Where else do I go?

[Drew5233]

He may have been with 17th Indian Division which used a Black Cat emblem. If so he could have enlisted into the British Indian Army and his records will probably be in India which may explain why they couldn't find them in APC Glasgow.

[MaxD]

Yes - the two black cat emblems are quite different so I felt if we saw the image it might provide a steer.

MaxD

[PMILLS]

Hope this works and is clear

[PMILLS]

close up

[MaxD]

Helps in that it is the insignia of the 1st London Division (56th London) so not the Indian Army.  The arm of service strip below the cat is bi-coloured so could well be Royal Engineers but in black and white can't be sure.

What were the details of the Patrick Mills your ex-army friend came up with?

Clutching at straws but don't want to give up!

MaxD

[ShaunJ]

There was a Patrick Mills in Croydon at the outbreak of war - born 1904, with Kathleen Hunt - might that be him ? Looks like they married in 1949.

[PMILLS]

Hi Guys, The photo is a copy and no one has the original so its the best I can do at this point,but ill keep looking.
MY grandfather married my grandmother on the 2nd of November 1928 in Hutchensontown,Glasgow.
They lived in Glasgow not London and my grandmother was Britget Coyne, her parents were John and Catherine.My Grandfathers parents were Thomas and Mary Doherty.
I have found a number of family things while looking for the war records and have a copy of the Marriage cert etc.
I, with help from my mate found what we thought was him and my uncles did to,keeping in mind that my uncles are in their 80s they have done very well but a few small things have been wrong.The person was a Acting Staff Sergeant,Royal Engineers, # 103229.This person also was awarded a BEM which is in the London Gazette,Jan 9th 1946.Hope there are some glues here,thanks guys.

[MaxD]

Was the source for your findings with your mate and uncles Forces War Records.  This does have a listing for that name and rank etc.  If so, did you get whatever record they have for him?  And did it give any information that tied him to your family?  My gut feeling is that it didn't in that only the MOD have WW2 service records.

Also, when you applied for his records, did you quote both the service number and the date of birth on both occasions?

Were there any children born in the war years? Birth certs sometimes have service numbers on them.

Does the photograph show any sleeve insignia as in badges of rank?

Lots of questions I'm afraid, just trying to find clues!

MaxD

[PMILLS]

I did see the record on the site you mention,the second time I applied to the APC with the 1905 date I mentioned the person in the site and the service number,they said they could not find anything for the dates I put forward and the dates didn't much for the service number I sent.My mate is much better at this than me as he had researched his own family,he traced a lot of stuff on my grandfather,a number of streets they lived in Scotland,birth certs of children etc.He said he thought the person on the war-forces site was my grandfather,I'm not on the site and they didn't seem to show a date of birth so I didn't see how it would help to join.My dad is the youngest,he was born on the 15th of August 1939,just before the war so not sure this will help.The photo sadly is as it is,nothing else can be seen.
Thanks.