Portobello Barracks 1919

[florencen]

 JAMES MARTIN.
My grandfather, apparently served with the 3rd Royal
Berkshire Regt  as a Private .For some reason he was stationed at Portobello Barracks in 1919 .
It was on his Marriage certificate, I don't have a service number  and Ministry of Defence weren't able to help.
Any idea where I would look for information regarding  him or the Barracks around that time.

[Christopher]

The article contained here -
http://www.worcestershireregiment.com/wr.php?main=inc/bat_5 - indicates there was different Regiment to the Berkshire Regt  at Portobello Barracks in 1919. If the MoD were looking at the Berkshire Regiment records a search through the records of this other regiment could make a difference.

[florencen]

Thanks christopher,
certainly something to consider in the search.
and I thought I was chasing a dead end!!!!

[johnny_doyle]

have you tried searching the National Archives WW1 Medal Roll?

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/browse-refine.asp?CatID=10&searchType=browserefine&pagenumber=1&query=*&queryType=1

Enter his name and use his service number in the keyword field.

John

[megabugs20]

I hope you will excuse my writing on this page but I am not sure where I should be posting . My father served in the Franco/Spanish war and I would like to try & obtain some info. regarding him, ( he was not a casualty but is no longer alive). Could someone let me know who to cantact please.
Thanks very much for any help.

[Christopher]

I hope you will excuse my writing on this page but I am not sure where I should be posting . My father served in the Franco/Spanish war and I would like to try & obtain some info. regarding him, ( he was not a casualty but is no longer alive). Could someone let me know who to cantact please.
Thanks very much for any help.

Seasons Greetings, megabugs,

Your father was probably a member of the Irish Brigade which fought in the Spanish Civil War during the period 1936 to 39. http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=Irish+Brigade+Franco+Spain&meta= Do you know anything about your father. I gather you know very little but a his Christian names and surname, the date of his death and if you have it date of his birth. Subtract roughly twenty to twenty five years from your own age, that gives his age. It is handy if you have an older sibling. You can do the subtraction from their age then there's no need to give your age away. I have a small inkling you are about my age, I was sixty six this year.

The Irish Brigade http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SPduffy.htm was formed by Eoin O'Duffy. Eoin was born in 1892 at Laragh, near Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan. Your father, if he was born in the 1890s, may have been a member of the IRA and fought alongside Eoin at the Easter Rising and later in the Irish Civil War was but my hunch is he was a younger man and missed out in partaking in those events.  I imagine your father was probably born between 1908 and 1916 in which case he was one of the idealistic young men who volunteered to go to Spain to fight communism.

Good Luck, Christopher 

[Pat Reid]

Megabugs:

As was sometimes the case, Irish were on both sides in the Spanish Civil War. Here is a good site with info on all and links to others. http://members.lycos.co.uk/spanishcivilwar/Contents.htm

Pat

[Christopher]

Good Man Pat,

It is possible you have pulled me out of a sticky spot here. I overlooked the fact that there were Irish on both sides. Not only were the Irish fighting on both sides but Irishmen from both communities in Ireland were fighting alongside each other on both sides. All I can say Pat is the Irish sure love a bit of a fight and a good scrap. This fact has been well documented in history books, and in the media of today.  Irishmen have led armies in many nations of the world and have been well rewarded for their bravery, courage and heroism. We should all be proud to be Irish and forget our petty differences.   

Chris

[megabugs20]

Many thanks to both of you for your help. To my knowledge my father only ever served in a regular army but I can't be sure. My parents didn't talk about their early lives very much, not for any sinister reason but purely because neither my siblings or myself asked them any questions. We were in contact with all grandparents & other relations until their deaths when suddenly you develop an interest & there is no longer any one left who can help. Murphy's Law  perhaps?
I will now try the sites mentioned & hopefully have some luck.
Thanks once again & a Very Happy Christmas to you both.