HI Joyce, I tried to send an off list reply to your off list message to me but it bounced back, many Australian servers do bounce my mails, my servers fault not yours, so I am replying via the list. Perhaps you could write to the MoD and ask about obtaining your grandfather's army record, explaining that you don't have his number. They may have a reserch service they can tell you about, but it will be very expensive, the copy of my father's record which only covers 2 A4 pages was expensive so be prepared for a large bill if the MoD can research your grandfather's case but they will tell you how much per hour they charge if they have such a service. Keep your eye open in amongst old photos and letters written during WWII just in case there are any from him or to him that were saved from the hands of his son. Perhaps even photos of his parents sent to him at that time would likely have his army number on the back, often these seem to be post card side portraits. You only need to find that number and you are away, you alredy know his regiment so that is part of the battle but the all important number is really what you need. Are there no other family members, older sons/daughters other grandchildren, who might have old photos or letters of their father/mother or to and from his parents and himself even? What a crime to have destroyed it all. The Imperial War Museum at Lambeth London might have information on the Royal Engineers as a regiment but if the MoD that hold the records of service records of the 3 services. If as you say he was a Sergeant or higher rank then that might make the task a little bit easier to find him in some way but it would still be very difficult if not impossible without his number. The MoD can be written to at this address. Ministry of Defence, CS(RM)2b. Bourne Avenue, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 1RF England. Good Luck and I hope this helps a little bit. regards Jenny DeAngelis. Spain. >>>>> Many thanks for your reply. Unfortunately there is nothing on the photo. It is A4 size but no identifying names either. Also after grandma's and Joe's deaths their younger son threw everything on the tip. I can hear all genealogists screaming! <<<<

Joyce For your grandfather's service record, you should get in touch with the Ministry of Defence Veteran's Agency. They can provide a service record, free of charge. See http://www.veteransagency.mod.uk/servicerecs/servrecs.htm and http://www.veteransagency.mod.uk/servicerecs/army.htm which has the address to write to However, they will only provide the record to the next of kin. When I applied for the records for my father and mother, I wrote letters and got my father to sign them (my mother having died some years previously). The letters also said "please send the record to my son", and they were sent to me. Where the soldier and his wife have both died, it must be the legal next-of-kin who applies. So if you are a grandchild, and there is still a child alive, I think your parent, uncle or aunt would need to apply on your behalf. The website shows what sort of information they require, and they accept that most people will not have full information. In my parents case I was able to give service numbers which makes the job easier. The service is only available for people who joined the army after 1920 - but you mention his service in WW2, so that should be OK. Be warned, you'll get a lot of very boring pieces of paper, some of them more than once. There must have been 50 A4 sheets in my father's wartime record. Richard Thomson