How do I find lost details of a Pow?

[Skinzloving]

I am in need of help and advice. I would like to find the service details of my great uncle but I have no idea of his service number or even regiment, although I am sure that if he was in the army(and I can not be sure of this) he would have been in the Gloucesters.

His name was Arthur Leslie Cooke, his address would have been Ludlow Green ,Ruscombe ,Stroud,Gloucestershire. I know for certain that he was held as a POW in a japanse war camp but where, I just do not know.
He did survive the camp but lived as a recluse for the rest of his life choosing to have limited contact with family.
All help and suggestions most gratefully received.

[Wirral]

Try entering War Service Records on Google (search UK only). It comes up with the MOD site & contact details, lots of them. There may be organisations like the Burma Star who can help you. One of my aunts was a nurse in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where the POWs where taken before they were well enough to make the journey home. A very brave bunch of men.

[Steve Steere]

Hi,

You may find this site of interest: http://www.cofepow.org.uk/index.html

There is no mention of the Glosters, but men were often moved around to different regiments. The site gives a lot of information which may aid you in your search.

For those reading whose relatives did not survive look at: http://homepage3.nifty.com/pow-j/e

This is a site that lists each of the different camps, but unfortunately does not have a centralised index, so you will have to look at each one in turn for the name.

I also believe that the next of kin to your great uncle can apply to the MOD for details of his service record, but it does cost and takes a long time, so I have read. Whether they would diclose information to someone who is not a direct descendant will have to be found out.

Regards,

Steve

[nemisis]

hi there,have you tried the royal british legion web site,

[Geoffers]

Arthur Leslie Cooke, his address would have been Ludlow Green ,Ruscombe ,Stroud,Gloucestershire. I know for certain that he was held as a POW in a japanse war camp but where, I just do not know. He did survive the camp but lived as a recluse for the rest of his life choosing to have limited contact with family.
Have a browe through The National Archives (TNA) web-site research guide on the subject; it may point you in the right direction
http://www.catalogue.nationalarchives.gov.uk/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=303

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire