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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Antony1977 on Friday 03 January 25 12:59 GMT (UK)

Title: Can’t find if relative served in ww2 or why he was excluded from serving
Post by: Antony1977 on Friday 03 January 25 12:59 GMT (UK)

I seem to be doing something wrong as I’ve found 2 other relatives involvement in ww1 and ww2.

This relative I can’t find!

Albert Coley bn 27 May 1914
Died 10 Sept 2001

Born in Ledbury
Died in Birmingham

Was a car paint sprayer on his death certificate.

He would have been 25 when WW2 started, but I can’t find any record of him serving

Can anyone give me a starting clue to I can start hunting?

Title: Re: Can’t find if relative served in ww2 or why he was excluded from serving
Post by: Kiltpin on Friday 03 January 25 13:05 GMT (UK)

The question is, what was his occupation (possibly reserved) in 1939? And, if he worked for a company, they might have requested him to be deferred as he might have been crucial staff. 

Regards 

Chas

Title: Re: Can’t find if relative served in ww2 or why he was excluded from serving
Post by: BumbleB on Friday 03 January 25 13:13 GMT (UK)

According to the 1939 register, Albert was a Paint Sprayer and was living with his wife, Florence, in Birmingham.

Title: Re: Can’t find if relative served in ww2 or why he was excluded from serving
Post by: Top-of-the-hill on Friday 03 January 25 13:15 GMT (UK)

 He is on the 1939 register, paint sprayer. Married.
   Beaten to it, bumble!

Title: Re: Can’t find if relative served in ww2 or why he was excluded from serving
Post by: Antony1977 on Friday 03 January 25 13:16 GMT (UK)

Hi, unfortunately we haven’t been able to find out , the 1931 census that may have helped us was destroyed in the war.

We have a pic of Albert as a best man at his nephews wedding on 12th August 1944, but that’s all we have for him in war time.

Albert is circled.

Title: Re: Can’t find if relative served in ww2 or why he was excluded from serving
Post by: Antony1977 on Friday 03 January 25 13:25 GMT (UK)

Quote from: Top-of-the-hill on Friday 03 January 25 13:15 GMT (UK)

He is on the 1939 register, paint sprayer. Married.
   Beaten to it, bumble!

I suppose he could have worked at Rover in Solihull , that may have excluded him from serving?

Title: Re: Can’t find if relative served in ww2 or why he was excluded from serving
Post by: AllanUK on Friday 03 January 25 14:05 GMT (UK)

He may have been excluded from service due to medical reasons.

Title: Re: Can’t find if relative served in ww2 or why he was excluded from serving
Post by: Andy J2022 on Friday 03 January 25 17:21 GMT (UK)

I think there's a very simple reason why you haven't found anything about his service during WW2 - his service record has not yet been made public. Apart from a small handful of REME personnel and a few of the the smaller Corps, the process of indexing and releasing the records of those who served between 1920 and 1963 has only relatively recently begun at TNA, with Ancestry undertaking the digitisation of the records. The main official records which we do have from WW2 are the casualty reports which name men who were reported missing, captured or killed. Since you haven't found Albert Coley among them, it suggests that none of these things happened to him.

Furthermore, under TNA's current rules Albert's record won't be released for some years yet as he was born less than 115 years ago.