Father in Law

[Bob Jones]

Hello, Many Thanks for adding me, by way of Introduction, I am 68 from Merseyside, served in the 1st Royal Tank Regiment from 72-78, I have joined this Forum to try and get as much info as I can about the 8th Battalion T.A, with whom my late Father, whose funeral service was this morning, served with from 55-58 out in Malaya

[rafboy]

Welcome to the Forum Bob.
So sorry to hear of the passing of your father in law.

Can you let us have your fathers service number etc and I am sure someone will be able to help you.

Are you sure your father served in the Manchester Regiment? If he did your Malaya dates are wrong, the first Bn were there from 1951 to 1954, I was there with my father who was with the Manchester's.
See: https://www.themanchesters.org/malaya.htm

There are photos from the Bn's time in Malaya in the Forum photo section here: http://themanchesters.org/forum/index.php?topic=627.0

Best of luck with your research.
Cliff

[Bob Jones]

Thanks for your response, I have only briefly had a glance at his Paybook and discharge paperwork, am hoping his son with send me some pictures of it all, so I can confirm things, his Army number was 22664145 Smith A. W. he was born in 1934, and was working as a Packing crate unit in Salford prior to call up, it states he serve 3 years and 160 days in the colours and was awarded the GSM, on return to Blighty he went back to work at the Crate making depot, he rarely spoke of his time in the Army, having served myself I thought he would have opened up to me, but to no avail, he was a very private individual and very Old school, as for the 8th not serving there at the dates stated, am not sure is he was transferred into one of the other Battalions to reinforce them, I did wonder with the 8th being a T.A Battalion, if they would have been sent overseas

[rafboy]

Thanks for the information Bob.
His son could apply for his fathers Service Records which should identify where and when he served.
See: https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-records-of-service

I cannot be certain of the following which is partly guesswork and assumptions on my part but it should give you some idea of his possible service.
Born in 1934 he would be 18 in 1952, the Manchester's were already in Malaya, it is quite feasible that he joined them there especially with him having a GSM which I am guessing is for Malaya. His service number (I am aware that there were men with later Service Numbers with the Manchester's in Malaya) is from a range issued between July 1951 and June 1955. As he was called up it would have been for National Service with him having served over 3 years it indicates that he signed on for a longer period, many did this to get a higher rate of pay. This also indicates that he served from call up in 1952 to 1955, I'm guessing that on return from Malaya in 1954 he stayed with the Battalion until his engagement ended in 1955 at which point he joined the 8th Bn TA until 1958.  His service record would help.
There are a couple of Facebook Groups that you may like to look at:
The Manchester Regiment:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/44967928106
Kings Manchester Regiment Veterans: https://www.facebook.com/groups/236688033183473
Hope this helps. Its possible someone else here can confirm or add to this.
Cliff
       

[Bob Jones]

That's superb, many Thanks for the information, much appreciated

[rafboy]

You are welcome Bob, only too pleased to be of some help.

I did forget to say if you can find a copy of Robert Bonner's book Jungle Bashers (ISBN 1873907125) it will give you an excellent insight to what the 1st Battalion The Manchester Regiment went through in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency.
There are copies on ebay and Amazon at ridiculous prices, best bet is to trawl through second hand bookshops or try your local library to see if they can get a copy in for you.

This may be of interest: https://www.tameside.gov.uk/museumsgalleries/mom/history/1946-1958
You may be able to get more information from a visit to the archive in Ashton Under Lyne located in the library there, Currently the Museum is closed but the archive is open: https://www.tameside.gov.uk/archives/manchesterregiment

Can you please update the Forum if you manage to get any more information.

Good hunting.
Cliff   

[Bob Jones]

Thank you, I most certainly will, on retrieving his military records, could I do using my wife's name, his daughter?

[rafboy]

Thank you, I most certainly will, on retrieving his military records, could I do using my wife's name, his daughter?

You should be able to, you will need a death certificate.
The records have been moved to the National Archive at Kew, I am aware from contacts that when requesting a RAF record the reply was it won't be available for 12 months because the records are being digitised. Worth a try though.
See: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mod-open-foi-request-step1
Cliff