RAMC, RASC expert help please?

[helenc]

Hi my grandad was an ambulance driver in the UK at the start of the war and then went abroad, he was captured in Crete in 1941 in the battle of crete and was transported on the cruiser PHOEBE on his way to stalag 8b, later 344 where he was kept until the war ended. are there regiments or units attached to these corps? he always said he was in the RAMC but his paperwork shows both. his name was Cyril Catchpole b1913 hampshire and he was a chauffeur most of his life and was one of the men with a proper driving license before the war.
any help gratefully received Helen

[Geoffers]

Have you, or his direct next-of-kin applied for his service record? See the following site for information on doing this and to download an application form:

http://www.veteransagency.mod.uk/service_recs/service_recs.htm

Geoffers

[helenc]

yes i have applied for the records but thought someone might be able to give me some more info. fingers crossed and waiting for the postman.
helen

[Rove]

Hi Helenc

You asked :
..............are there regiments or units attached to these corps?

I believe that part of those Corps you mentioned where attached to, or became part of R.E.M.E. (Royal Mechanical & Electrical Engineers)

If you search for R.E.M.E history you shall come across what I mentioned but of course this is only part of your search

[keith9351]

Hi Helenc
To give you some idea of how the units in Crete were deployed, here is the order of battle for the different sectors,

http://niehorster.orbat.com/017_britain/41-05_crete/creforce.html

For example without getting to technical (I hope) my fathers regiment the 9/KRRC were defending Suda Bay sector so if you click on that it will give a list of all units there including Field Ambulance etc.

Keith

[KenHolmes]

I served in the RAMC post war and the driver of our ambulances were always provided by the RASC. Although when I was stationed at BMH Rinteln in Germany there was a special group of people who were mainly Poles and Czechs who provided this service. I was of course referring to ambulances that were attached to hospitals. There was of course the Field Ambulance mainly staffed by the RAMC and the QARANC and I'm certain the RASC would have provided the drivers because of the difficult conditions they would be employed in.

[cazmac]

Hi iam also looking at my dads time on crete which he didnot talk about very much he was in ramc and was hidden by the locals but gave himself up as he got very sick and needed medicine . he was sent to stalag 8b have sent for his records but they are going to take some time . the only thing he did talk about was camp concert the mikado in which he played one of the three little maids from school. He was repatriated before march 1944 as this is when he married my mum, he was at the Q.A. hospital in Shenley when they married.
he was William Schofield McKnight born 23/03/1918. if anyone has any info iwould be eternally grateful

regards caz

[keith9351]

There is a Stalag VIII-B discussion group who may be of interest to you at:-

http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/134484.html

Also the Wartime Memories Project at :-

http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/pow/stalag8b.html

Keith

[daggers]

With respect, I think REME is most unlikely. They were hived off from the Royal Engineers and Royal Army Ordnance Corps in 1942, and would not provide drivers for ambulances, though they might well repair them in workshops if beyond the means of the local units.
Daggers