching another family friend who was in the RN Reserve during WW II.

Is that OK?

[Hyperlithe]

Certainly!
Was just curious...
Both of my grandfathers served in WWII, (one as an Army driver, one as a Navy Signaller), my Dad used to be a RN Observer, and my brother's a Marines Bandsman. I'm the first in my family to join the RAF, and I'm SNCO Aircrew.

There are plenty of people on here who may be able to point you in the right direction...

[redspan]

Thanks. I've had the first result today. Someone from the Naval Records in Portsmouth replied with details of the rank of one of the persons I'm researching. They were able to do so from the stripes on his sleeve. Simple when you know how