WW2 Service Record - John Dougald Macdonald

[JanetCarmichael]

Greetings All. My great uncle above was born 25/02/1909 in Bulawayo, Rhodesia. I believe he was a Leiutenant or Captain in the British Army, and fought in Burma/India with Mountbatton and possibly also Egypt. I have a Star of Africa medal of his, as well as a sword. He was known to us as Jock and died in South Africa. He travelled by ship from Mozambique to England with his 1st wife, Vera, and they docked 15/03/1937. I know very little about him (he was the black sheep of the family) and would love to know more about his military career. I would be grateful if anyone could assist me with finding John's military number and/or records of his regiment and where he fought?

[christanel]

Uk WW2 service records are still held by the MoD but can be applied for. This 'sticky' explains and gives a link where the application forms can be downloaded. You do not need a regiment name or number but you do need a date of birth, A copy of his death certificate and 30 pounds. Unfortunately at the moment there is a wait of at least 18 months before you will receive the records.

I will see if I can find he and/or his wife in the 1928 England and Wales register.
Christina

Added: I can't find him him in the 1939 register. Others may have more luck.

[JanetCarmichael]

Uk WW2 service records are still held by the MoD but can be applied for. This 'sticky' explains and gives a link where the application forms can be downloaded. You do not need a regiment name or number but you do need a date of birth, A copy of his death certificate and 30 pounds. Unfortunately at the moment there is a wait of at least 18 months before you will receive the records.

I will see if I can find he and/or his wife in the 1928 England and Wales register.
Christina

Added: I can't find him him in the 1939 register. Others may have more luck.

Thank you for your help Christanel. I have ready the sticky and it has been helpful. I have a great grandfather (John's dad) who fought in the boer war, and I would love to see his military history too. So maybe they can help here too.

My uncle would not be in the 1928 register because he came back to South Africa after the war. He and Vera divorced and she stayed in the UK. But thanks for trying. Just another query, if I have John's sword from WW2 and want to find out more about the inscription, is this site appropriate for trying to do this?

[Lesley Robertson]

The MOD people would not be able to help with anything pre-1922. you could have a look around Ancestry and Find My Past. Also, the South African genealogy society. With my Boer War GUncle, I also found some stuff in the newspapers of the time. He was Black Watch, and the journalists tracked their travel from their base to the ships.

[JanetCarmichael]

Thanks Lesley, I will do.

[Lesley Robertson]

Something worth trying -look for Vera rather than John in their earlier years in the UK. While not rare, “Vera” is less common than “John”, especially combined with McDonald. The ‘39 does not extend to Scotland.

[Lesley Robertson]

I've had a look. Scotlands People has deaths for 14 Veras, plus a couple for women with it as a middle name. Only 5 are of an age to fit with John. Do you have any information about her? Age? Middle name?

There's a lot more in a suitable death range on FreeBMD.

[simmo1]

Hi

"I have John's sword from WW2 and want to find out more about the inscription, is this site appropriate for trying to do this"
Probably not, try WW2Talk.

regards

Robert

[JanetCarmichael]

Thanks Robert, will do.

[JanetCarmichael]

I will try and get more information on Vera. I know she remarried and her new surname was Hemstead. I will try and get more information. What is FreeBMD?