Anybody recognise the name "Neumark"?

[JimN]

I wonder if anybody could help in some family research? I last posted a couple of years ago in respect of some interest that had already been expressed in my great-uncle (Otto Walter New(u)mark), viewtopic.php?t=174337#p1933023 an interesting character in his own right. However, in the process of on and off research since then it has become apparent that my father (Robert Walter Newmark) could well have had a pretty “interesting” time during the war himself and we, the Newmark family, would really like to know more – or at least to determine if there is anything more to be known!

My father died five years ago and was always reluctant to talk about anything to do with life before we were born, so I know very little about his war service (apart from, when we asked, he always said that “he never fired a shot in anger” which at least kept us quiet). Before he died, I did ask if I could inquire more deeply into the family background, but he made me promise not to do so until he died. I don’t know why – when I asked he just said that he didn’t want to stir things up again.

Amongst the papers he left are three sides of typewritten A4 dated April 1997. This is an account of his war service, seemingly written on request from a school about twenty years ago and which give an amusing account of the mechanics of the military after he volunteered for the army at the age of 18 in 1941. He talks about being moved around the country and involved in various activities including “guarding a crashed aircraft, shovelling coal out of a train” and then, oddly, he says “the top brass in the War Office decided to move Lance Corporal Newmark abroad, though I never found out whether Winston Churchill was involved personally in this order.” On the face of it, it seems a strange thing to say (although our family did have such connections that enabled them to get the British citizenship papers on the day of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia) and I have always thought that he was being slightly facetious. I am not so sure now. He then goes on to give some brief details of a convoy in the winter of 1942 / 43 following which he disembarked near Algiers, and then, the second strange phrase – “and it is from this point that I helped in winning the war.” . His account ends, seemingly quite abruptly, at that point.

I thought nothing of this it until recently when his old school (Uppingham) sent me his school role entry “Came to Uppingham in September 1939 and left in December 1941 …….He was a Corporal in Counter Intelligence Section Austria”.

My question is whether there more to this than we, as a family, have ever imagined? He spoke German as his first language, had strong political connections (in that his father, following his other two brothers on their deaths all became British Vice-Consul’s in Brno, Czechoslovakia - and then at Zurich until after the end of the war) . Was he in occupied Austria during the war? If so, what did he do? How do I find out?!

His army number was 4867983 and I understand that he changed his name from Neumark to Newmark in January 1942 by Declaration before the officer making out his Army Identity documents.

[Richie B]

As a starting point you could get his service record from the Ministry of Defence.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-rec ... -personnel

Good luck

[JimN]

Yes, I will do that, thanks

[JimN]

I have received this from another source, but I really have no idea as to what it all means. My knowledge of the secret services is derived from James Bond books. I could spend a long time on Google, but would be grateful if it could be translated in simple terms as to what my father actually did. Or point me to some sources where I can find out.

"4867983, Robert Walter Newmark, transferred to the Int Corps on 19 May 43 from the RA. After training at the Depot (unspecified) he was posted to 309 FSS which in 1943 was in the UK in South East Command. He then went to North Africa (BNAF) and joined 5 Bn GRTD. (I don't know what the GRTD stands for but I believe it was a training depot of some sort in North Africa). He was then sent to ISSU6, (Inter-Services Signal Unit, part of the SIS set up) and then on to ME 40 which was part of MASSINGHAM, then on again to ME 104, part of SOE's CMF set up. After the invasion of Italy he moved up into Austria and was part of the Control Commission there, although I have no idea what his tasks were, an educated guess would put him still with the SIS though.
His last posting was to 20 FSS which was stationed in Vienna. 20 FSS was involved in the tunnel operation with 291 FSS to tap into the Soviet telephone lines in 'Smokey Joe's', a precursor to Op GOLD in Berlin. Newmark was posted to the 'Y List' prior to demob in November 1946.
ISSU6 was formed in 1940 from Section VIII of the SIS, it was predominantly a civilian organisation with a military designation. It later changed to 'Special Communications Unit'. It is mentioned in 'MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service, 1909-1949', by Keith Jeffery."


Thanks

[JimN]

Well, it has taken almost two years following my request https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-rec ... -personnel, but yesterday I received his army service record (with an apology and the £30 fee waived!) It is interesting, but actually only confirms the outline of the above in bold ie the dates and names of postings. That particular source was very helpful .... but only obtained through personal contacts of a third party and despite several requests for further information there has been no response.
I remain pretty much in ignorance of his day-to-day work. I do have a copy of Keith Jeffery's book, but it is really too dense to take in. Can anybody point me to a course, if such exists, on-line if possible, that would help? Even better, but probably unachievable as so niche, something along the lines of Ian Mortimer's Time Traveller's Guides!

[Manisoa]

As a starting point you could get his service record from the Ministry of Defence.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-rec ... -personnel stumble guys

Good luck

Can someone recommend a course that would be helpful to me, preferably one that I could do online? Even better, but probably impossible to achieve as so specialized, would be something like Ian Mortimer's Time Traveler's Guides!

[Tom from Cornwall]

GRTD = General Training and Reinforcement Depot.

Otherwise, you are probably better posting on WW2Talk as they have some very clever folk on there who might be able to help.

What date did he go out from UK and then arrive in North Africa?

Regards

Tom