Arthur wheeler world war 2 enquiry

[Jason77]

Looking for Arthur wheeler war record all I know he was born in Woolwich in London and served in world war 2 I have no service number or I don't know what unit he was in best advice for trying to find his record thanks.

[Pam Downes]

Hello Jason77,

Welcome to British-Genealogy.

Service records for personnel who served after 1921 are still held by the Ministry of Defence. We can tell you how to apply for those records but you will have to supply more than just a name and a birthplace to the MoD with your request.
Do you know when Arthur was born? And possibly the names of his parents? A quick glance has found five Arthur Wheelers whose births were registered in Woolwich registration district between 1906 and 1921.

Pam

[Jason77]

Hi thanks for your reply I have little to go on birthyear I'm.not certain on either I'm.guessing it's 1920 -1923 and think his dad was called William

[Lesley Robertson]

May I suggest that you collect a bit more information about him before you go hunting for Service records, otherwise how will you know that you have the right Arthur Wheeler? Every MOD search will cost you 30 pounds. Even if you just track the 5 Arthurs that Pam found, that's a lot of money so you can see that we're not being difficult. The procedure for applying is discussed HERE.

The MOD will require a copy of his death certificate

We can try and help you find out more about him. Is he a relative? Are there no relatives you can ask about him? Did he have a middle name? Do you know the names of any of his other relatives? His wife, perhaps. His occupation? Which service he joined? Any crumb of information can help.

Did he survive the War? The Commonwealth War Graves database lists 30 Arthur Wheelers who died during WW2. Among them are RAF, Army, Navy and civilians - even a member of the Home Guard.

[Jason77]

Hi he was my grandfather his wife's name was Jeannie Barnes then wheeler and his parents names were Joseph and lil I've just found out he served in the army in world war 2 that is as much as I know he had a number of brothers one was called Danny and a sister called iris.yes he did survive world war 2

[Lesley Robertson]

I can only find 3 marriages between an Arthur Wheeler and a Miss Barnes:
Janie M in 1946 in Penzance, Cornwall
Florence M in 1912 in Hampshire
Sarah in 1895 in Wiltshire.

Two of them would be far too old to serve in WW2, so I suspect that Janie and Jeannie are the same woman, but this would need to be checked.

[Jason77]

Hi Janie m Penzance would be my grandmother.i have just this minute asked a family member and they have giving me he was born in silvertown west ham possibly. My grandad didn't have a middle name.he took part in the d day landings.

[Jason77]

Mothers maiden name Lillian Matthews my grandad was born in 1923

[Lesley Robertson]

You originally said that Arthur's father was called William, then that he was Joseph. There is a marriage for William Joseph Wheeler (born about 1895) and Lilian Emily Matthews (born about 1899) on 26 March 1919 in Barking, Essex. Groom's father was William Elmer Wheeler. Bride's father was James Matthews.



PS I'm going offline now.

[Megan Roberts]

There was a birth registered in the West Ham District in the April-June quarter of 1923 for a Arthur Wheeler whose mother’s maiden name was Matthews – Volume 4A Page 452, which sounds like it could be your chap.

As others have said you need to know his date of birth to apply to the MoD for his service record, and the only way to get the date of birth if you don’t know it is to buy his birth certificate, which you can do online from the GRO at: https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/ using the information given above.