Military Chat

Hi can anyone help me.?
My Wifes Uncle was a P.O.W. W.W.2. we don't have any service records.
His name Stephen Jones b dec 1917 Pontypridd South Wales.
We always remembered when he came back he was a broken Man, and was spoon fed for months, he did live till 1999, BUT never talked about is sevice records.
Any help would be appreciated.
John. Q.L.D.

WW2 army records are still with the MOD and not available online. You can apply here for the records (but you have to be next of kin or prove your relationship with the next of kin's approval):-

Army Personnel Centre,
Historical Disclosures,
Mail Point 555,
Kentigern House,
65 Brown Street,
Glasgow,
G2 8EX

The records cost around £30 and can take anything from 6 months to a year to arrive.

Kath. x

There are record cards at the National Archives for POW's of the Japanese

Many thanks. ;-)

Hi John,

If you look under the thread "Military Research Tips, please add" which is at the top of the first page of this board, scroll through to the 3rd page and you'll see that I have listed a fair number of useful websites ref: Japanese PoW's.

Two uncles of mine were POWs and both survived, amazingly. One was in Burma and one in Java, neither spoke of their ordeal, as is usually the case, so anything I know about them I have learned through websites and reading books.
For searching your uncle it is worth looking at all the sites I have listed because not all of them hold the same information. For example I found one of my uncles listed (with name, rank, service number and which camps he was in) on one website and yet no mention of him on 2 others.

To help you understand your uncle's story, there are simply loads of books on Japanese POW's which you could read....but may I suggest that first you try (via the websites I listed) to discover where he was held then you can read the books which concentrate on his particular area or camps.
However, one book which I thoroughly recommend is Surviving the Sword, by Brain McArthur. It's made up of mixture of research and a compilation of former POW's own accounts, covering quite a broad field - the main areas, islands, camps, and hellships . If you choose to read only one book on the subject, read that one!

Just shout if you need more help :-)

K

The MOD will give some details without NOK permission in certain circumstances:

Request for Service records of deceased Service personnel

Under the scheme, and in recognition of the duty of care owed to the family of the deceased subject, for a period of 25 years following the date of death of the subject and without the consent of the next of kin, MOD will disclose only:
•surname
•forename
•rank
•service number
•regiment/corps
•place of birth
•age
•date of birth
•date of death where this occurred in service
•the date an individual joined the service
•the date of leaving
•good conduct medals (for example, Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (LS&GCM)), any orders of chivalry and gallantry medals (decorations of valour) awarded, some of which may have been announced in the London Gazette

After this period, and if it is held, in addition MOD will disclose without the requirement for next of kin consent:
•the units in which he/she served
•the dates of this service and the locations of those units
•the ranks in which the service was carried out and details of campaign medals awarded

The administration fee of £30 will be waived for requests from those who were the spouse or civil partner of the subject at the time of death (or parent if there was no spouse or civil partner).

Where the consent of the immediate next of kin has been given for its release to a third party, the 25 year threshold will not apply allowing the release of all the information available under the publication scheme at any time, subject to the payment of an administration fee of £30 per record and the provision of a death certificate (except where death was in service).


https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records

Roy

have nudged up a link

I've found several on this site
http://www.forces-war-records.co.uk

Regards

Mary

Many thanks to all for your help.?
Have a great Christmas and 2014.
John. OZ. ;-)

Have you tried this website?

www.cofepow.org.uk

Reg.