LRDG Carningham, John Warnock (Jock)

John Robertson

Administrator
Staff member
  • SURNAME
Carningham
  • FORENAME
John Warnock (Jock)
  • UNIT
LRDG Y Patrol
  • RANK
Sergeant
  • NUMBER
2022814
  • AWARD
Mention in Despatches
  • PLACE
North Africa
  • ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
parent unit Warwickshire Yeomanry,R.A.C.
notes from his daughter Liz McNeil
Here is some information on my dad, he was born on the 10th August 1910, in Rutherglen Lanarkshire to John Warnock Carningham who was aged 27, a Stonemason, he married Jane McPherson Buist 21 a laundry worker also from Rutherglen, dad was the eldest of 7 children, his father died aged 42 on the 25th September 1924, Joseph the youngest was just months old, Granny Carningham did get an army pension as dads dad had been in the Warwickshire Yeomanry, she applied for it under the Widows, Orphans & Old Age Contributory Pensions act 1925 & was granted it on the 17th September 1925. Dad being the eldest had a hard home life as he became the breadwinner, he worked as a Cinema Projectionist then he went to work for a James Brown one of the directors of James Templeton & Co..Carpet Manufactures at Bridgeton, Glasgow. HE had become a reservist when he & mum met, my mothers maiden name was Isabella Irving Dickson Edgar born at Rigg Gretna but as her father worked for the railways they moved to Rutherglen she was 22 a shop assistant in Birrels Sweet Shop when she & dad married on the 7th July 1936, dad was still working for Mr Brown as his Chauffeur, Margaret my eldest sister was born on the 28th May 1937, Joan was born on the 18th August 1938, dad was called up prior to war being declared & I always remember mum saying she never saw him again for 5 years 4 months & a day, the war years are a bit of a mystery to us Carningham gals as dad didn?t speak much about them, what I do know was his time in Y Patrol, then I have a letter mum kept which says S. S. M. Carningham ?B? Squadron, Long Range Desert group, M.E.F. dated 01/10/43, in it he tells mum he is really longing to come home & see the family again also she was due to receive a further 7/- a week more on her army allowance, I guess this was down to dad becoming a S.S.M. The other thing I know was dad being captured at the Battle of Leros, a chap called Ian Chard who is involved with the LRDG Web site told me a wee bit about that, he said he had found an article in something he was reading about movements for the Heavy Section & on the 7th April 1943 a driver Swanson of the HS rear party was to return to base outside Alexandria taking Sgt Carningham with him as a passenger in vehicle 16. The next reference he found regarding my father was a list of men captured at Leros ?WO11 Carningham? against each name annotated by hand are what seems to be opinions about their likely attitude towards escaping & against dads it said ? Recovered, will try? mum did say dad had been injured but to what the severity I don?t know. He was ?resident ?at Staleg7a, Mossberg,(Isar) but could have been in a work camp at Arbeits Kommando which was close by. Dad did eventually escape, I believe he was hanging on to the underside of a moving train! Dad came home in May 1945, my sisters still speak about going into Central Station to meet him , the next morning watching him lying in the bed waiting on him opening his eyes, they had missed so much of their daddy they were excited to see him home, he went back to work for Mr Brown until 18th October 1964, of course a GREAT event had happened in the Carningham home in June 1946, that was when the stork dropped me off! I always say I was the Welcome Home child & the one dad got to see growing up in the early years which he had missed seeing with Margaret & Joan, When dad left Mr Brown employment he went to work as the Chauffeur to Mr Jack Morrison of Morrison?s Fashion House, Howard Street Glasgow, indeed both Margaret & Joan worked in their offices, Margaret being a secretary Joan a clerk, dad had long hours & his health wasn?t good , in fact in 1951 he underwent major surgery for 3 stomach ulcers, he was very ill & wasn?t expected to recover but he did & went back to work for Jack Morrison for another few years but once again his health was bad & he left, he went to work for the motor company as a store man & over the years he worked himself up to Parts Manager of Mercedes Benz Glasgow but once again he was ill, this time it was headaches also a change of personality & in 1964 it was found he had a tumour in the Pituitary Gland, he was very sick, he was in Killearn Hospital for a while then had to undergo Radiotherapy at Belvidere Hospital , he was ill for a very long time but eventually did get back to work, unfortunately the radiotherapy had only delayed the growth & it reoccurred, dad underwent brain surgery in August 1973 again they didn?t think he would recover but he did, not much quality of life, he was child like in his ways & in the September of the following year dad suffered a massive stroke which they said he would never recover & was in Intensive Care unconscious for 10 days but once again he rallied but sadly dad never regained his speech or mobility & was in Glasgow Royal Infirmary right up until he died on the 10th Jan 1976. He died of the results of the tumour with secondary tumours in his chest, He was a wonderful dad to us , mum whose own health had suffered to look after dad lived until October 1995. Oh I have found another bit of info which is Ex Prisoner of War Claim for English or Foreign currency confiscated or impounded by the enemy, it states :
CARNINGHAM JOHN WARNOCK, rank S.S.M.WO11Army Number 2022824. Regiment. LRDG
Captured on the 20th November 1943 at Leros, Date & place of confiscation. Dulag 172, Belgrade. Yugoslavia Confiscating Power GERMAN Dated 14/05/1945.
 
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