Gents,
It's been a while but I have finally got to the bottom of why Lt R.J. McWilliam, The Manchester Regiment received a two bar GSM.
As mentioned above, he got his "PALESTINE 1945-48" clasp as an officer in The Manchester Regiment but got his "CYPRUS" clasp while in another unit.
All comes to he who waits.
Bob B
Robert James McWilliam was born in Aberdeen in 1920. While Robert was still young he attended the Queen Victoria School, Dunblane, which has been looking after the children of UK Armed Forces personnel since 1908 (his father had died). Unsurprisingly therefore, Robert chose to join the Army and on 14 January 1936, aged 15, he attested as a ‘Boy’ for ‘General Service’ in the Army being posted two days later to The Army Technical School for Boys at Chepstow. While still at the school he was appointed private (No T/71058) in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) in November 1938.
On 28 February 1939 McWilliam was posted to 1 Heavy Report shop (Motor Transport), RAOC (HRS) embarking for the Western Desert, Middle East in February 1942.
In June 1944 McWilliam moved to HQ in Malta remaining there until September when he returned to the UK. Having been promoted corporal in November 1944, that same month McWilliam was posted to the Officer Cadet Training Unit being appointed to a commission in the Manchester Regiment on 24 August 1945 (The London Gazette, 21 September 1945) and posted to 24 Machine Gun Training Company. At this time his records noted: ‘Military Conduct – Exemplary. Conduct – As the result of the diligence and loyalty he has shown during this service he has been awarded a commission.” For his service in the Second World War McWilliam was awarded the 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Defence and War Medals which were issued in September 1948.
In October 1945 2nd Lieutenant McWilliam attended a Western Command weapon training course before being posted to 2nd Battalion Cheshire Regiment on 30 November just prior to embarking to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in December, disembarking in the Middle East on the 20th when his demobilisation was deferred by one year.
2nd Lt McWilliam was posted to The Middle East, Egypt and Palestine and, while serving with 2nd Cheshires as ‘Acting Captain’ in The Manchester Regiment, he was awarded the General Service Medal 1918-2007 (GSM) with clasp ‘PALESTINE 1945-48’, qualification for which required only one or more days’ service in Palestine between September 1945 and June 1948. There are some 17 officers and other ranks on the roll for the Manchester Regiment with this clasp – quite possibly they were attending a course at the Middle East Staff College in Haifa (as mentioned on some of the entries). In April 1947, he was posted back to The Manchester Regiment and embarked for the UK having been demobilised on 13 August 1947. However, on 8 December he re-enlisted, for five years in the Regulars and seven years in the Reserves, as a private in the RASC and was posted to their Depot Battalion, Thetford, Norfolk being promoted sergeant the same day. He was promoted Acting Company Quarter Master Sergeant in February 1950 with the 3rd Training Battalion and substantive CQMS on 1 April 1952.
Having been promoted WOII in October 1952, in December 1952 he was posted to Cyprus as part of the Middle East Land Forces. As a result of this service, he was awarded the clasp ‘CYPRUS’ his GSM. In December 1952 CQMS McWilliam was deployed to Malta, spending time in Egypt in 1955 before returning to Cyprus and then to the UK in November 1955. In November 1958 he was posted to the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), having been awarded his Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with gratuity the previous year (Army List 35 of 1957). On 10 April 1959 he re-enlisted at Muenchen Gladbach for a further two years in the RASC and remained with the BAOR until 9 January 1963 before returning to the UK, being finally discharged on 5 February 1963. In total R.J. McWilliam had served 23 years and 326 days in the Army. At the time his address was given as Seaton Avenue, Aberdeen.
Robert James McWilliam died in August 1992 in hospital in Gateshead
