Nice BD...early bits and pieces....

[tcrown]

Thanks for checking, Thomas.
There's a photo of 3 PARA Intel section taken in Spalding summer of 1944 on the ParaData website. He's not on it.

[William Brooks]

I have some items from a 3 PARA soldier named Corporal Fensom (3780523) that I wish I could find out more about.

[tcrown]

He's not in the British Army Casualty Lists 1939-1945. It looks he didn't follow 3 PARA in Palestine (GSM roll Palestine clasp available on 'ancestry'). His army number indicates the King's Regiment.

[tcrown]

Originally Posted by tcrown

The original owner of the BD was named Geoffrey Douglas Hill. He was born in 1924 in Watford Hertfordshire.
Unfortunately, I can't have access to his MoD records but I know he qualified as a Para on course 66 at RAF Ringway from 25 May to 4 June 1943. He then joined 3 PARA Intelligence section I would assume in North Africa as a Lcp. He received the Africa Star, Italy Star but not the France and Germany Star. So he didn't follow 3 PARA to Arnhem.

I'm pretty sure he was stationed in Spalding in 1944 (3 PARA was there from Dec 1943 until after their return from Arnhem) because he married a school teacher from there in Spalding in 1947. Actually some part of 3 PARA were literally living in huts in the schoolyard in 1944!

I'm in contact with the Para Association Spalding Branch. Many 3 PARA veterans returned to the area and settled down. A list of 3 PARA members was established in Sept 1944 and Geoff is not there.

He was demob likely in 1947: he was no longer in the military when he married and then he went back to Watford working in the printing industry.
The lanyard is very intriguing: it's definitely not 3 PARA (red). I'm wondering if it's not an indication of his previous unit which could be 'the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment' as already indicated in a previous post. I'm trying to confirm this with the Regiment Museum.

In the pockets, I found a unused set of Para wings, a London bus ticket (route 142) as well as a few ribbons including an Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal which I believe marked at the time 18 years of unblemished service. Given Geoff's story I don't think it belonged to him.

That's all for now, folks!

Thanks to Nigel Lutt from the Archives in Bedford, I am able to add a bit to the story.
Geoff enlisted initially in the Royal Armoured Corps before 1942 (army number 7939589) and likely see action in North Africa before being transferred to Airborne forces early 1943.
For some reason he didn't participate in the operations in Arnhem but continued with 3 PARA after the war. He was in Palestine between Oct 1945 and May 1946 as he received the General Service Medal for this campaign. He was a corporal by then and shortly after was appointed Lance-Sergeant before leaving the Army.
The lanyard's origin is still unexplained. There's likely no connection with Bedfs and Herts Regt, although it is a potential match.

2 and 3 PARA were combined in Dec 1947 to form the 2/3rd Bat which was disbanded in June 1948. Maybe during this short period of time, a new lanyard was adopted but by this time Geoff would have been demob.

Any new idea would be welcomed!
Pierre

[tcrown]

I created an entry for Geoff Hill on the outstanding website ParaData.
https://paradata.org.uk/people/geoffrey-d-hill
I'm trying to add a photo as well.

[fougasse1940]

Is it known why he didn't go to Arnhem and did he go to Norway?

Rgds, Thomas.

[tcrown]

Originally Posted by fougasse1940

Is it known why he didn't go to Arnhem and did he go to Norway?

Rgds, Thomas.

Hi Thomas,
Unfortunately, I don't have any detail as to why he didn't go to Arnhem.
He could have followed 3rd Bat to Norway but I have no evidence.
Cheers
Pierre