|
Website © Copyright IMM - MMIX - All Rights Reserved |
If you enjoy this siteplease consider making a donation.
Home
Add Your Story
Features
Submissions
Schools
Information
World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII
The King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps saw action in Europe, North Africa, Italy, Crete, Greece and the Middle East during the Second World War.
Battalions during the Second World War.
We are currently conducting a survey of users to improve the website, please could you spare a few moments to complete our survey?
Oct 2009 - Please note we currently have a large backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site.
Research your own Family History.
Looking to replace lost medals?
British authorities will not reissue lost medals, we often get enquiries where to purchase copies and other memorabilia, the best starting place is Ebay.co.uk
The Wartime Memories Project is supporting the campaign to save the ITV Shows Heartbeat and The Royal from being axed, if they are lost it will impact many many jobs in North Yorkshire.
Please show your support by signing the two pettitions:
List of those who served with The King's Royal Rifle Corps during The Second World War
- Pte. Alfred Edward Coles Read his Story.
- L/Cpl Arther David "Fred or Buller" Hall MID 2nd Btn. Read his Story.
- L/Cpl William John "Hammy" Hamilton Read his Story.
- Rfm. Harry Miller Read his Story.
- Rifleman Cecil A. Ponsford Read his Story.
- Hugh Ruddock C Company Read his Story.
- Reub Silver Read his Story.
- Rfm. Horace Henry "Orrie" Smith 2nd Battalion (d.27th Oct 1942) Read his Story.
- Cecil Bruce Soul Read his Story.
L/Cpl Arther David "Fred or Buller" Hall MID 2nd Btn. Kings Royal Rifle Corps
My Father was taken prisoner in May 1940 at Calais, he was in 2nd batt KRRC was awarded oak leaves. He spent rest of war as pow, I have got his pow war log diary, with many names and sketches in, plus list of camps he was in. He was also on the death march from Poland to Germany and was finally liberated from Fallingbostel. If any friends or relatives of friends of my father during his pow days read this please get in touch I would love to hear from you.
Rifleman Cecil A. Ponsford Kings Royal Rifle Corps
The above is a photograph of the funeral of a POW, about March 1943. The exact location of the funeral is not known but it is assumed to be near Fort Rauch in Poland, German POW camp Stalag 21d. I believe the deceased man was RFN Cecil A. Ponsford, POW No.2474 at Stalag 21d who lived near to my father, Albert Palmer, in London before the war. On the back of the photo is an address, written in pencil, of a place in London where Mr. Ponsford's relatives lived at the time. The address side of the photo has a German Stalag 21d rubber stamp on it, ready to be sent by Red Cross back to London, but for some reason, the photo postcard was not sent. My father had possesion of Mr. Ponsford's photo's during the rest of his stay as a POW. It's possible that the Germans did not want Mr. Ponsford's possesions sent back to his relatives due to the nature of his death. This was the man, according to my mother, who was shot by German prison guards for whistling persistently whilst out with a working party. This would have broken the Geneva Convention & the Germans would not want his relatives to know.
This postcard belonged to Mr. Cecil A. Ponsford who died as a POW at Stalag 21d as explained in previous emails. My father held this card, & others, until the end of the war & it was not allowed to be sent back to Mr. Ponsford's family by the Germans due to the nature of his death. Mr. Ponsford POW number at Stalag 21d was 2474. It shows a group of 9 POW's dressed up and performing a stage play at Fort Rauch Stalag 21d.
On the back of the postcard can be seen Mr. Ponsford's address, the card was written in pencil & the message side of the card has been deliberately rubbed out & the German rubber stamp has been scratched out. This could have been done by the Germans before my father took posession of it. I can just see a date in pencil which says 24/3/1943
These photographs, also belonged to POW Cecil A. Ponsford, my father had these in his possesion after the death of Mr. Ponsford before March 1943. The top picture picture shows 3 POW's on stage giving an amateur dramatics performance for the rest of the POW's at Stalag 21d. The bottom shows a POW football match with Fort Rauch Stalag 21d in the background, date of photo possibly 1942.
Cecil Bruce Soul Kings Royal Rifles Corps (Queen Victoria Rifles)
I am doing my family tree and have honoured a few of my family war dead including my uncle, Charles SOUL, signalman, who fell in War. I have just come across my relative in my family tree compiled by Brendon Soul of the Beeb. It says this: 'Cecil Bruce Soul b 29th Dec 1929. Son of George Herbert Soul( Banker) & Florence Emily Soul of 82 Carlton Rd. 1922-29 Wellborough School, Northants. 1937 Mercantile Bank of India Ltd., Calcutta. Taken prisoner Calais, serving with Queen Victoria's Rifles. Stalag XX1 A Germany. Later 1954 Folkestone Directory: 7 Westbourne Gardens, Westbourne Private Hotel and Mr and Mrs Bruce Soul Died 15th april 1991 Malaga Spain. Married Gwendoline Iris Slater - engagement party Ramsgate Theatre - can you tell me any more about my relative please?
Hugh Ruddock C Company Kings Royal Rifle Corps
I am trying to trace any members of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps, C Company, who were captured at Calais 1940, and who may have been with my father when he was also captured by the Germans. I am trying to trace his time in Germany as a POW. He was taken to Stalag 20A then transferred to Stalag 20B where it is thought he stayed until freed by the Americans in 1945. Any help with this matter would be extremely appreciated.
Reub Silver King's Royal Rifle Corps
My father was Reub Silver, of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps, he was a POW in Stalag XXB five years. So interesting reading all the stories which are so similar to the stories he used to relate to me when he came home. How lucky I was to have him come home, even though he eventually passed away at age 45 from a heart attack, which I think was caused by being a POW.
L/Cpl William John "Hammy" Hamilton Kings Royal Rifles Corps
I would like to hear from anyone who knew my father Billy Hamilton, who joined up in 1939 was at Aldershot, Sailsbury, and I think Catterick, he was a cook in the Kings Royal Rifles and was captured when first arriving in France and was placed into a stalag camp which I think the no was 5, he escaped from the camp and went into the partisans but was recaptured and spend the rest of the time in the Stalag until he was released in 1945. He did a lot of boxing and was origionally from Bethnal Green. Before war broke out he was stationed in Palestine and also at Aldershot and Catterick. I would like to hear from anyone who knew him
Rfm. Harry Miller Kings Royal Rifle Corps
My uncle Harry Miller, was a POW at Stalag XXA-3 at Torun, Poland. I have the official German postcard of him and others. I would be very interested to know more about his experiences at the camp, or any other information.
Rfm. Horace Henry "Orrie" Smith 2nd Battalion (d.27th Oct 1942)
Horace Henry Smith (who was my great uncle) was born in Walthamstow, London on 31st December 1917, the youngest of 10 children. He worked as a builder's labourer but was conscripted into the army in 1940, assigned to 9th Battalion 'The Rangers' KRRC. After serving alongside the Greek army against the German invasion, his section of the Batalion was evacuated from Greece in April 1941 and transported to Egypt where they were integrated into the 2nd Batalion KRRC, 8th Army.
On the night of 26th/27th October 1942, during the battle of El Alamein, the 2nd Battalion - as part of the 7th Motor Brigade, 1st Armoured Division - was engaged in an attack to capture an enemy anti-tank gun position nick-named the 'Woodcock Feature'. During this action Horace Smith was killed (we believe by a land-mine), aged 24. He has no known grave but his name is inscribed on the Alamein Memorial.
I never knew my great uncle 'Orrie', as I was not born until after the war, but my grand-mother, who was his older sister, often spoke to me about him. The remembrance day service was always a poignant reminder in our house when I was a child - and remains so today.
Pte. Alfred Edward Coles Kings Royal Rifle Corps
My Dad, Alfred Coles, was a regular soldier before WW2 and served in Ireland. He was on Reserve when WW2 broke out, and he went off to France in 1940 with BEF I believe. He was wounded at Calais as his Batallion fought in the rear guard action whilst the majority of the BEF escaped from Dunkirk. I understand he was driving in a Scout car when it hit a land mine. He went to a German hospital, and then spent the rest of the war in a POW camp somewhere near Danzig (Gdansk). Whilst in the POW camp I think he worked in a brick factory. His war ended when the camp gates were opened by the Germans in 1945 and the whole camp, guards included marched towards the west, trying to avoid the advancing Russians from the east. They marched hundreds of miles, living off the land. Eventually they met up with Americans and my Dad was repatriated home. When he returned home, he weighed just over 6 st. He later became a member of the Dunkirk Veteran Association. If anyone can fill in more details, I would be very grateful as I would like to pass this on to his great-grandchildren
Can you help us to add to our records?
The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them
Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area?
If so please let us know.
Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.
Celebrate your own Family History
Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.
Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.
We are currently conducting a survey of users to improve the website, please could you spare a few moments to complete our survey?
The Wartime Memories Project is a non profit organisation run by volunteers.
This website is paid for out of our own pockets and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources.
If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running.
Hosted by:
Website © Copyright IMM - MMIX
- All Rights Reserved
