RWF WW2 POW Grandfather research

Good Morning.
I have had a look at the Regimental History of The Queens Royal Regiment (West Surrey) Historically the 2nd Regiment of Foot. Throughout the war the 1St Battalion was in India, Burma. So they were in the right place. They were involved at the Battle of Kohima as were the RWF.
As this is a quite unusual Surname, unless other members of the family were in the same unit i think there is a very Strong Possibility that J F is a transcription error and is your grandfather.
However i could be wrong.


ivor

hi

i have an interest in Surnames and this is unusual. so i had a look at it's origins. the following is a link re surname

http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Keirl



ivor

Thank you for your help.
Strangely enough I did the same name research last night and ended up on the same website of name origins.
I did initially think it was a middle-eastern name possibly romany, as apparently his grandparents are from that area.
I have come across a fair few joseph keirls and keirles across south wales and somerset and London way which is interesting.

Yes I looked into the 1st Battalion of The Queens R Regiment as to my mother the name rings a bell(could also be wrong army) but they did concentrate in India-Burma. Another thing I tried to research as my mother mentioned he visited the Taj Mahal in Agra, so I could possibly trace a British army passing through Agra way to rule out any battalions. Although would a South Walian be located to other English Army battalions?(I'm new to how Army works)

Thank you again for your help!
I sure have spent weeks every night learning and researching putting peices together.

Kind Regards,

C R Rowley

hi.
according to the unit history. the 1st QRR was stationed in Allahabad.Utter Pradesh Northern India. some 350ish Miles from Agra. This was a North West Frontier Post and they were there for over a year, so as he was a married men i can see no reason why they could not have visited the Taj Mahal, if he had a few days leave. So this again puts this unit in more or less the right place.
With regard to the name Keirl, I was considering Eastern Europe maybe Polish,Rumanian that sort of area. But Eastern Europe and South Wales have one thing in common, Coal Mining. I know that a lot of Poles worked in the North Wales Coal Mines and i believe the same was true of the South. so was it a case that his parents, maybe even his Grandparents moved to S Wales, maybe from the London area for Work.
My own Fathers Family were from a small Village in North Wales. but my Grandfather had to move to Liverpool for work, which was where my father was born.
Now with regard to your point re South Walian men being sent to other units.i am not sure on this but i think a man could chose,to a degree, what unit he joined.
It may have depended when he joined up if he joined pre 1939 he may have been able to chose more easily than after the War started. but i am sure that others on here may have more info on this



ivor

Hi Chantelle,

Not sure about Kohima (April/May 1944). Don't you have them(Lydia) getting married at Newport Mons?

hi AP

RWF at Kohima..

e Royal Welch Fusiliers distinguished itself in many campaigns; of note are Minden in 1759, Yorktown in America, Albuhera in the Peninsula, the saving of the Colours at Alma in the Crimea, the Relief of Lucknow during the Mutiny in India, the unique honour gained after the Boxer rebellion in Peking and their heroic stand in 1944 at Kohima on the borders of India.


The Queens colour of the 1st Btn of the QRR carries the Honour ''Kohima''


ivor

Hi Ivor & AP1,

That is great research to help guide mine further thank you. What other Welsh /British regiments were stationed in India do you know?
I cant seem to further that other than Kents, Welch and Surrey so far.
Nothings certain yet, although we know one wife was a Lydia Turtell, not sure if she went along in India also, research stopped as I couldn't find hear death date or any other research.
I remember my mother mentioning letters (she does not know meaning of)such as 'CRM' could this be 'Chief Radio Man'? She mentioned he was there when war was first declared. Also a cook. Details are so blurry on these although I'm more worried about finding him on an army battalion for definite firstly.

Regarding the surname, yes he mentioned his family originated from Middle East so I am gathering as he was born in a 'Valley district' of south wales it was for Mining.

Kind Regards,

C Rowley

hi.
Free BMD is giving me a marriage to a Lydia Turtell in Sept quarter of 1944. Newport. it also gives me the following.

Surname First name(s) Spouse District Vol Page
Marriages Sep 1944 (>99%)
KEIRL Joseph W R Turtell Newport 11a 446
Marriages Sep 1945 (>99%)
Keirl Joseph W R Yates Surrey N.E. 2a 426
Marriages Jun 1954 (>99%)
Keirl Joseph W R Johnston Holywell 8a 940
Keirl Joseph W R Jones Holywell 8a 940

this is rather peculiar.

Lydia death is recorded in Mar Qtr 1945.

It would appear he married a Helen M Yates in Sept Qtr 1945. I can not find a death registration for Helen.

and in Jun qtr 54 he married a Mair jones or Johnston.



ivor

hi

It would appear that it was Helen that went to India and if she died there that might explain why i am not finding a record.

ivor

hi.

i am going to stick my neck on a block here. i have a feeling that you don't need to look any further than the QRR's ( west surrey). he married Helen M Yates in NE Surrey. I think that there may have been a family connection to the Surrey area. you would need to go back further, to your Great Grandfather or earlier, to find if there was family still in that area.

i will see what i can find


ivor