Well according to good old Wikipedia the Welsh Guards had three battalions the 3rd were involved in Africa and the Med.
The 1st and 2nd were both part of the BEF and evacuated from Dunkirk. They then joined the Guards Armoured Division. The 1st were Infantry in 32nd Guards Infantry Brigade which landed in Normandy on 25th June 1944 while the 2nd were in the 6th Guards Tank Brigade and were in Churchills arriving in Normandy 20th July 1944. I would imagine by then they will have come in to Port Winston the British Mulberry Harbour (B) at Arromanches - Gold Beach rather than on the beach. Both battalions were pretty involved with the division thereafter.
So I guess the question is whether your great uncle was in tanks or not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guards_Armoured_Division
And follow the links - some useful references. Obviously it's Wikipedia so not necessarily gospel but a good starting point.
Charlie
I have a small skewer hidden in the collar of my jumping jacket, and a razorblade in my gaiter, as well as my knife.
This explains a bit about where to start with records the main problem being that for WW2 records you really need to be or have permission of Next of Kin.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhist ... s_01.shtml
I have a small skewer hidden in the collar of my jumping jacket, and a razorblade in my gaiter, as well as my knife.
I traced my grandfathers military service for my father, but it was an uphill struggle at times. It just depends what documents you can get hold of, luckily we came across a pile of correspondance with the War Office that my grandmother had kept so I could track down his regiment etc.
Almost by sheer chance I found a photo of his regiment debarking in Java, which is probably the last photo of him still alive. Dad was a really pleased with that.
wrt the Welsh Guards, 6th Guards Tank Brigade was an independant Tank Brigade, not part of Guards Armoured Div, so he could have been in the lorried infantry brigade of Guards AD, or a tanker in 6th GTB. It is also possible that he was both a Guardsman but posted to another regiment as an infantry replacement, which became more common as the war went on.
Cheers
Martin
"Mistakes in the initial deployment cannot be rectified" Helmuth von Moltke
Toys: AGM MP40, Cyma M1A1, TM M14/G43/SVT40, TM VSR/K98, SnS No. 4, ASG Sten, Ppsh.
Arnhem3,Gumrak,Campoleone
Hi buddy, i got one of the osprey books about the guards armoured division. Was bought beecause i and a few mates do the irish guard. The book has a bit of details in it plus some plates of pictures your welcome to have a lend if you want and have a look through.
Has the original post in this thread been deleted?
Here is a rather well known photo of Corporal E. Roberts of the 1st battalion, Welsh Guards, Guards Armoured Division near Hassum in 1945. Probably not the most representative image, if you're considering a Welsh Guards impression though...
