The 1944 kings birthday honours, celebrating the official birthday of king george vi, were announced on 2 june 1944 for the united kingdom and british empire, new zealand, and south africa being near the end of world war ii, it included a great many military personnel who were mentioned in dispatches the recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their mention. A member of the armed forces mentioned in dispatches or despatches, mid is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which his or her gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy is described in some countries, a service members name must be mentioned in dispatches as a condition for receiving certain decorations. Overview history 2 pages of the mentioned in despatches. The matilda went on to serve in egypt and libya, where the western desert force annihilated an itali. The issue or supplement number, title and date of publication are listed below. Valentine 1,420 valentine tanks produced in canada. Example of mentioned in despatches letter from the. Of course, it may have been that our gunners and car commanders were superior to the germans, and that the excellence of our tankers provided us with the upper hand. Womens lives in war and peace 19391949 which was honoured to sister lorna bradey of the qaimns for distinguished service. Canada gazette as having been mentioned in dispatches in recognition of. Grace, you have a memo which gives the details of what your grandad did. Is it possible to find out what was written, or what happened some, somehow. Hi folks, i only learned last week from my 85 year old mother that both her brothers were mentioned in despatches during ww2.
The father in law was in the desert rats during wwii 1st batt royal tank regt and i found his medals the other day and he has the italy star amongst others and it has a mentioned in dispatches oak leaf. Ww2 british tanks 1939 1945 british cruiser and infantry tank formations held their own for the most part during world war 2, ultimately aided by the arrival of the american m4 sherman in large quantity. A great uncle of mine yeoman of signals frederick horace thorpe was on hms cleopatra during wwii and killed in action against the italians. I went to innsworth in gloucestershire to be kitted up. For the first time online, leading british genealogy research website thegenealogist has released over 81,000 records of records of mentioned in dispatches from the first world war, linked to citations from the london gazette. Over 81,000 records of servicemen and women mentioned in dispatches during the first world war have been added to. To start browsing, please select a photo album below. A valuable research tool for family history, genealogy, medal collectors and professional australian ww2 researchers. I know there is a thread regarding how to obtain service records but i dont know if this will include these. Is there any way i can find more about these despatches, and more importantly, would i be eligible to get copies. Mentioned in despatches national museum of the royal new. Victory in the ground war of world war 2 could be decided through various means but it was the tank that ultimately took center stage. The real war daddy destroyed 12 tanks and 258 armoured. How did ww2 us, british, soviet and late german tanks compare in terms of reliability, ease of maintenance and repair, combat performance, cost and ease of production.
Award of a mention ranked below mc or mm and could be for gallantry in action or for a wide range of services on. Vehicles of war the national wwii museum new orleans. Hi bb, as jerome says you may well find his mid listed in the gazette, london gazette home page its a bit of a black art searching it but if you have a service number you might just find him, though it seems far from all were listed, and any sort of citation is very unlikely. Mentioned in despatches ww2 oakleaf, bronze coloured oakleaf used to signify a mention in despatches during the second world war and 192093. Both chaps are sadly no longer with us, but one of my uncles has got two children still alive whom i have no contact with. List of military vehicles of world war ii wikipedia. Crucially, the database also contains individuals who. My friend just has the two letters which accompanied the two oak leaves, with no mention of why they had been awarded.
Variants of the panther tank included an armored recovery vehicle arv, known as bergepanther, as well as observation tanks and command tanks. Soldiers mentioned in dispatches are now available online. Available to diamond subscribers of the site, each transcription is accompanied by a scan of the original handwritten record, as well as a link to the official citation as it appeared in the london gazette. The mention in despatches is the most junior form of recognition that was announced in the london gazette. Sometimes erroneously called an oak leaf, the mid for service in this period, is worn on the victory medal and consisted of a single broad spray of oak leaves. Short, that is, of getting his full service records from the national archives there may be some family politics with his second wife that make. In january 1942, as i expected to be called up, i volunteered to join the w. It horrified the germans when they first encountered it in 1940.
Victory medal 191418 with mention in despatches british oak leaf cluster. Modern minds link it with german tanks, but it existed long before tanks did. Lerman was mentioned in despatches for his work in an r. Tank usage, doctrine and production varied widely among the combatant nations. It was instituted during world war 1 and continued being awarded for active service right up until 20 aug 1920. The following announcement was written by the folks at. How to research a mention in despatches the long, long.
By late german tanks im referring to everything after, including the panther. She has the letters which accompanied the oak leaves, but i cant find the gazette entries for the dates either. A member of the armed forces mentioned in dispatches or despatches, mid is one whose. Mentioned in despatches ww2 an example of mentioned in despatches ww2 can be found in millions like us. Award of a mention ranked below mc or mm and could be for gallantry in action or for a wide range of services on and off the battlefield. British commandersinchief of a theatre of war or campaign were obliged to report their activities and achievements to the war office. I have terrible trouble with gazette searches but know a few chaps that seem to know how to work it. Tanks were an important weapons system in world war ii. Some were rushed into service too quickly and proved notoriously unreliable. In several occasions also persons were mentioned in these despatches without them having received a decoration for the mentioned action.
Find thousands of soldiers and army nurses who had come to. My interest is on a member of the rasc in ww2 and i cant find anything at all. How did ww2 us, british, soviet and late german tanks compare. From the iconic jeep to the ubiquitous sherman, allied forces depended upon the vehicles that american assembly lines produced. Others spent too long in development, or only achieved a degree of usefulness after numerous modifications. Post 1920, for the issue of a kings commendation for brave conduct or a mention in despatches, a bronze emblem of a single oak leaf was worn on the appropriate. The mention in despatches being sought is an award without a despatch. Pools second tank was hit by friendly fire after lasting between july 1st and 17th august, 1944. It is one of the very important reasons why so many of our tanks bested the german tanks. The range of reasons for awarding a mention in despatches was immense.
In the list just published of those who have been mentioned in despatches by lieut. British commandersinchief of a theatre of war or campaign were obliged to report their activities and achievements to the war office in the form of despatches, which were published in the gazette. Although generally regarded as the mid for world war ii and up until 1994, this commendation was actually awarded from 20 aug 1920 following the cessation of the issue of the previous design won during ww1. Irzyk explains performance of american tanks in world war. Britains struggle to build effective tanks during the. A despatch is an official report, written by a senior commander in the field to pass on information about the progress of military operations. Mentioned in despatches navy net royal navy community.
Although generally regarded as the mid for world war ii and up until 1994, this commendation was actually awarded from 20 aug. Despatches during world war 2, submitted by commandersinchief, were published in the gazette from 1941 until 1951. Ram 2,993 regular tank not used in combat, specialist models used. You would need to get a copy of his war record first which should have details of why he was mentioned in dispatches the 19391945 medal is separate the mentioned in despatches if some sort of honour for something he had done. A soldier mentioned in dispatches or despatches mid is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldiers gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy. The mid is a special clasp to signify a mention in despatches from the front. Tank development between the two world wars army tanks. World war 2 went on to set the new standard in combat tank design, resulting in the main battle tank seen at wars end in 1945. I once read what i recall as a very good book set during ww2 aboard a german submarine, where by default at least some characters were in accord with the cause. Mentioned in dispatches navy net royal navy community. We have no idea what this was for but would like to find out. Posted on june 12, 2015 june 12, 2015 by accordingtohoyt. The most famous variant of the pzkpfw v was probably the jagdpanther heavy tank destroyer. Not yet mentioned is the power traverse with which american tanks are equipped.
Ww2,and people reading it pointed out that it could be a record. British forces in salonika, for distinguished service, is acting captain william e. Soldiers mentioned in dispatches are now available online for the first time online, leading british genealogy research website thegenealogist has released over 81,000 records of records of mentioned in dispatches from the first world war, linked to citations from the london gazette. The improvement on the machine gun made it to be more effective and longer lasting on the field than compared to the ww1 machine guns. Commandersinchief in the field submitted periodical lists of officers and soldiers who were mentioned in despatches. The commandersinchief of each theatre of war infrequently submitted a despatch to the war office, outlining the events since the previous despatch and listing those men who had been nominated as worthy of a mention.
However, during world war ii most armies employed tanks, and production levels reached thousands each month. Germany was slow to adapt to the idea of tanks so that their tank presence during wwi battles was practically nonexistent. Wwii mentioned in despatches headache armed forces. During world war i british tanks were involved in 3060 separate battles, french tanks were involved in 4356 battle and american tanks in 250. What were the changes in weapons comparing ww1 and ww2. Mentioned in despatches our contribution birtwistlewiki. A previous convoy on may 18, 1941, including those two ships and the italian transport ship laura c. Even though tanks in the interwar years were the subject of widespread research, production was limited to relatively small numbers in a few countries. Hm mtb 614 motor torpedo boat despatches 1944 hms grey wolf minesweeping gun boat bar to dsm. Most lacked the armour to resist enemy antitank weapons. S forces, and italymentioned in despatches at monte casino.
Im helping a friend whos father was mentioned in despatches twice. Mentioned in despatches mid, now known as mention in dispatches in the canadian armed forces, is an award for valiant conduct, devotion to duty or other. One of the oldest imperial forms of recognition for bravery or distinguished service is when a serviceman or servicewoman was mentioned in despatches. Mentioned in dispatches wwii citation army rumour service. Near caen they set up an ordnance park from which they replaced damaged tanks. The vehicles of war exhibit focuses on the equipment that was an integral part of daily life in world war iioften making the difference between life and death for the troops they served. During this time, pools combat command a was on the verge of clearing the german forces from fromental village when p38 knocked out the sherman. Youre right when you say there doesnt appear to be a lot out there. Gazette world war 2 despatches, submitted by commandersinchief. Demetriadi, michael anthony, and was mentioned in despatches twice and was wounded dene, john anthony, when he became a pow in 1944 denison, john albert lister, 8t, in royal artillery and royal electricial and mechanical engineers denison, philip henry charles denisonpender, richard ernest, and was mentioned in despatches and was wounded.
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