Alfred was a driver in the Royal Army Service Corps in North Africa when he was shot & badly wounded and as a result had to have his left leg amputated. He was so weak initially that he had great difficulty walking with crutches & could only drag his good right leg along the ground. He therefore spent most of his time in a wheelchair.
He lived in London with friends of the family when he was discharged & it was there he died & was buried. He is on the
Luton-Vauxhall Motors Ltd war memorial but I don’t know if he worked there before the war or after his injuries.
The memorial stands by the side of Kimpton Road, Luton in front of the site of the works canteen (now demolished).
Both First and Second World War casualties are recorded, & many of those from World War Two were killed as a result of enemy action at the Vauxhall Motor Works.
MEMBERS OF VAUXHALL MOTORS WHO DIED IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY 1939 - 1945
SHRUBSOLE Alfred Lewis
Driver 10705915. Royal Army Service Corps.
Died Thursday 26 July 1945.
Buried: WILLESDEN NEW CEMETERY, Middlesex, United Kingdom.
Ref. Plot Service Grave 2.
When I first started researching I found his details recorded on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website but when I looked again a year later he wasn’t there. I made enquiries and was told he had been removed because he didn’t die in the war. The fact that his injuries from the war ultimately caused his death seemed irrelevant! (The war ended in May 1945 and Alfred died in July 1945.) I found this a bit harsh & upsetting. He was my uncle but died before I was born so sadly I never met him. My mum used to tell me stories about him & always said he was her favourite brother, possibly because she was the youngest child & he was old enough to be her father & perhaps spoilt her? Whatever, I’m glad she passed the stories on to me & I like to think he’s not been forgotten.
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The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery (but not ammunition and military and technical equipment, which were the responsibility of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps); administration of barracks; the Army Fire Service; and provision of staff clerks to headquarters units. It is now part of the Royal Logistic Corps.
The ASC subsequently absorbed some transport elements of the Royal Engineers and in 1918, the corps received the "Royal" prefix for its service in the First World War and became the Royal Army Service Corps. It was divided into Transport and Supply Branches.
Before the Second World War, RASC recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 2 inches tall and could enlist up to 30 years of age (or 35 for tradesmen in the Transport Branch). They initially enlisted for six years with the colours and a further six years with the reserve (seven years and five years for tradesmen and clerks, three years and nine years for butchers, bakers and supply issuers). They trained at Aldershot.
Alone among the "Services" (i.e. rear echelon support corps), RASC personnel were considered to be combatant personnel.
During WW2 the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) grew in numbers from 10,000 to 325,000; one in ten soldiers wore the RASC cap badge. After being evacuated from Dunkirk, various elements of 1 Division RASC were involved in campaigns in North Africa as well as establishing and holding the beachhead at Anzio prior to the advance North in 1944.
