Captain William John Colin Wallace Royal Armoured Corps

Below is a great photograph of my father's unit taken in 1940. it is a BIG file, but worth it. Take a close look at the faces of these 78 men. I do not currently know the unit designation or the location of the photograph. At the time my father was a Captain, and is seated in the front row center to the left of the Officer Commanding (dad is the eighth one from the left, wearing gloves and without the swagger stick).

According to my father's military records, he enlisted in the Territorial Army in 1940. As an enlisted man he served in the 46th Bn RTR and the 50th Bn RTR. He was qualified as a "driver/operator" Gp "C" Class III, whatever that means. He was formally discharged in December 1942 to take a commission as an officer, 2nd Lt.

At that time he was assigned to the 52nd Trng Reg RAC Bovington, then transferred to the 60th Trng Reg. Later he again transferred to the 57th Trng Reg Catterick Camp, where he remained. In August 1944 he was promoted to Captain and appointed Adjutant of the 57th Trng Reg RAC there at Catterick Camp. He mustered out after the war immigrated to the United States. He never relinquished his British citizenship, and in fact became ill and passed away while in England visiting his brother. His remains were sprinkled in a rose garden there.

UPDATE - I received some background from the Army Records Centre which indicate this photo below was probably taken at Catterick Camp, Yorkshire, UK in either the later part of 1944 or in 1945. I believe the unit to be the 57th Training Regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps. Any additional information will be welcome!

One wonders how many of them survived the war. My father did, and returned to the United States in 1946. I'm sure some of these fellows rest in a European cemetery. The British dead were buried more or less where they fell, although some were returned to England for burial after the war. For that reason there are a large number of British cemeteries in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. I'll post some of the photos and stories about these men later on.

NOTE: If you happen to recognize any of these men, PLEASE let me know by email: Click to email me