Those who Served
J. R. Couper . Royal Canadian Air Force 419 Sqd. |
Mary Kathleen Courtney . Land Army My Mother, Mary Kathleen Courtney married after war, and became Mary Casey she lived in Weedon and Daventry and Kettering as a Land Girl.
I am trying to get in touch with anybody who can:
Give me contact addresses, web sites, email addresses in order to find out where my mother was and details of her enlistment or tell me about my mother
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Alice Ethel Cousins . Woman's Land Army from 31 Outram St., London) Mum who is now 81 years old was in the WLA she tells me she was billeted at Ross on Wye and later somewhere in Herefordshire(possibly Bircher Hall)quite near Leominister, she wonders if there are any of the girls she knew still around. |
Paul R. Couts . British Army My great, Uncle Paul R. Couts, was a prisoner of War in Stalag 4B. Thank you for your web site. I hope to learn more about him and this is a place of reverence for us all. |
Cpl. Archibald White Cowan . British Army Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders from Stirling, Scotland) (d.9th July 1944) My grandfather Archibald Cowan was a Corporal in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and was part of the Expeditionary Force. He was severely injured and captured in Belgium in 1939. He was then held at Stalag 23A (hospital) before being repatriated to Leith on the Drottningham in November 1943. Unfortunately he died of his injuries in Stirling Royal Infirmary on the 9th July 1944. If anyone has any information on him please contact me. |
T. Cowan . Royal Canadian Air Force 419 Sqd. |
Pte. T. H. Cowan . Home Guard Signal Sect. Workington Btn. |
Harry Cowdrey . Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron 879 from Elephant and Castle) My Dad was in WW2, he joined in 1942 at the age of 18. He didn't speak much about it until these last five years or so. He befriended a young man called Harry Cowdrey who came from Elephant and Castle. He sailed to the States on the Queen Elizabeth at the same time as Winston Churchill and Harry went with him. They trained as pilots and were in BFTS 3 on Course 16, Spartan School of Aeronautics (this latter number defines a group of lads training at that time). After receiving his Wings and wanting to get in on the action and put his new found skills into practice, he signed up for the Navy Fleet Air Arm and was in Squadron 879. He was sent to Dundee RAF Teeling where he learnt to fly Spitfires, I know he did reconnaissance work and he has told me many stories of his experiences but it is Harry I would love to find if he is still alive. If anyone can relate to any of this information and could take the trouble to email me that would be fantastic. |
Pte Alfred Graham "Fred" Cowell . British Army Royal Sussex Regiment from Port Talbot, Wales) (d.21st May 1940) My grandfather Fred Cowell was a drummer with the Royal Sussex, I would love to hear from anyone who knew him, all I want is a photograph of him, I am so desperate for any information. |
Pte. Alfred Graham "Fred" Cowell . British Army 2nd Btn. Royal Sussex Regiment from Port Talbot) (d.21st May 1940) Unfortunately I have a short story to tell, my grandfather Fred Cowell was killed at Dunkirk and my mother never knew her father. I know he was born in Wales in 1920, my grandmother was Irish, as far as I know he stationed in Victoria Barracks in Belfast in 1939 when he was the called for war. I know he had 2 brothers and 1 sister all from Wales. I have visited his memorial stone in Dunkirk Cemetery, column 64. I would like to hear from any one from the same regiment or any information which would be very helpful.
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Sergeant A M Cowgill . RAF VR 59 Squadron |
Sgt. Philip Joseph Cowie . British Army Queen Mary's Regiment Surrey Yeomanry from Clapham) A happy story!
My late father wrote to his younger brother who was based in Taranto in the navy. He was due to pay a visit and, being an officer, was to be placed in officers' accomodation.
He then wrote to say he could not come. My uncle, Richard Cowie, somewhat disappointed, approached his CO for permission to go up to Naples to see my father. He was given 3 days and was told it was up to him to get there himself.
My uncle went to the nearby airfield, somehow dodged security, being a much smaller chap than my father. He went straight through to the CO of the airfield and asked if he could go on the next flight. He was told to report the next morning.
The pilot was waiting to leave when my uncle approached and boarded. He was told by the pilot that he was awaiting a VIP. That VIP was my uncle!
He flew up to Naples and the very next day found my father and they spent the day together. They decided to go into a photographer's shop and have a picture taken together. My father was about 6ft and my uncle more 5ft. "The bambino can stand on the box!" said the photographer. My uncle was barely 18!
The resulting picture was made into a postcard and sent home to their mother in Clapham. We still have that postcard.
As a momento of their meeting, my father went into a little shop and got a small box made up to contain cigarettes. On one side was painted the crest of Queen Mary's Regiment Surrey Yeomanry "Honi soit qui mal y pense." On the other side was painted the crest of the navy, "Post tenebras Lux."
This was in 1944. We still have that box. A lovely memento of a meeting between two brothers of two different services. |
Richard Cowie . Royal Navy |
F/O T. H. Cowlan . Royal Canadian Air Force pilot 419 Sqd. |
Flight Lieutenant Stanley Corbett Cowman . RNZAF 59 Squadron (d.19th September 1945) |
Cox . My father recently visited The Lamb Inn at Great Rissington. On the wall were various photos of ww2 airmen and stories attached. One concerning a shot down plane, possibly a Wellington, which came down near The Lamb Inn at Great Rissington in 1943. All on board died but for one John Smith. Of those who died a Mr Cox is mentioned I think he was a navigator. Can anyone please give me any info on this person as my father thinks he may be a long forgotten cousin. |
Charles Freddrick "Wag" Cox . British Army No 7 Commando from Oakley, Beds ) HI,
This is my late grandad. He joined the T.A in 1939 Beds and Heart regiment becoming 590061 Private Cox as an Infantryman. He later joined and become a trained Commando. He was part of the rear guard in Crete where he was taken prisoner and taken to Stalag 4a Hohenstein and was known as 59851 Cox. He was a P.O.W from 1941-1945 he told me about some of the "goings on" such as escapes and taking part in wrecking a German supply train.
Was hoping that there maybe someone who knows or was in the camp the same time as he was or has a relative that recognises his name.Would like to know any info about his time in the camp or his commando history as not much was said .
Many thanks |
Acting Ldg Sea David Cox MID. Royal Navy HMS Penelope from London) My father served on HMS Penelope from June 1941 until she was sunk by enemy action in February 1944. He was mentioned twice in Dispatchs, first in 1942 following the siege of Malta where he served as a naval air gunner on Penelope and then later when he saved the lives of two shipmates when they spent between 24 and 48 hours in the water waiting to be picked up.
Dad told me of the horror when the American rescue ship came in too close to the survivors, killing some with their propellors.
Following the sinking, my mother received a telegram telling her my father was missing presumed drowned whereupon she gave up her flat where she was living with my brother then aged 2 and returned to live with her parents. Imagine the shock when one dark night the door bell rang and my father was standing there!
In April 1945, my father joined HMS Nelson and was at Penang for the surrender of the Japanese and then one month later, he was at Singapore and the liberation of Chiangi jail which held many British POWs. Dad was in the advance party that entered the jail and he said that they entered full of high spirits at setting their countrymen free only to be met with suspicion and distrust as these poor men had learnt to trust no one and nothing. This could only have been another trick of their captors!
Dad was demobbed in February 1946 and returned to civvy life with the same dedication and good humour he had shown during active service. He was a reservist for many years and I can remember his kitbag residing in our understairs cupboard until after I started school and I wasn't born until 1947, 2 years after the war ended.
My father died in 1975 aged only 54 and I have little doubt that his war service contributed to his early demise. |
Geoffrey Norman Cox . Royal Navy HMS Europa My father, Geoffrey Norman Cox, served during WW2. He volunteered at the age of 19 and joined the Minesweeper Corps. I have his service record which shows him starting his Naval career at HMS Collingwood and HMS Europa. He served on a number of ships including Eland, St Wistan, Leonidas, Forward, Marshall Sault and Beaver. He saw action in the North Sea, the West African Gold Coast and English Channel.
I would love to hear from anyone who has information about any of these ships and anyone who might have served on these ships. |
Harry Rowley Cox . Army Lincolnshire Regiment from Lincolnshire) At one time Harry Rowley Cox was a prisoner of war in Italy. He would tell stories of his escape running by night and sleeping in farm barns during the day. He claimed he had nearly ran the whole length of Italy. I know he did get recaptured at one point. Stories from this point vary, his second escape/release (not sure which) took him to Sicily then eventually back to Lincolnshire, England. His wife had been informed he was missing, presumed dead. This information was passed to her via the Red Cross. Can anyone help me track his military journey? Thank you.
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John William Cox . British Army from Huddersfield) My great granddad was John William Cox (Known as Jack to his mates). I know very little about him except that he was a British soldier in WW2. I would love to find out more about him and his time spent in the military, so would my family. He was born in 1900 and would have been in his 40's during WW2. I know he signed up with one of his sons, Frank Cox. John survived the war only to die in the 1960's. Any information, no matter how small, would be of great help to me and my family |
Robert Hutchinson "Boxer" Cox . British Army Royal Army Service Corps from Chester-Le-Street, Durham) Robert Hutchinson Cox was captured in Greece during WW11 in 1941 and held in various labour camps in Austria. Bob is now aged 92 and living in sheltered accomadation in Chester-Le-Street and, although elderly, has still got all his facalties. I have known Bob as uncle Bob for all of my 49 years. He was in the Royal Army Service Corps but was captured in 1941 in Greece. I am in possesion of his homemade scrap book with pictures taken in the camps by a German Guard (for payment) and includes a lot of his friends as well as his camp tag. Friends include, George Turkington (Liverpool), Paddy Quade (Folkestone), Sid Chalmers (Derby), Jimmie Johnstone (Edinburgh), Bill "Tug" Wilson (London), Bill Timson (Nuneaton), and his best ` Mucker` as Bob puts it Wilf Bailey (Halifax). I am getting some great stories and information off Bob and will share them in the future. It would be great for any of the family of these men to swap stories. Bob was well known for being the Welterwieght Boxing Champion of the camp for his 4 years of, as he puts it, Holiday on Adolf's cost. |
Pte. W. Coyle . Home Guard A Coy. Workington Btn. |
PFC William Patrick Coyle . United States Army INF 0422 from Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) The following story was told to me by my father in regards to my Uncle Bill Coyle. Bill enlisted in the Army in February 1943 and was captured by the Germans December 16, 1945. At the time of the capture the Americans believed that there were no Germans in the area and it would be Spring before they would be there. Bill was sent to Stalag 9B Bad Orb Hessen-Nassau, Prussia 50-09. One day the Germans threw the head of a horse into the Stalag for their meal. Bill said that their favourite thing to do was to write down recipes that their mothers would make. They used whatever they could find to write on. Towards the end someone would shout: "recipe" and they would jump up from their sleep to write down a recipe that made no sense. When the war ended Bill was sent home on the Queen Mary. He was unable to eat and for the rest of his life only ate small portions. My father said the men looked like skeletons coming off the ship. I remember my Uncle Bill covering his head when I would play with my ball. He was a gentle soul with a beautiful smile. Bill worked for the VA for the next twenty-five years and died in the VA Hospital in February 1975. He was 65 years old.
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Robert Bernard Crabtree . British Army from ) My Uncle Robert Bernard Crabtree was in the "desert rats" in WW2. This is all we know can anyone help.
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Irene Cracknell . Women's Land Army |
Richard Cracknell . Army East Yorkshire Regiment from Hull, East Yorkshire) I am trying to find any info on my grandfather Richard Cracknell. Born in Hull, East Yorkshire, he was married and would have had maybe two sons by then, Richard jnr and Alan. He was amongst one of the first group of troops to land at Normandy on D-Day. He would have been in his late 30's then, no spring chicken!!.
I have no other information other then he was in the army (possibly East Yorks Regiment) My grandad died five years ago in his 90s. He rarely spoke about his service days but I am so proud of him and need to learn more.
Does anyone know where I can obtain the information with the few details I have. |
Flt.Sgt. Ronald Gerrard Craddock . Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 626 Sqd. from Fulwell, Sunderland, Co. Durham) (d.24th Apr 1944) Flt Sgt Ronald Gerrard Craddock was a W-Op/Air Gunner, on Lancaster ED424, lost April 24th, 1944 returning from mission over Karlsruhe. His wife, my late aunt Vera Craddock nee Davidson was in the Airforce also stationed at Wickenby and was on duty on that night. Their daughter, my cousin Joy was born in November 1944. I am investigating my family history and would be grateful for any info. |
Vera Craddock . Womens Auxilliary Air Force from Fulwell, Snderland) My late aunt Vera Craddock nee Davidson was in the Airforce, stationed at Wickenby and was on duty on the night her husband Flt Sgt Ronald Gerrard Craddock failed to return from mission over Karlsruhe. He was a W-Op/Air Gunner, on Lancaster ED424, lost April 24th, 1944. Their daughter, my cousin Joy was born in November 1944. I am investigating my family history and would be grateful for any info. |
Fred Craig . Army The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders |
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