Help needed to find my late fathers regiment

[jackie0051]

I'm so very pleased to find this site and so hope that someone may be able to direct me to finding my fathers W11 records.
My late father was born in 1925 in Ireland to a very young single girl from a then well known travelling muscian's family. She left for America shortly after his birth and he appears to have been left with a foster type family.
This family left Ireland in 1938 at the same time my father left school so I'm almost certain Dad came to Manchester with the family.
I have  no other details until the 1947 electoral role, where I found dad living with the family in what was then Shakespeare Street (just of the Stockport Road) Chorlton cum Hardy or Chorlton on Medlock.
As there were no elections during the War, I've not been able to establish from the electoral roles when they moved into the house... but I did find the family and my father living in the house from 1947, the same year my father married my mother.
I know that my father was a soldier during the War and that he was for a time stationed in Italy, I have just the one Army portrait photo of him in uniform but sadly there are no badges on his uniform.
Does anyone know of any of the Manchester Regiments that were stationed in Italy?
I have never been able to find a copy of my fathers birth cert and consequently the Army Records Office cannot find his records unless I know at least the name of his regiment.
I have been researching my father family history for the past 10 years and although I am now in contact with the  descendants from his birth family, none of them have any knowledge of my father, he appears to have been a well kept family secret.
Can anyone offer me any help?
Kindest regards Jackie.

[Robert Bonner]

Jackie.

Welcome to the Forum.  I hope that we can be of help.  Two battalions of the Manchesters served in Italy during WWII.  These were the 8th (Ardwick) Battalion and the 9th Battalion from Ashton-under-Lyne.

Details of the 9th Battalion's adventures in Italy are recorded in  Volunteer Infantry of Ashton-under-Lyne  The 8th Bn history is still in progress.

Even if there are no badges on his uniform it might be helpful if you can let us see the photograph which you have got.

[jackie0051]

Hi Robert, many thanks for your reply to my posting 15 Aug 2009 re 'Help Needed to find my late fathers Regiment'. So sorry it's taken me so long to reply, my old PC crashed and I lost all data and changed my email address when I brought another PC.
I thrilled at the possibility that it might have been in the Ardwick 8th Battalion. There does seem to be a huge possibility as the first address in England i have for my father is Shakespeare Street Ardwick, he married in Ardwick and both my sister and I were born in Ardwick. I do seem to remember the name Kings Regiment.
It appears that my father left Ireland for England 1938 with a family that fostered him name McElhinney and immediately after the War he was living with the family in Shakespeare Street.
The Army Records Office could find any trace of my fathers records but I did hear stories that he was under age when he enlisted.
Dad name was Alan Brennan (Brennan was his mothers name) but I have never been able to find a birth certificate for him but he married in the name of Brennan so I'm wondering if he enlisted in another name than Brennan.
Are you able to give me info on how I could find out if my father was definitely in the Ardwick 8th Battalion? Could you also tell me how I insert the Army photo of my father onto the site.
As my posting dates back a few years I will start a new topic just in case you don't see this.
Kindest regards Jackie.