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#1
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Help to identlfy some patches please?
I apologise if I'm asking this question in the wrong section.
I've been given this photo of Norman Peter Raybould, who I understand served in the Royal Norfolk Regiment, 1st Battalion, 53rd Infantry Division. He was injured on 5 May 1945 and I understand the bar on his forearm denotes that. Could anyone tell me what the two cloth patches underneath the Welsh symbol mean please? Also, could someone point me to where I could find out where he will have been on around 5 May 1945? I'm not sure I'm looking correctly but if he was part of the British 21st Army Group they would have been moving into Germany at that point? Thank you |
#2
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That is a Norfolk cap badge on his cap.
Terry |
#3
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That patch is what we now call a combination patch, all sewn together on a khaki background and then sewn to the BD blouse.
The top is of course the 53rd Div. insignia, below that a single red arm of service strip indicating infantry. The bottom is actually not two squares, but a single yellow rectangular patch bisected by a black stripe indicating the 1st R. Norfolk. This photo is post war since the 1st R. Norfolk did not join the 53rd until August 1945. He would have been with the 3rd Infantry Division during the war if he was with the 1st Bn. through his service. The bottom diamond shaped patch is also a post war insignia, it's significance I can't recollect, but I think possibly a brigade indication. CB
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"We seldom learn the true want of what we have till it is discovered that we can have no more." Sam. Johnson |
#4
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Quote:
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#5
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He appears to have been wounded on the 16th April 1945 not the 5th May.
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#6
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An example of the sign worn in the photo.
Jon |
#7
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First Name:
N P Surname: Raybould Date of Action: 16/04/1945 Fate: Wounded Incident Details: Reported to the War Office Casualty Branch for the 24 hours ended 09.00am. Incident Date: 05/05/1945 Information: Casualty List No. 1749. Rank: Private Service Number: 4929063 Duty Location: Western Europe Service: British Army Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment Battalion: 1st Battalion Archive Reference: WO417/91.2 First Name: N P Surname: Raybould Date of Action: 16/04/1945 Fate: Wounded Incident Details: Reported to the War Office Casualty Branch for the 24 hours ended 09.00am. Incident Date: 05/05/1945 Information: Casualty List No. 1749. Rank: Private Service Number: 4929063 Duty Location: Western Europe Service: British Army Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment Battalion: 1st Battalion Archive Reference: WO417/90.2 |
#8
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Those Find My Past transcriptions are confusing. The incident date is the date of the Casualty List publication, not the date of the wounding.
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#9
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Yes, it's annoying.
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#10
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Thank you for all that info, I'm always amazed at what knowledge is out there. Yes, it IS a lovely picture. He was my daughter-in-law's grandfather but he died before she was born. His brother Alan was in the DLI and was killed directly after the D Day landings and is buried in a tiny military cemetery (I believe it's the smallest in France) in Chouain in Normandy. I've been to visit and it's very carefully tended. The French villagers refused to give up "their" soldiers to be moved to Bayeux some years ago. Via DLI websites I was able to ascertain exactly where he had been fighting and which beach they had arrived on etc. Is there anything similar for the Royal Norfolks? I would be interested to know where they were when he was injured. First thoughts are that they were heading through Holland into Germany to reach Berlin.
I know that Norman went on to be a fireman so I don't believe his injury was too severe and from the fact he has post war insignia he obviously stayed in the Army after the war ended. For my generation (my father was a wireless op/navigator in Bomber Command) War history seems very close. Now I want my grand daughters to be very aware of what their ancestors had to go through to leave them where they are today. I'm writing them each a book for their 18th birthdays and I want them to know as much as I can discover about these brothers. |
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