Rubin Koppel became Frank Robertson?

[tjack]

A close friend handed me Territorial Army Form E531 with the above TWO names on it. The same person!!Linked to the Royal Victoria Patriotic School (Wandsworth) Territorial Army No. 13116426 (formerly No. 13807727) He was born 27.12.1903. Here's the puzzle/Question.

My friend is convinced his Polish connections are originally linked to a Town/Parish on the West Side of Poland....near Germany. To get started on tracing more 'roots' we must decipher the NAME of this Town from the form we have which was 'filled out' around 1942!!  The Town/Parish given reads like... 'GWAZDELEC' possibly 'GIVAZDELEC' or the last THREE LETTERS are  '....IEC'

Any light thrown on this could well help my friend pursue her Polish roots. Any suggestions welcome.  Thanks  tjack

[Istrice]

Hi,

Could the town you are looking for be Zgorzelec in SW Poland (see entry in Wikipedia).

Regards
Istrice 

[tjack]

Thanks Istrice...... I'll happily look into that one. To be honest... I've come across that name before (I personally lived in Poland for ten years!!) however the 'document' given to me rather clearly has a town beginning with 'G' written all over it.... it clearly comes across as a POLISH place name not German... because we know that places had their names 'changed' under German occupation.  e.g Auschwitz (Oswienciem) something like that!  tjack

[Bookbox]

If you can post an extract from the document showing the place-name as written, and a bit of context, it might be easier for people to help.

[tjack]

Thanks Bookbox.... yes..good idea....I'm looking to post up the document I have...maybe slightly enlarged to indicate the name of the Town I'm trying to find..... will do this in next few days hopefully.  tjack

[tjack]

At last I've managed to obtain a pdf of the document I mentioned last time. Can anyone suggest what this Town/Parish is called...allegedly on the West Side of Poland? Form dates back to 1942!!  Await any interesting thoughts from RootsChat regulars.  tjack

[Bookbox]

Could it be an attempt at Gwozdziec?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwo%C5%BAdziec,_Lesser_Poland_Voivodeship

Plenty more links if you google.

[tjack]

Well now.... that is so interesting! You could well be right. It's very much South of Poland though isn't it - as opposed to West?.... however.... I must now 'consult' with the friend who has Polish Roots and is related to the man in Question. As and when this 'unfolds', I'll aim to 'post up' another update on things. Many Thanks. tjack.  PS Open to further suggestions of course on other possible place names similar looking to what's on the attached form!!   

[Mike in Cumbria]

Could it be an attempt at Gwozdziec?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwo%C5%BAdziec,_Lesser_Poland_Voivodeship

Plenty more links if you google.

Does anyone know how Gwozdziec would be pronounced? I'm imagining the British attesting officer trying to make sense of an unfamiliar name and writing a phonetic approximation.