Mentioned in Despatches - Bernard Newman

[SirPeterHardingsLovechild]

My Grandfather was Mentioned in Despatches in WW1, I have the certificate but was wondering if it is possible to get a look at the actual 'mention'

I know it's not aviation related (apart from the fact that his WW2 French Legion du Honeur is signed by Dassault!) but I know there's an appetite for helping each other out on PPRuNe.

I am investigating his life and works, as there are several internet allegations that he was a spy, which has come as bit of a surprise...

Thanks in advance

SPHLC

Details:-
Royal Army Service Corps
S4/060960 S/Sgt Bernard Charles Newman 21st Div.Train
16th March 1919
Issued 1st July 1919
Despatch from Haig
Signed by Churchill

[Tankertrashnav]

I am afraid this is going to be a tall order. This particular despatch is the last in a series referred to as "Haig's Despatches" and was published as you see in March 1919. The text of the despatch can be read online and you will see it deals with events in very general terms. Despatches were a means by which commanders in the field could report back to the War Office the progress of of the war in their area of command. At the end of each despatch would follow a list of names of individuals who had been submitted as being worthy of "mention" for their services. It is just that - a mention, there is no citation as such. In the case of Haig's despatches there is a very large number of names, amongst which you will find your grandfather's. You would need to have access to diaries or records of his unit to have any chance of finding out what he got the mention for, and even then it would not necessarily be the case that anything would be found.

You can read the text of Haig's Despatch of March 1919 here

First World War.com - Primary Documents - Sir Douglas Haig's Final Despatch, 21 March 1919

You will need to go the London Gazette to see the name in print, but as I said, that is all you will see.

[GANNET FAN]

Mentioned in Despatches, my father

Can I ask the same question of WW2? Is there anywhere I can see the actual "mention"? I guess it might be with his service records and I'm not sure how to access those.
Thanks

[McGoonagall]

To access WWII service records you would need to be the NOK or have permission from the NOK and the relevant death certificate. I think it costs about £30 ish. If he was a brown job then this is the place to apply.

Army Personnel Centre
HQ Secretariat
Historical Disclosures
Mail Point 400
Kentigern House
65 Brown Street
Glasgow
G2 8EX
Tel: [phone], option 1, then option 3

[Tankertrashnav]

Just an amendment to the last - that is correct if you want his records, but an MID is listed in the London Gazette which is available online.

Here's a link to get you started

Advanced Search

I think there is a £3 fee, but I may be wrong.

[Duncan D'Sorderlee]

SPHLC,

Is this the same chap?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Newman_(author)

Duncs

[SirPeterHardingsLovechild]

Duncs,

Certainly is. I edited the paragraph about espionage activities. As well as a serious writer on European affairs, he also wrote spy novels. It wasn't until the dawn of the internet that out family discovered many references to his spying. Having said that, his 1968 NYT obituary stated it as well. External link at the bottom of the Wiki page takes you to my research website, which is a bit crude until I decide to upgrade. For those that can't be bothered, he wrote a best seller 'Spy' in the first person, and people are confusing fact with fiction. Plenty of links to the lazy / crazy people on the Wiki page.

TTN,

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

He was chums with Sir Basil Liddell Hart, the military historian, and wrote the novel 'The Cavalry Went Through' after witnessing the trench warfare in WW1. This depicted breaking through the enemy line with highly trained troops and causing general mayhem. It was required reading at Sandhurst. Unfortunately, the Germans read it too, and we can thank my grandfather for the 'Blitzkrieg'