Reference
Z1770/1
Title
Photograph album of Roy William 'Ginger' Mellors 14414210 PTE Mellors 1st Battalion Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Regiment - India 1945-46.
Date free text
1945-1946
Production date
From: 1945 To: 1946
Admin/biog history
Roy William Mellors, who was nicknamed Ginger, was born in 1925. He worked in the Northamptonshire shoe industry in 1939. It is presumed that his time in the Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Regiment 1st Battalion signals was due to National Service. After his time in India he returned to Northamptonshire and in 1948 married Margaret Bland. The couple had four children, three boys and a girl. Mr Mellors died in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire in September 1982.
Scope and Content
Snapshots mounted with photo corners onto black pages. Some annotated.
p3 Dehra Dun - group photo of Signal Class: Chico, Soopy, Den, Joe, Beadle, Bernstein, Johny, 'Me', Skinner. Photo of Bill and Ginger on a camp bed in a yard with Fox, Ernie and Skinner standing behind them. Group photo Meerut 1946.
p4 Charrata: photo of soldier [Roy?] 'on the road from Meerur to Chahrata', view of Kalsi Bridge, view of the Himalayas.
p5 'The waterfall 80ft visited Bank Holiday Sunday April 21st 1946 by Joe, Bill and Myself'; Signal Class: Murray, Ernie, Bill, Bonner, Bob, Chico, Johnny, Bern, Den, Fawcett, Gox, Ginger, Joe, Skinner, Cox.
p6 View of Dedban from camp; 'Joe and Me Climbing Up'; The camp as seen from top of Dedban.
p7 Deoban: 'Chico'; 'Joe, Me Ted, Bob, Fred, Johnny, Skinner'; Johnny, Fred, Ted, Chico'.
p8 'Ted, Bob, Me, Chico, Joe, Fred, Skinner' on a rock; 'Bob, Me Skinner, Joe' on a rock; Roy 'looking down at the camp'.
p9 'Joe, Me, Ted, Bob, Johnny, Fred, Skinner'; 'View showing mule track into Tibet'; 'Top of Deoban'.
p10 'The cinema and bus station Chakrata'; 'The Bazaar'; 'St Marks'.
p11 'HQ Coys Char-Wallahs (Pukka Theck Wallahs)'; 'Alf and Sgt Layton' with a dog; Deoban.
p12 'Our Basha and the Char-Wallahs'; '"Exchange Sir" (Joe & Alf)'; 'HQ Ci Football Team' [named on page but named differently on the back of the photograph, which also says 'Meerut Mar 46'.
p13 Three snapshot possibly all of Roy [?].
p14 View over the hills; man seated holding a sign saying 'Leicester Lounge'; unidentified soldier standing on a track with mountains behind.
p15 'Signal Office Chakrata June 46'; 'Me, Alf, Joe' leaning on the sign for the Signals Exchange and Office; Joe leaning on the sign, Roy leaning on the sign.
p16 'Signal Office July 46'; '"Working Hard"' two men [Roy and Joe?] on the telephone; "Still Working" Roy on the exchange; "Relaxing" Joe [?] standing in a wood.
p17 'Still the Signal Office' one photo of Joe two other photos missing.
p18 'Marching down to Kalsi on IS scheme June 17th 1946' six small views of the route.
p19 Page titled 'back at the signal office' one photo missing; one of Roy and Joe working and one of a mountain view.
p20 Photograph of a man sitting on a railing inscribed 'Best wishes from Dick June 46'.
No captions from here on.
p21 Photo of soldier; photo of man washing his arm; photo of Roy and Joe [?].
p22 Photo of soldiers on march; photo of soldiers resting; photo of one soldier sitting on a wall.
p23 Group photo probably of the Signal Class.
p24 Photo of Roy [?] two photos of Roy and Joe [?]
p25 Photo of Roy and Joe [?] climbing a mountain; photo of three soldiers possibly at the top of a mountain; Indian band being watched by a group of people.
p26 Photograph of a soldier inscribed on the back 'To Ginger From your old pal (& "cousin" to the CO) Geoff Bailey 12 Feb 1945';
p27 three photographs of Roy, Bill and Joe bathing in a lake or river.
p29 photo of man (Roy or Joe?) in a bed reading a letter, a framed photo of a woman on the table beside him; photo of same man sitting on a wall; photo of two men playing Monopoly; photo of Roy swinging a baseball bat.
p31 Roy and Joe [?] with a sign saying 'Pioneer Shop out of bounds'; photo of Roy, Alf and Joe outside the Signal stores.
p33 two interior photos of a group of soldiers celebrating Xmas with bottles of beer and one exterior photo of a group of soldiers with beer bottles and leis around their necks (possibly also Xmas).
p35 Alf [?], Roy and an Indian gentleman as HQ[?]; a group of local people in the hills; two photos of Roy and probably Alf and Joe messing about with signal flags.
p37 group photo of six soldiers (possibly from the signal class and including Roy); group of nine men outside a tent (other tents in background; photo of a bare-chested man standing outside a tent.
Archival history
Sent to the archives service by Mr Mellors' daughter.
Level of description
item