My canadian grandad

[Sarah Reed]

hello every one.
I am trying to some info on my grandad .
His name is Eric Lewis Parker and he was born somewhere in canada in 1918.
During the second world war Eric was in the Canadian tank corps/core and fought in africa.
Now some how he got captured in europe (italy i think) and was held in a prisioner of war camp.
I don't know how long he was in there for but he did escape and went up in to the mountains where the locals kept him hidden.
After a certain amount of time he made his way to England.
Eric then stayed in England until his death in 1984.

If any body can help me find out where he was stationed or how he got to England plus also what the conditions were like please let me know.

I have only just recently found out this info and i don't even know how to start my search.
thanks sarah.

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Sarah, welcome to MLU! I will have a partial answer to that question, but I've been tied up in the last two days; unless someone else gets back to you sooner with more information, I'll try to pop something on here today.

Geoff (aka 'Jif')

Hi Sarah,

Welcome to MLU from me too ... another woman in here! I'm sure you'll get some great information and/or leads regards your Granddad and/or his service, from MLU-ers. MLU is a wonderful place for finding out about our relatives WW2 service, or where to find out, and often even personal information about the relative when lucky! I hope you get really lucky here

Karmen (aka many names in here )

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

I have been pondering about whether anything exists on paper in the National Archives in Kew about his escape...wasn't it MI8 that handled such matters or was it MI9? My immediate reaction is whether he was a member of the Royal British Legion, in which case if any records exist they may have his service number on file which would be helpful, if not already known.

It seems that birth registration is by Province, which I did not appreciate before, so any evidence of his birth has to be done by search in each Provincial Registry. Interesting!

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Originally posted by Vets Dottir 2nd
Karmen (aka many names in here )

And few of them polite!

Originally posted by Geoff Winnington-Ball
And few of them polite!

Tis true ... indeed

[PPS]

Geoff,

I can see a heading your direction

Paul

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

No worries mate, ah'm kitted!

[PPS]

Hello Sarah,

As David said, if he was a member of the R.B.L. there is a possibility that they will hold some details of him. Even if he was not a member, they should be able to provide you with suggestioons of where to try.

Have you tried the Canadian Legion? again, they may be able to help.

Also, if you look at this:-

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/s...eralfaq#obtain

it gives details of how you can obtain service records, but you will need as much details as possible to submit an application.

Paul

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Thanks for that, Paul... that's some of what I was going to pass over.

Sarah, have you the gentleman's service number (if applicable), rank and regiment? These will help. I have already established he was not one of the CANLOAN officers, so that narrows it down a bit.

Once we have a bit more on him, you can also place an ad in Legion Magazine to see if there may be someone out there who served with him and has any recollections; it's a bit thin, but always possible.

His service records, however, are the key to all this. It will track every aspect of his military career from induction to demobbing.

Jif

[PPS]

Sarah,

Is there any chance that you have any memorabilia of your grandfather's?

As Geoff says, a regimental number would help as would any possible units he served with.

Do you have any idea as to when, or where, he was captured?

Any idea of what rank he may have been?

Although I stand to be corrected, I thought that Canadian ground forces were not heavily involved in the African theatre. So is it possible that he was a Canadian who enlisted in the British or other allied forces?

Paul.

[Sarah Reed]

Thanks everyone .Unfortunatly i have no info on his service record.
All i can tell you is his name was Eric Lewis Parker.
Born Nov 27th 1918 somewhere in canada.
He was in the tank corps but do not know where he was stationed.
We think he was captured in italy.
It is such a shame cause Eric had been dead for 23yrs and it is only recently that i found out about him being a p.o.w.
If any of you can help me with the little info i have given you i would be very grateful

[PPS]

Sarah,

Is there a remote possibility that there is someone around from his family?

If there is, they may be able to give some info, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.

A copy of his death certificate might provide details, such as who reported the death to the Registrar along with any possible relationship between your grandad and that person.

As with so many who served at that time, from whatever nation, he was only a young man when the war started, and was only about 66 when he died. By twisted logic on my part this gives me reason to think that there must be someone around who would know of him, possibly in the range of 50 to 60 years of age.

Even if they are not in the UK, there may be someone in Canada.

Paul

[Sarah Reed]

Hi paul .

Communication between his family and me is very limited.

I am in the process of getting his death and marriage certificate from the registry office.

I can't obtain a birth certificate as i do not know what part of canada he came from, so hopefully the documents that i have ordered might shed some light.

This may sound really strange but nobody in the family knows where abouts he came from.
Weird.

sarah.

[PPS]

It is not that wierd really, it happens more than you think.

I have a similar situation, but in reverse!!

I have been looking for information for a friend of mine on his uncle who left here in Northern Ireland for Canada sometime prior to WW2.

Similarly, no one in the family spoke much about him, and it is only recently that the subject has come to light again.

I have recently sent a letter to someone who I think could be his daughter, and await a reply (if any is forthcoming).

Do not give up yet you are not at the stage yet.

The marriage certificate might give his father's details, but don't bank on it. It quite often happened that those details were not added if the person was not a UK national.

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Once you know the date, as you do, you can contact all of the Provincial registry offices...they are listed online BUT the death certificate may say where he was born. That would mean just one office to search and pay a fee for a certificate.

Don't forget his Probate and Will or Letters of Administration will suggest next-of-kin that knew him.

I wonder if he had a Canadian pension paid through the High Commission?

[klambie]

It will be a slow process (service records take many months to obtain), but once you have a death certificate in hand, I would certainly try to get his service record from Library and Archives Canada with the information that you have so far. See the link below for more details. As he has been deceased for more than 20 years, his file will be available (that is a major hurdle to overcome), and my experience with the Archives is that they do a good job in working to figure out which file is his, even when working with limited information.

More details on where he was born, where he enlisted, his parents names, etc. are all helpful, but not strictly necessary to find his file. In the worst case, they say they can't find him without additional information and you carry on with your research to track those down. In the best case, his file will answer all of those questions.

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/gene...909.007-e.html

[PPS]

Sarah,

Any joy on your serarces on other sites?

I do not know whereabouts you are in England, but it might be worthwhile (if not done already) checking out the National Archives at Kew.

Nominal listings of POW's in Germany, German-held territory, and Italy, are contained in WO392 Sections 1 to 26 and Canadian names are apparently included in their own section. WO208 contains all sorts of other information such as liberated POW questionnaires and Escape and Evasion reports.

This page gives an explanation of what is held in the 26 volumes:-

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/c...llDetails=True

This page shows details of WO208, but there are over 5,300 files in it:-

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/c...llDetails=True

Might be worth a try!!

Paul.(edit 15 Oct - What was that word supposed to be? search; must have had too much falling down water)

[Sarah Reed]

HI paul.

Yes i have tried another site and a lady from Canada is doing some research for me .

Thanks very much for the info on the sites you recommeded i will certainly give them a try .

I will let you know if i find anything.

thanks sarah

[PPS]

Sarah,

I left a message on another Forum to see if that bears any fruit. I am not holding my breath as it seems to have been attacked by the usual single brain cell message posters, leaving the usual drivel.

I did contact the site, and it is admitted that they have a problem with that sort of thing.

On another note, it looks as though there were at least eight Canadian Armoured Regiments in Italy at one time (including detachments of Regiments). So it might be difficult tracking down your Grandad without some more information.

Paul.

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally posted by PPS
Sarah,

On another note, it looks as though there were at least eight Canadian Armoured Regiments in Italy at one time (including detachments of Regiments). So it might be difficult tracking down your Grandad without some more information.

Paul.

as Paul pointed out, "there were at least eight Canadian Armoured Regiments in Italy at one time (including detachments of Regiments)."

The following units of the Canadian Armoured Corps served in Italy: -

1st Canadian Armoured Car Regiment (Royal Canadian Dragoons), C.A.C.
2nd Canadian Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)), C.A.C.
3rd Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The Governor General's Horse Guards), C.A.C.
4th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards), C.A.C.
5th Canadian Armoured Regiment (8th Princess Louise's (New Brunswick) Hussars), C.A.C.
9th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Dragoons), C.A.C.
11th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Ontario Regiment), C.A.C.
12th Canadian Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment), C.A.C.
14th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Calgary Regiment), C.A.C.

plus there were three squadrons of the 25th Canadian Armoured Delivery Regiment (The Elgin Regiment), C.A.C. which supported the above mentioned.

Cheers

[PPS]

If you find any details of your grandad's unit, it may give an idea of where he was possibly born.

Conversely, if you find details of where he was born, it could give an idea of his unit, allowing for possible contact with the relevant regimental association.

Paul.

[Sarah Reed]

HI everyone, this morning i have recieved the certificates that i ordered for Eric Parker.

The good news is i have finally found out where he was born and the name of his father.
Eric was born in Toronto Canada and his father was called fredrick.
Now when he got married he was living in a place called Upavon Wilts.
Now could some one help me .
Was there a army camp near by where he could have been sent to When he came to the uk?
Or would he have been sent there after he escaped from prison camp?
thanks sarah.

[PPS]

How about some dates and places Sarah

Upavon is in an area where there was, and still is, quite a large service presence.

Does it say what his occupation was on the marriage certificate, and does it give any more of an address that Upavon? If you can scan relevant parts of the certificates it may help. If he married after 1945/1946, he may have been demobbed and elected to stay in the UK. It is also possible that he may have returned to the UK from Canada after demob.

If he enlisted in a "local" Canadian regiment it may make it easier to track down any details of him.

Paul.

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally posted by PPS
If he enlisted in a "local" Canadian regiment it may make it easier to track down any details of him.

Paul.

Sarah/Paul;

For a start, during the period of the Second World War, Toronto was within Military District No. 2. If he joined the army in Toronto (or anywhere within Military District No. 2) his service/regimental number would begin with the letter 'B'.

In regards to what Paul wrote: "If he enlisted in a "local" Canadian regiment it may make it easier to track down any details of him", there were three regiments in the Toronto area that were 'Canadian Armoured Corps' units and fought in Italy, these being:

1st Canadian Armoured Car Regiment (Royal Canadian Dragoons), C.A.C.
3rd Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The Governor General's Horse Guards), C.A.C.
11th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Ontario Regiment), C.A.C.

Sarah, all three of these regiments are still around today. The Royal Canadian Dragoons are a Regular Force unit (Petawawa, Ontario) and the Ontario Regiment (Oshawa, Ontario) and Governor General's Horse Guards (Toronto, Ontario) are Reserve Force units. All three are still part of the 'Armoured Corps'.

Cheers

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally posted by Sarah Reed
Now when he got married he was living in a place called Upavon Wilts.
Now could some one help me .
Was there a army camp near by where he could have been sent to When he came to the uk?

Hi Sarah;

There were two camps, one located at Ogbourne St. George, which is roughly 15 km north of Upavon and another east of Upavon located at Barton Stacey which were used by the 'Canadian Armoured Corps'.

Cheers

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Upavon is on Salisbury Plain, so sounds as though he was in a military camp there. As has been asked, what is the occupation on the marriage certificate, and I suppose I have to ask where the wedding was, as usually it was in the bride's church, or was it a civil wedding? I suppose you could describe the whole huge area was one military encampment at the time, so he could either have been still in the Army at the time or had been demobbed and stayed locally.

I believe that next-of-kin can seek details of censuses, which may mean that it has to be a child or with the authoruty of a child. If that is the case and you have the authority duly signed, the Office of National Statistics may allow a search and provide details of occupation and residence in 1951, 1961, etc. However, you may not need to do so if you know the birth dates of all children: you could search for and obtain birth certificates and that will state residence/occupation of father.

[Sarah Reed]

Hi paul,mark and david

Thankyou very much for the info

On my grandad' marriage certificate it says that he was a market gardener (do you know what this is?)
I think the place in upavon is called townsend although i cant be to sure as the writing on the certificate is hard to read and i will need someone to have a look at it.

My grandad was married in Bridport Dorset and he remained there till his death.

i don't know where abouts in Toronto he was born or lived , but i have been in contact with toronto registry office and i have applied for his birth certificate .
So hopefully when it arrives it will tell me more .

will keep you posted

sarah.

[PPS]

A market gardener is basically just that - they grow plants for sale in markets, either for themselves or for sale to others to sell on.

Bridport is about 76 miles from Upavon so it is likely that is where his bride cam from, or was living. As said before, it was usual to marry in the bride's church.

What is the date on the marriage certificate? If you can get it scanned, send it on to me by e-mail and I will take a look at it for you.

Paul.

[Sarah Reed]

Hi paul , sorry but i dont have a scanner so wont be able to send you the document.

My family come from that area in dorset and my grandmother lived in a place called melplash when she married my grandad.

I do wonder how he ended up there.

I am having problems ordering his birth certificate.
It says i need Mothers maiden name ( i dont know it).
What hospital he was born at ( i dont know it).
What the doctor was called how much he weighed the list is endless and i dont have the answers.

It also says that someone in canada needs to know me for 2 yrs so they can act as referee (some thing like that.)

plus i need to swear on an avidavid(cant spell it sorry ).

I think i have just hit a

sarah