h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Mr Goldstein - My late (died 17/11/2004) father, Charles Paul Elwell, was in the IVth Hussars from late 1943/early '44, appears from a twenty-year-old essay only just discovered in his papers to have gone through exactly the same experiences as yourself, and was ultimately demobbed from Trieste in July 1946. I therefore believe it likely that he appears in the official photograph taken at Ferndorf in Austria, posted on your pages here, and that perhaps he knew you personally (if the latter is the case, then you may be interested in later details of his life in Australia, to which the family moved in 1948). Could you please let me know a.s.a.p. a) if that is so, and b) whether it is possible to obtain a copy of the photo (subject of course to suitable payment) blown up to a size where the faces are recognisable, as is definitely not the case with the photo as posted. Not sure how this works, but no doubt having commented that you can provide all names, there is some means for you to do so!

Hi Derek
The Mr.Goldstein threw me for a moment.... Ron will do nicely!
Firstly, I was delighted to learn of your late dad's service in the 4th QOH although I suspect he was not in A Sqdrn at the time.
To get to details:
With regard to the Squadron photo.
Once I have your e-mail address I can send it to you as an attachment and you will be able to print it 'blown up'. As an interim piece of info I now give all the surnames of those on the photo (which I wrote on the back of the photo):
Starting with the back row and reading from left to right.
House,Westlake,Burroughs,Carstairs,Holmes,Lees,Haines,Vic Hatch, Ron Goldstein (thats me) Howard,Davis,Hunt,Ball,Hewitt,Jefford,Richardson,Dash,Howell,Harwood,Hewitt, (No relation) Rayston,Shave,Bellinger
Fourth row:
Stilletto,Evans,Fortheathe,Houldsworth,Staite,’Jock Ewen,Willis,Rolfe,Jones,Syms,Bennet,Holmes,
Manning,Lawrence,George,Miller,Howard,Pulham,Faulkner,Davis,Johnson,May,Marrison,Grant,
Ward,Cresser.
Third row:
Biggs,Kendal,Ewens,Wyatt,Ashford,White,Joe Metcalfe,Garnett,Jackson,Westwood,Oag,
‘Dicky Hole’,Wilson,
Wallis,Gorton,Elliot,Brennan,Ayre,Haines,Waite,Gerahty,Mollard,Jarvis,Porter,Stillwell,Crighton
Richardson.
Second row:
Fuller,Cunningham,Butterworth,Maloney,Lascelles,Ward,Graham,Munns,Gould,Allsop,Skinner,
Brown,Davies,Rigby,Douthwaite,Hobbs,Jervis,Holmes,Davis,Sherman,Vic Ullrich,Thompson,Cross
Leigh,Bowler
First row:
Hills,Wakes,Tom Metcalfe,Haywood,Hasted,Boult,Chiltern,Broderick,Ellis,Stone,Buckley,’Busty’ Thomas,
‘Paddy’ O’Brien,Waddingham,Walmsley,Harris,Jackson,Rogers,Taylor,Holland,Balfour,McMoreland
Atkiinson,Mundy
As you will see, no ELWELL I'm afraid.
We will talk more in the future, the WW2 team will be able to give you my e-mail address.
Best wishes
Ron

Ron, Thanks very much for your very prompt response. The day I posted the message to you, I also applied for Dad's service record from the Army Personnel Centre. I note from your postings that it took something like two months for yours to turn up, so it should be a few weeks yet before I start getting anxious, particularly allowing the extra few days in transit from and to this part of the world! I take it that from those that I should be able to pin Dad's squadron details down, when I will try to follow up. May well be worth considering posting his story to this site, or at least the war part of it, although it will need a bit of his earlier family background and pre-war upbringing in Germany, until his departure in 1936, to fill out the whys and wherefores.

Hi Derek
Applying for your Dad's Army Record was the first and most important step.
Once you have these you will be able to make a diary of his movements and a lot of his other writings will make sense.
When you have his records it would be nice if you were to post a definitive account of his life in the 4th QOH so that future generations of your family will be able see his place in Britain's role in WW2.
Best wishes
Ron

Ron,

Been a bit of a saga, but at last Dad's records arrived today. However, I'm having a spot of bother deciphering some aspects of the Service and Casualty Form, and don't seem able to pin down squadron details as hoped. Following transfer from the Pioneer Corps to 65th Training Regt. R.A.C. at Farnborough 15.7.43 (and becoming a Trooper in the process rather than a Private, a point noted with some pride in his memoir!), he was then posted to OCTU, apparently not entirely successfully, with various postings (52 Training Regt., re-interview attached to no. 21 WOSB, etc.) in the next few months, then starts the sequence of particular interest in this exchange with you:
52TR Posted to Draft RWZ(or 2?)WK 13.11.44
Date of embarkation 2/12/44 ??120/Gen/2097/Q(M)IB
X4 Disembarked ??? 24/12/44 (Naples - what the heck took three weeks?!!)
X4 TOS RAC to X(4) 28/12/44
X4 POSTED ARRX4 (stamped) 7/1/45
X(4) Posted to 278 FDS 12.2.45
X(4) Posted to 277 FDSX(4) 18/3/45
4H Posted to this unit from X4 24/3/45
4H Appointed LULC 29.6.45
then various entries which appear related to hospitalisation (X(2)?) in later '45 before voluntary transfer to Intelligence Corps 2.11.45, accompanied by promotion to P/A Corporal, W/Corporal, P/A/Sergeant over subsequent months until discharge (with some very complimentary comments!) in July '46. Rueful memoir comment being that with known German and French language skills, Trieste with its Italian, Slovene and Serbo-Croat speakers wasn't the most obvious place to end up!
Does this enable you to shed light on where he may have been in the 4th Hussars, and if so, what are the chances of a photo such as yours at Ferndorf? Some assistance with the acronyms wouldn't go amiss either!
Looking forward to hearing from you, and with a couple of tweaks to the memoir it may be possible to have it posted to this web-site.
With kindest regards and thanks for your help - Derek

Hi Derek
Give me a about week to sort it out and I will come back to you.
Not quite sure about your ref to a 'photo such as mine' ? if I am right, are you hoping that a photo such as mine of 'A' Srdrn exists of your Dad's own Squadron?
Before we get to this point we desperately need to know which Sqdrn he was actually in... are you sure that no such info is given in your Dad's records?
While I am trying to sort things out send me an e-mail at ron_goldsteinatbtopenworld.com (replace the at with the usual symbol)so that I have an adress for sending you stuff.
Do not despair, we will get there in the end !
Ron