Service Records

Part 2 of 2

L.A.C. Mos. Miller, of 3, Sycamore Road, Middlesbrough, joined the Engineers in September, 1940 and has seen service at home and overseas, including the D-Day landings and the Western Europe campaigns, he is at present in Germany.

L/Cpl. Benjamin Miller, of 3, Sycamore Road, Middlesbrough, joined the Army in 1940, being attached to the R.A. Signals for a short period, before being transferred to the C.M.P., his service overseas includes a

period in France and Belgium.

Staff Sgt. C. Miller, of 3, Sycamore Road, Middlesbrough, joined the Army in 1939 and is still serving with the R.E.M.E., he has seen service in this country, and is at present stationed in Gibralter.

Pte. Bernard Miller, of 27, Lees Street, Middlesbrough, joined the Army in July, 1938. He went to France and was taken prisoner in 1940, and was interned as P.O.W. till 1945 when the Americans freed his camp.

Cpl. Jack Miller, of 27, Lees Street, Middlesbrough, joined the Army in October, 1939, where he served till August, 1942.

Another fine collective contribution to the War effort belongs to the Nayman family, of Borough Road, Middlesbrough, who had 5 members engaged on war service:

Cpl. Rita Nayman, joined the A.T.S. in December, 1942, and has served in various parts of the British Isles.

L.A.C. Hyman Nayman, joined the R.A.F.in December, 1941 and has served in various parts of the British Isles.

Pte. Abe Nayman, joined the Army in 1941, serving in the R.A.S.C. till October, 1945, in different parts of this country.

Fireman I. Nayman, whose wife lives at Studley Road, Middlesbrough, served in the National Fire Service from February, 1942, till January, 1945.

Seaman Max Nayman joined the R.N. in June, 1940, and served with the Navy in all parts of the globe till November 1945.

Sgt. P. Niman, son of Mr. E. Niman, 2, Linden Grove, Middlesbro, joined the R.A.F. in September, 1939: he served from February, 1941, till November, 1945, in India and Burma.

Gunner N. Niman, of 3, Eton Road, Middlesbrough, joined the Army in June, 1942, and served in the R.A. till August, 1945.

Mrs. L. Niman, of 357 Newport Road, to whom our deepest sympathy goes in the loss of her son during an air-raid on Middlesbrough, had three sons serving in the forces.

Pte. Ronnie Niman, son of Mrs. Niman, 357, Newport Road, Middlesbrough, joined the Royal Navy in January, 1944, being transferred to the Army in July, 1944: he is at present serving in Palestine.

Sgt. S. Niman, whose wife lives at 349, Newport Road, Middlesbrough. Joining the R.A.M.C. in November, 1941, till March, 1942, Sgt. Niman has seen service in this country and also overseas.

He was engaged in the work of Sgt. Dispenser, on H.M. Troopships, transporting men, to Africa via the Cape, and returning British and Colonial troops back to home ports, some who were unfit for duty, and others for leave. Relating his experiences, Sgt. Niman tells the exciting and rather harrowing story of an action at sea. He and his company were under constant shellfire for nine days, and sustained damage to stern and midships. They suffered two casualties. By this time the ship was listing heavily and was becalmed. Troops were withdrawn to another ship at Gibraltar, Xmas morning, 1940.

Another rather hair-raising experience occurred to Sgt. Niman in the Irish Channel, before his ship was due to dock at Liverpool. There was a very heavy air attack. The ship escaped, but an oil-tanker about twenty yards away sustained a direct hit and went down in flames. This was December, 1941. Recounting another exciting episode, Sgt. Niman describes an exciting U-boat action during the famous battle of the Atlantic, when the cruiser escort with whom he was engaged successfully depth-charged two U-boats and scored hits after a most exciting chase.

CpI. N. Niman, enlisted on September 6th, 1941, and has seen service in the United Kingdom and the Icelandic Theatre of Operations. He was engaged in the shipment of stores and aircraft to R.A.F. Units in all parts of the world. Recounting his war experiences, Cpl. Niman claims to have, as far as he knows, contacted the only four families of Jewish German refugees at present residing in Iceland, and who hope to make their home in the island. Whilst serving in Scotland in the summer of 1942, he was employed in the “ Top Secret” work in the operations which eventually led to the opening of the Mediterranean, and was also connected with the shipping of Hurricanes and Spitfires which were equipped with extra fuel tanks to H.M. aircraft carriers, which were transported within flying distance of Malta, and in most cases went straight into action from the carriers. Cpl. Niman was also engaged in the very secret work of loading convoys in preparation for the North African Campaign.

Cpl. Eric Richardson, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Richardson, of 29, Thornfield Road, Middlesbrough, joined the R.A.F. in 1941. Cpl. Richardson became attached to the R.A.F. Photographic Intelligence Section. He has served in this country and abroad; his overseas service includes Sicily, Italy and Corsica. Cpl. Richardson was recently commended by his C.O. for exceptional services with the Photo Intelligence work for all operational units of M.A.T.A.F., working alone for many months without any other assistance, sometimes to the pitch of complete physical exhaustion.

Q.M.S. Theo H. Richardson (T.I.F.C.), son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Richardson, 29, Thornfield Road, Middlesbrough, joined the Army (R.A. Radio-location) in 1940: he has been lecturing and training Officers and men in Radio-location, in England and India since 1941.

Morris Saville, whose wife lives at 110, Ayresome Park Road, Middlesbrough, joined the National Fire Service in September, 1941, where he served till November, 1942. In November, 1942, he joined the R.A.F., where he served in many parts of the U.K. till December, 1944.

Mrs. Silverstone, the wife of the late Rev. Silverstone, for 40 years First Reader of the Middlesbrough Hebrew Congregation, had three sons. serving in the forces during the war.

Capt. D. Silverstone, whose mother lives at 130, Marton Road, Middlesbrough. Attached to the Army Dental Corps, Capt. Silverstone enlisted in September, 1939, and served till July, 1945. Has seen overseas service in West Africa for two and a half years, and the remainder at home stations. While serving in the West African Theatre of Operations, Capt. Silverstone was attached to the 3rd West African Field Ambulance, whose activities were confined to North and South Nigeria. Capt. Silverstone describes how he trained an illiterate force of African Bushmen into an efficient trained unit of medical orderlies, stretcher-bearers, and general service personnel, and were part of the Infantry Brigade ready to invade Vichy territory just before the French Authorities gave way in North Africa.

Major Bernard Silverstone, whose wife is Mrs. B. Silverstone, of 5, Walton Avenue, Linthorpe, joined the Army Dental Corps in September, 1939, and served till July 1945, being officer-in-charge of A.D. Centres at Ripon, Newcastle, Chesterfield and Middlesbrough at various dates between 1940-1945.

Major Harry Silverstone, youngest son of Mrs. Silverstone, of 130, Marton Road, Middlesbrough, joined the Army in August, 1939, and served in France, and took part in the successful evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940. In January, 1941, he went to India, where he served as Adjutant of the Indian Military Academy, which is the Indian Sandhurst. Major Silverstone was last year appointed Inspector General of Prisons at Bengal.

Sqn. Ldr. Dr. L. J. Simon, whose wife, Mrs. J. L. Simon, lives at Oakfield Road, Gosforth, Newcastle, joined the R.A.F. in October, 1940, and served in many parts of the U.K., Middle East and Italy.

Mrs. Simon, of 57, Southfield Road, Middlesbrough, had all of her three children serving in uniform.

Tpr. Sydney Julius Simon, Royal Armoured Corps. Before joining the Army, Tpr. Simon was employed in Civil Defence duties from September, 1939, to July, 1940: he then enlisted in the Royal Armoured Corps as a medical orderly, attached to Coastal Defences in Southern England during the period of 1940 to 1941. In August, 1941, Tpr. Simon went overseas, and served in India until V.E. Day, 1945, attached to the South-East Asia Command. Returning to this country for a short time, he left England for Germany in September, 1945.

Nurse Beatrice Simon, joined the Nursing Service in April, 1941, and also served as a Nursing Auxiliary at Hemlington E.M.S. hospital till January, 1945.

Her sister, Nurse Rita Simon, joined the same service in April, 1941, and also served at the Hemlington E.M.S. Hospital till July, 1943.

Staff-Sgt. David Simon, son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Simon, 63, Cambridge Road, Middlesbrough, joined the Army in July, 1940, and served to date the major part of his time at the War Office.

Capt. S. H. Segerman, R.A.M.C., of 12, Hillcrest Avenue, Leeds, formerly of Middlesbrough, was killed in action at El Alamein on July 16th, 1943. He joined the Army in November, 1940, whilst serving with the M.E.F. he was first Medical Officer attached to No. 3 General Hospital, Egypt, later being transferred to No 44 Royal Tank Regiment, being killed in action whilst serving with this Regiment in a battle near El Alamein. He also acted as chaplain to the Jewish soldiers in the absence of the Senior Jewish Chaplain Major Rabinovitz.

A further tribute is paid on a previous page in this book.

L/Cpl. Sidney Segerman, also of 12, Hillcrest Avenue, Leeds, and formerly of Middlesbrough, joined the Army (RA.O.C.) in August, 1939, and served in many parts of the British Isles till March, 1943.

Sister Bertha Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. Smith, of 10, Limes Road, Middlesbrough, joined the Nursing Service in 1936, and worked during the war years in London as a Theatre Sister. Her sister, Cpl. Lottie Smith, joined the A.T.S. in June, 1942, and served in London and in many parts of the U.K.

Mr. & Mrs. Z. Smollan of 34, Woodlands Road, Middlesbrough, had all of their three children serving in the forces.

L.A.C.Smollan, the R.A.F. in June 1941. He served with Coastal Command 2^nd Tactical Air Force in the Middle East from October, 1944, till May, 1945. He served with the B.L.A./Sea Rescue Unit, in Belgium, and is at present with Fighter Command in England.

Cpl. Louis Smollan, joined the RAF in May 1940. He served in the Middle East from March, 1941, till April, 1945, during which time he went through the Libyan campaign from Mersa-Matruh to Tripoli, and took part in many of the retreats and victories. He also served in Egypt.

Pte. Sadie Smollan, joined the Civil Defence in July, 1940, later joining the A.T.S. in July, 1942, in which she served till August, 1944.

Pte. Betty Smollan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. Smollan, 51, Borough Road, joined the A.T.S. in November, 1941, and served as a cook with an A.A. Battery till May, 1944. Later she served in the W.L.A. and the Timber Corps.

Dvr. Yvanne Smollan, whose parents are Mr. and Mrs. B. Smollan, 51, Borough Road,

served in the W.L.A. from October, 1941, till October. 1944.

Mr. T. Solomon a truly hardworking and respected member of our congregation had three sons serving in the forces.

Mr. David Solomon, who is a W.O.II. (R.Q.M.S.), and whose wife is living at 8, Kent Street, Middlesbrough. R.Q.M.S.Solomon enlisted in the Army 1939 till 1945. During this time he has been through numerous actions and many campaigns. These include France, 1939, to the Dunkirk evacuation, 1940, North-West Africa, 1942-1943, the Salerno battle, Italy, 1943-1945, and service in Austria, France, Belgium and Holland, 1945. Looking back on his numerous experiences R.Q.M.S. Solomon recounts: “Whilst passing through Germany with the Jewish Brigade, they halted near a Displaced Persons’ Camp, when quite suddenly our convoy was surrounded by Jewish refugees, who had caught sight of the famous emblem of the Magen David. This seemed to imbue their ranks with renewed enthusiasm, and their excited shouts of “Shalom “ still ring in my ears”.

Company Officer M. Solomon , N.F.S., whose wife lives at 56, Newlands Road, Middlesbrough. Mr. Solomons enlisted with the N.F.S. in May, 1938, till April 1945. He was officer-in-charge of a convoy which gave assistance to Liverpool during the heavy air attacks, during the period of May 5th, 1941, to May 11th, 1941.

Pte. Philip Solomon, whose father lives at 6, Boundary Road, Middlesbrough, enlisted in the Green Howards in June, 1940. He served in many parts of the U.K., Belgium and Germany.

Signalman Harold Stock, son of Mr. and Mrs. L. Stock, of 10, Mayberry Grove, Middlesbrough, joined the Army (R.A.S.C.) in September, 1939. He has been right through the African campaign, and only recently returned home from the Middle East.

Fireman Jacob Wiseman, whose wife lives at 23, Phillips Avenue, Linthorpe, joined the National Fire Service in October, 1939, and served in Middlesbrough and Manchester till December, 1943.

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The following members of the Middlesbrough Hebrew Congregation also served in the Forces and Civil Defence, but detailed particulars of their service could not be obtained at time of going to press.

Harry Doberman, R.A.M.C.

Max Doberman, R.E., sons of Mr. and Mrs. E. Doberman of Clive Road, Middlesbrough.

Harry Hyman, R.A.F., whose wife, Mrs. H. Hyman, lives at Newcastle.

W. Hyman, C.D., of 21, Windsor Road, Linthorpe.

Louis Levy, R.E., son of Mr. and Mrs. L. Levy of Barker Road, Linthorpe.

Capt. M. Sherman and Cpl. J. Sherman, sons of Mr. and Mrs. J. Sherman, of Lothian Road, Middlesbrough.

Cpl. B. Sachs, of 31, Lambeth Road, Linthorpe.

Sister E. Turtledove, S.R.N., daughter of Rev and Mrs. Turtledove, of Ayresome Street, Middlesbrough.

M. Woolf, C.D., of 56, Southfield Road, Middlesbrough.

Cpl. E. Brown R.A.F.

George Wynnberg Served 3 years in the R.A.F.

Joseph Wynnberg served 7 years in the Pioneer Corps.

Cpl. Ronald Reubens son of Councillor and Mrs. J. Reubens, Devonshire Road, Middlesbrough.

L.A.C. David Israel, R.A.F. , son of the late Mr. and Mrs. S. Israel, of Middlesbrough.

Major J.S.Mendelson, son of Mrs. A. Mendelson, of Newcastle.

In compiling these names and particulars of all the men and women who have served in H.M.Forces and full time Civil Defence during the war years, it has been my earnest endeavour to include every Jewish man and woman belonging to Midd1esbrough, and should anyone have been omitted it will have happened quite unintentionally.

G. WULWIK