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Military Record with no info

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ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

denise

denise Report 31 Dec 2015 14:51

I have absolutley no idea what my dad did during WWII. I had thought he was in an exempt occupation as he was brought up on a farm but in 1939 he was in Manchester working as a hotel waiter. My dad died 20+ years ago and there are no surviving relatives. He never mentioned the war - in face he never spoke about his past. When he married my mum in 1951 his occupation was listed as engineer - a trade I assume he learned during the war
Any suggestions as to how I go about finding out what he did when I have nothing to go on?
Thanks :-S

Researching:
Kitchen

+++DetEcTive+++

+++DetEcTive+++ Report 31 Dec 2015 16:04

Welcome to the boards and GR, Denise.

As you say, there is no guarantee that he joined the forces, but if you have a spare £30 you could apply to the MOD for copies.
https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records

Someone may have said it was £30 per Branch, so you could end up paying out 3 times with no result. Aside from an exempt occupation, he could have been rejected on medical grounds. If it was a minor issue, he might have been directed to work in a factory where he learned his engineering skills.

Failure to speak of the war could have been from a number of reasons - PTSD, Official Secrets Act or just wanting to put it all behind him.

Researching:
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