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Imber, thank you - yes I suppose it is but I didn't really mean it like that. I was thinking from the point of view that travel was expensive and fuel was rationed so I had just assumed they would have kept RWF troops near where they were based if they weren't actually NEEDED somewhere else. Does that make sense? Also surely travel by rail or road is easier logistically than ship? obviously not and I suppose you get more people on one vessel.

I hadn't realised they were quite so concerned about Ireland.

Mind a historian in the Hebrides has just told me that there were lots of unrecorded troops in the Hebrides because of concerns about invasion from Norway (My Grandfather said he was in Benbecula but this is not in his record anywhere). He said he has had contact from other people with similar stories of people being up in the Hebrides and locals obviously confirm there were troops there but nothing is officially recorded as they weren't permanent bases, I suppose this could just have come under "field" in records.

ours is the opposite though - the records imply he did nothing, he indicated on a couple of occasions that he did.

I have posted a link to photos of some of his records now. I need to check actually if that is all of them, I forget where I got to with it all.

I have left out the glowing reference he got given but I think everything else is here

https://www.flickr.com/photos/einnaf/

a few questions.

what sort of things did a soldier who never left the UK actually DO? He was in Ireland for a while, Litchfield and Wales.

once he became a driver the records are a bit more self explanatory but before that what could he have been doing?

medical wise - annoyingly a sticker has been placed over his initial ratings so we don't know what he was originally.  he was very fit and healthy before the war, he did a manual job, he was very fit and healthy after the war and again did a manual job, he did a lot of boxing and was asked to turn professional, he just said he had an extra bone in his foot so had to be transferred to being a driver. Looking up the medical categories I am not sure I understand the differences between A B and C. the sub categories seem the same. How could someone be suitable only for sedentary work but be ok to be sent overseas? I don't understand that.

thank you Emyr - you are incredibly kind and helpful. My Mum will be really interested to hear all this. An interesting character? makes her sound fun to me!

great to have some photos from then. 3 of my 4 grandparents were in the forces in WW2 and my father in law too but the only photos we have are one of each of my grandparents in their uniform. nothing else.

Definitely get the service records. 2 of our 3 are really interesting and helpful and much easier than trying to find info online. (the other set of records are very unhelpful and now we trawl the internet trying to find anything that might help piece things together)