Samuel Gracey

[Ger dollard]

Thanks for letting me join your forum my name is Gerard dollard ex 3 royal regt of fusiliers and I am trying to find some info on a solider from the ww2 his name was Samuel Gracey he was from n Ireland joined in 1940 he was captured in Crete and was a pow this person was my partners father and with little info I am seeking more help there father never spoke about his time been a pow any angles of where to turn

thanks

[ap1]

Welcome Ger,

I think perhaps you have the wrong regiment. You are looking for "The Welch Regiment" who took part in the Battle of Crete, their 1st Bn to be precise. The regiments museum is at Cardiff Castle. http://www.cardiffcastlemuseum.org.uk/military-genealogy.php

Do you have Samuels service number? if so you can apply to the MOD for his service record.

[Drew5233]

Hi Ger

Here's a link to applying for a copy of his service records. If you don't have his service number his date of birth will do but it's better to have both. You'll also need to have proof of death like a death certificate or a photo of his grave, assuming he was cremated.

https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records

Here are the ref's for his units war diaries. These are at the National Archives in London

WO 169/368 1 Welch Regiment 1939 Sept.- 1940 Dec
WO 169/1749 1 Welch Regiment 1941 Jan.

They don't start again until 1942 so I suspect the rest of 1941 is missing due to the withdrawal from Crete.

There is also a Missing Men file for the battalion which may mention your man

WO 361/1030 Middle East: Crete; Welch Regiment; missing personnel

I would also check the PoW Liberation Reports at Kew, he may have completed one at the end of the war.