Guild of One-Name Studies
One-name studies, Genealogy
Frank (as he was known within the family) was a very quiet unassuming man. He never talked about his army service experiences. It was only after his death that we obtained a copy of his WW2 service record and began to piece together what he had done. The “Recce” only existed for a relatively short period: they were formed in 1941, became part of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1944 and were disbanded in 1946 – Frank joined in 1942 and served until they were wound up. He went ashore at D-Day (Sword beach) and moved up to Nijmegen, Holland, a city that saw heavy fighting during Operation Market Garden. Toward the end of the war, the 15th Recce served alongside the SAS: it seems they were trying to clear up a few things before the war ended when they would no longer be permitted to do what they had set out to. The war diaries indicate they were probably Nazi-hunting.