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General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: damarshall on Tuesday 13 September 11 15:06 BST (UK)

Title: Army Information.
Post by: damarshall on Tuesday 13 September 11 15:06 BST (UK)

Please could anyone give me some information on why my Grandad James henry Davies born 1913 worked as a labourer sherwood forrester.
He lived in middlesex.he then ended up  in Wolfertswil St Gallen Switzerland in 1944.

If anyone could give any information or have any ideas then i would be most greatful

Title: Re: Army Information.
Post by: MaecW on Friday 16 September 11 01:20 BST (UK)

Hi,

One possibility I can think of :
"The Sherwood Foresters" was a British Army Regiment. They served in the North African and Italian campaigns during WW2.
If your grandad was in this regiment perhaps he was taken prisoner, later escaping from a PoW camp, (as many did after the Italian surrender) and making his way to Switzerland (which was neutral territory)?
I don't know what records were kept of ex PoWs arriving in Switzerland but perhaps somebody else can help here ?

Good hunting !

Maec
 

Title: Re: Army Information.
Post by: km1971 on Friday 16 September 11 08:46 BST (UK)

It really depends how and when the 'labourer sherwood forester' was written. He may have been a labourer and also a member of a Militia/TA battalion of the Sherwood Foresters. Labourers within a regiment were usually called Pioneers.

To be in Switzerland in 1944 does suggest an escaped PoW. The Red Cross are digitising a series of PoW cards they have. At present they charge c£150 for a lookup for WW2 , and half that for WW1

Ken