The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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218815 Sgt. William Dean Geddes Royal Artillery 4 Lt Bde. 31 Fd Regt from:Glasgow My grandfather, William Dean Geddes enlisted at Glasgow into the Royal Artillery on 30th of January 1935. he did his basic training at Woolwich (three months) posted to 4th Light Brigade at Deepcut, moving to Brighton 1937. In 1939 he was posted to Egypt as a L/Bdr sailing from Southampton in HMT Lancashire landing Port Said 4th July 1939 to 31 Field Regiment Royal Arillery at Helmeia, Cairo. The Regt moved with 4 Indian div to Mersa Matruh remaining during the desert campaigns of the next 2 years & firing their 25 pdrs almost daily. After Sidi Berani fell, they sailed from Alexandria to the Sudan to move into Eritrea for that 4 month campaign before returning to Cairo. The biggest action in Eritrea was the capture of the heights above Keren after a two monthsiege. In April 1942 the Regiment having suffered many casualties & losing their guns in a GE Tank attack at Sidi Omar, went to form a composite Regiment on Cyprus. In Dec 1942 he was posted to Egypt to join the SAS at Kabrit Trg for under cover ops, which they carried out on the north coast of Africa, in the Aegean Sea & Cretan area of Greece. He was promoted to Bombardier & after the Syrian & Palestine campaigns of 1943 & 1944, he returned to the UK in August 1944 & rejoined SAS Regt at Chelmsford after detached SB duties & later went to Norway in 1945. After disbandment of the SAS just post war he returned to 24 HAA Regt RA as a sgt at Sheerness staying until 1949 when he was posted to school of AA Gunnery for a year as an instructor & then went to Gravesend to join 46 Regt RA until his discharge on 29th of January 1957. After 22 years with the colours. My grandfather died on 11th April 1989 at Royal Hospital Chelsea & is buried at Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey (old plot). Sadly my father never got to meet his father. We just have a few photos & his wonderful service history. Ashley Geddes Pierce Add to this record.  Related Content: Special Air Service 31st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery Can you help us to add to our records? Add a record to our website. 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. Contact us. 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.

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