Want to find my dads military history

[cleworthallray]

Hello. My dad was a Salford lad born on 5th September 1910. His name was OLIVER GEE. I was born in 1951 and never really knew a lot about my dads time in WW2. I have no medals, pictures or information about this time and would really like to know. I don't have any details such as regiment, rank, serial number etc so I am really asking a lot. I there is someone who can help. Whist watching the recent D day events it got me thinking. I know he was in the 8th army and that he was a desert rat and fought in north Africa but that's it. He was married to Jessie Gee and lived in Swinton where I was born. Thank you for any information. Ray

[MargaretB]

Do you know if he was in the Lancashire Fusiliers?  They have a museum in Bury and a website where you can look up basic things.

https://www.fusiliermuseum.com/

Otherwise try the census records.

[cleworthallray]

Thanks for that Margaret. I don't know any of his military details apart from what I have detailed. Hopefully some other members may be able to help.

[mrseddie]

Hi Ray someone has a tree in Ancestry, very little info except he married Jessie Jones in 1937 bn 1910. Oliver's death is recorded 1977 aged 67 yrs Manchester.
You may need to try the National Archives online, it could bring up his name and any military records.
Just a suggestion, good luck
Mrseddie

[cleworthallray]

thanks for that Mrseddie. The tree was done by my sister but as you say has no information that can help me progress. Tried filling in the governments veterans site but hit a brick wall because they need to know his regiment/serial number. Not got it so stuck again. hopefully someone on here may just make the break for me. Cheers ray

[Cupcake]

forces-war-records.co.uk allows you to search for free, by war, by service or just by name, but there's nothing there for Oliver Gee in WWII.  Did he have another initial/forename?  I put in WWII, British Army and the surname Gee, which generated 218 matches, none of which had a second inital O or middle name Oliver.....

[cleworthallray]

Thanks cupcake. I have tried that one too. Being to think he was in Switzerland with his feet up and not in the desert where he was supposed to be. Did see letter from him to my mum from Africa in his uniform but all that stuff went missing years ago when my mum was in her nineties. Thanks for your help. It's as if he didn't exist. Ray

[migky]

I would avoid paying for any info on forces-war-records.co.uk, a lot of the time you can find the info for free or some of it on many military forums.  Also i'v personally found that you can get the same records cheaper from other sites.


Now if your mother or father are still alive, then they can apply for the service records( if they survived ) free of charge. If both of them are now deceased, then you can apply but it will coast you £30.
https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records#service-records-of-deceased-service-personnel


Migky 

[cleworthallray]

Thanks for that. They are both dead. But to go through the site you said you need military info that I don't have even when paying the £30.

[Cupcake]

It is difficult, cos a lot of wartime records are incomplete or lost.  I know my great uncle managed to use the confusion to get himself registered as father to the baby his wife already had when they met....
 
Maybe your Dad was involved in something top secret?   

[cleworthallray]

I don't think so but that would be interesting. Thanks

[migky]

I am sure they refund you the money if no records found? As everyone i have asked for had been found for me, i'v never had to get a refund.


All you need is copies of his birth/marriage & death certificates, giving details of where he was living at the time of the start & end of the war.


There is a back log & could take time for them to get back to you.  I waited over 6 months once.


Migky 

[MargaretB]

Apparently quite a few military records were lost in a big fire in London during WW2.  At least, that is what I was told by the Lancashire Fusiliers when I was looking for my granddad's records.  They had limited information but nothing like the detail you see on programmes like Who Do You Think You Are?

[cleworthallray]

Many thanks for that. Please keep looking and making suggestions.

[Jackie Brennan Colson]

Hi Cleworthallray. You have much the same problem as myself and would be interested to hear if you have had any progress since posting. I've been trying to find my late fathers Army records for the past 15 years but haven't had any luck.  I applied to Glasgow about 10 yrs ago but their search didn't turn up anything. I know very little about my fathers life until he married my mother in Manchester 1947, he was then living at 15 Shakespeare Street Ardwick Manchester.  He was born approx 1926 but I have no idea where as I haven't been able to find a birth cert for him. His mother left him in Ireland 1929 and he appears to have been moved around to different people. He attended the Raphoe (Ireland) National  School but left in 1938 and the next info I have for him is his wedding cert in Manchester, he was living with a family named McElhinney who also came from Raphoe Ireland. I do know he enlisted, lied about his age and he served in Italy during the War but I don't know his service number or regiment. I just have one Army photo but it doesn't show any badge. Oddly enough one of my fathers best friends he served with was named Leslie Gee but I don't have any further info regarding him either. [/size]