Captain. Douglas William Sykes

[Sykes]

Hi There i would like to find some records on my grandfather, Douglas William Sykes, i know you would have to send away £30 to the Ministry of Defence to obtain his Service Records, but i was wondering if there is any from of information on him that you could obtain for free or that anyone could find on him, his details are as followed:

Douglas William Sykes
b. 1914, Weatherby, West Riding Yorkshire
m. 1941 - Accra, Ghana
d. 2001 - Jersey, Channel Islands

my father seems to think that he joined the Territorial Army before the war around these set dates, '1935-36' and then when the war broke out he was sent to the regular army, but this maybe wrong?

He was in the R.A.S.C ..... Royal Army Service Corps.

There's a picture of him and The No1, Officers Battalion - R.A.S.C. dated 1943 and he is listed as Captain. D. W. SYKES.

My father also seems to think that he was in:

West Africa
East Africa
India?
Israel

That's all i know on my grandfather as he never talked about his war days, i was only 4 years old when he died so i wouldn't know much at all.

Any information on his Army Career would be much appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Sykes

[Coromandel]

Hello Sykes and welcome to the forum

You may be able to piece together information about your grandfather's army career from announcements in the London Gazette, which you can search online at london-gazette.co.uk (put www. in front).

For example, this could be him, being promoted from 2nd Lieut. to Lieut. in 1936:

London Gazette, 28 July 1936
(under the heading 'Territorial Army')

'7th & 8th Bns. W. York. R. - The undermentioned 2nd Lts. to be Lts. 6 July 1926:- D.W. Sykes, R.C. Baker.'

Then joining the Royal Armoured Corps:

London Gazette, 21 November 1939
(under the heading 'Territoral Army Reserve of Officers')

'ROYAL ARMOURED CORPS'
The undermentioned offrs. are transferred from T.A. Res. of Off. (W. York R.) retaining rank and seniority, 1st Nov. 1938:- . [12 other names, not copied], Lt. D.W. Sykes (56306).'

and then the RASC:

London Gazette, 22 October 1940
(under the heading 'Territoral Army Reserve of Officers')

'ROYAL ARMY SERVICE CORPS
Lt. D.W. Sykes (56036), from R.A.C. (T.A.R.O.), to be Lt. 11th Oct. 1940.'

[notanotherminer]

As you have already stated, you would be able to obtain your grandfather's service records from Army Disclosures. Full details and a downloadable application can be found on the MOD website here.

Other than that there is nothing really online relating to the records of WW2 servicemen. If your grandfather was a decorated soldier you may find details of any medals awarded on the London Gazette website.

http://www.
london-gazette.co.uk/search

You might also find this TNA research Guide relating to Army Lists useful.

However, given all the places at which you say he served I'd have thought that his service records would be a must if you want to build up a picture of him during his time in the army.

[Sykes]

That is him being announced in the Gazzette!, thanks for all your help, i might have to send away for his service record.

[notanotherminer]

If you apply in your own name you will need to obtain your father's consent:

Under the scheme, and in recognition of the duty of care owed to the family of the deceased subject, for a period of 25 years following the date of death of the subject and without the consent of the Next of Kin, MOD will disclose only: surname; forename; rank; service number; regiment/corps; place of birth; age; date of birth; date of death where this occurred in service; the date an individual joined the service; the date of leaving; good conduct medals (i.e. Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (LS&GCM)), any orders of chivalry and gallantry medals (decorations of valour) awarded, some of which may have been announced in the London Gazette.


Provided you have that consent (or your father applies himself) then the following applies:

Where the consent of the immediate next of kin has been given for its release to a third party, the 25 year threshold will not apply allowing the release of all the information available under the publication scheme at any time, subject to the payment of an administration fee of £30 per record and the provision of a death certificate (except where death was in service).