Karin If your Great Uncle was in the uniformed services (Army, Navy, Air Force), and lost his life in WWII, then he would be (unless an error has been made) listed by the CWGC, and this would include those on raiding parties, such as at Dieppe or Bruneval, as well as those lost at sea. Merchant Navy losses are also recorded. The CWGC doesn't list members of Allied Forces from the occupied countries serving under British command (Norwegians, Poles. French etc). I think the answer to your problem is there in plain sight in what you've written. Private or civilian travel between the continent and Great Britain was virtually impossible during the war, so you can almost certainly rule out a "privately sponsored group" going to France. "Civilian" flights to neutral Sweden were made using converted Mosquitoes fighter-bombers, whose speed allowed them to outrun the German fighters over Denmark and Norway. (These flights were vital for the importation of ball bearings so necessary for the war industry). Spain and Portugal were also neutral and most civilian air-traffic went via Lisbon (and Ireland), flying in an arc well to the west to avoid the Luftwaffe over the Bay of Biscay. The actor, Leslie Howard, was killed on one of these flights when it was shot down in 1943. All new arrivals, including refugees, in Britain were questioned extremely closely to prevent the infiltration of German agents and saboteurs. Anyone the least suspect ended up at the "Royal Victoria Patriotic School" in Wandsworth for interrogation, possibly for some time, until it was established one way or another as to whether or not they were a security threat. Karin, if your Great Uncle disappeared doing clandestine work in France, then he would have been in one of several "secret services", and these people are also not in CWGC database. These services include: S.I.S Secret Intelligence Service better known as MI6 S.O.E. The Special Operations Executive set up in 1940 to "set Europe ablaze". MI9 Tasked to set up escape networks on the continent, especially for downed aircrew. The Poles, Czechs, French and other allies had their own secret services operating out of Britain during WWII co-ordinating with the British services. The RAF even parachuted Soviet NKVD agents into Western Europe for Stalin as the Russians didn't have any aircraft of their own with the necessary range to fly to the drop zones from their own territory (Operation Pickaxe). (The Americans didn't learn of this until about a decade later!) SIS records are closed, and I'm not familiar with the records for MI9. Personal files for SOE members are in the National Archives in Kew in class HS9. Many are still closed, however, where proof of death is available they can be opened with an FOI request. Hope this helps David Armstrong Maylands, Western Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: Karin To: leicestershire-plus@rootsweb.com Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2014 8:23 AM Subject: Re: [LEI] Names on Kirby Muxloe War Memorial There are others that don't appear in the CWGC. My granduncle disappeared during WW2; he was one of the group that went into France to bring out people. It has always been assumed he died on one of the raids. I understand that there were others in the same position. I don't know if these were government-sponsored or private sponsored groups; possibly the latter in my granduncle's case. I do know that my ggrandfather (from Kirby Muxloe) married a woman whose family had been hiding their Jewish antecedents for many year; possibly there were private sponsors. Just another thought Karin --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com

Hi Folks, Reposting my Brick wall, thank you for the people who tried to help earlier on last year, but I still haven't got any further. I'm trying to find the Birth, Marriage and parents of William and Hannah STAFFORD. (Please see details of their family below). I cannot find anything on Ancestry or Family Search and now I don't know where to look. William and his son Job STAFFORD I found on the 1841 Census, working as Woolcomers in Bradford Yorkshire but there no sign of Hannah Stafford, William's wife. 1. William Stafford, b. 1786? He married Hannah ? ABT 1811. Children: 2. i. Charles Stafford b. 1812. ii. William Stafford, b. 1814 in Shearsby Leicestershire England. He married Elizabeth Bates ???, 28 Sep 1835 in Leicestershire. iii. Hannah Stafford, b. 1816 in Shearsby Leicestershire. She married Thomas Shardlow, 5 Nov 1838 in Leicester England, b. 1817. 3. iv. John Stafford b. 1818. in Shearsby Leicestershire. v. James Stafford, b. 1820 in Shearsby Leicestershire, d. 25 Sep 1822 in Shearsby Leicestershire. 4. vi. Job Stafford b. 1822.in Shearsby Leicestershire, d. 1900 in Aston Birmingham. He married Eliza Eagle in 1845 at Leicestershire. Job STAFFORD and Eliza EAGLE were my G.G. Grandparents. Kind Regards Graham Rolls Western Australia