Royal Engineers 708th General construction company

[seaweed]

Hello and welcome to rootschat.
You wrote
They sailed from Liverpool in Convoy WS1. A fast convoy of three ships comprising Queen Mary, Aquitania and Mauretania. I'm unsure of the actual date of arrival in Egypt.

 Although records of troopships are always sketchy due to security concerns, It would seem AQUITANIA and MAURETANIA sailed from Liverpool  28/29/6/1940 and QUEEN MARY from Greenock on the same date.
After arriving in Freetown the Admiralty decided that rather than risk three large troopships in the Red Sea where the Italians had easy access to air bases, the vessels were diverted to Ceylon
arriving 29/July/1940
The troops were then transferred to North Africa via smaller vessels, some even traveling by train via India!
Read chapter 4 of the book "The Winston Specials" by Archie Munro available from Maritime Books Liskeard PL14 4EL or your local library. ISBN 13: 9781904459200 There are are several documents concerning Convoy WS1 in the Admiralty series in the British National Archive.
Your dads service record may tell you the date of his arrival in Egypt. When you finally receive it. Make a post on the WW2 board. There are several people there who will be able to interpret it for you.
I guess you have seen this.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16668267

[chadders47]

Many thanks for the info on WS1. I'll definitely follow that up. I know that he embarked at Liverpool some time in June 1940. Thanks also the link to NA PoW record card. I do already have that information via Ancestry, though. All help much appreciated. Cheers.

[chadders47]

For those who might still be following the fortunes of 708 Company RE.

Here is a link covering the memories one of it's members, Spr. G. Maclean.

https://ww2greekveterans.com/greek-veterans/macdonald-to-oneill/maclean-gilleasbuig/

There are four different pdf files that can be read/downloaded.

I have recently actually obtained (second hand), his autobiography (The Long, Long Years) covering his service. Written in a conversational style and following a general timeline, the story meanders back and forth somewhat, and can be a little frustrating to follow at times.The content is good, but readers should be prepared for some quite uncomplimentary, and critical comment on some of his erstwhile comrades and their officers. Most are not named, and has he admits to changing some names anyway, so only general impressions of his version events can be gleaned. However, that aside, anyone wishing to get a more detailed view of the activities and lives of the company in general will probably find it an interesting read. It was well worth the £4.15p I paid for it.