Sergeant David John Rogerson Scots Guards and Gloucestershire Regiment
The Man David John Rogerson was born on Thursday 9th June 1932 in Bristol, son of Thomas William Rogerson, a former Porter and World War I Royal Navy veteran and Adeline Floretta May nee Tiddy. He was one of five children, Doris Catherine May born in 1915, Joan Rosalind Margaret 1926, Elizabeth I 1928 and Ernie who died in infancy.
In 1939 the family were living at 64 St David’s Crescent, Bristol and David’s Father Thomas, re-enlisted into the Royal Navy before the start of World War II on 3rd September 1939. Tragically he was one of the early casualties of the conflict, serving in HMS Courageous which was sunk following enemy action on 17th September off the coast of Ireland when David was only seven years old. This left Adeline to bring up her two children single handed during the War and the census of 1939 reflecting the fact she was a widow.
During the second quarter of 1950 aged 18 David married June Heather Bryant in Bristol, they had two sons, Malcolm D W born in October 1950 and Adrian T born in April 1953. In September 1950 David was called up for his National Service, enlisting into the 1st Battalion Scots Guards as a Guardsman with service number 22410797.
In late 1951, the 1st Battalion deployed to Cyprus with the rest of the 32nd Guards Brigade. In February the following they year were deployed to Port Said in the Suez Canal Zone after the Egyptian government abrogated the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 which had given the British a base in the Suez Canal Zone and was intended to expire in 1956. They spent five months at Camp Moascar and during their time in Egypt, performed several tasks, including patrolling, guarding and incidents that involved coming under attack from Egyptians, snipers and riots. The Battalion remained in Egypt until late 1954, although David returned to the UK during 1952 at the end of his National Service Commitment. For his service he became eligible for the General Service Medal with clasp ‘Canal Zone’, although this medal was not approved or awarded until 2003 over 50 years later!
Following his release from National Service David enlisted into the 5th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment Territorial Army with the same service number. He spent most of his service with B Company (City of Bristol) and promoted to Sergeant on 1st June 1959. He was awarded his Efficiency Medal, according the Back Badge Regimental Journal on 29th July 1960, but this is more likely to have been during 1964 due to David’s age and joining date in the TA. David no longer appeared in the Sgt and WO list of the Back Badge Journal in Winter of 1966, thus it is likely he had left the TA by then aged 34.
No other detail is known about David except that June passed away in September 1991 aged 62 in Bristol and David 13 years later on Friday 17th December 2004 aged 72. His obituary read:
ROGERSON, David John. Passed away at home on Friday 17 December 2004. Father to Malcolm and Adrian. Grandfather to Samantha, Scott and Stuart. Great Grandfather to Ashleigh, Alex and Kyle. The funeral service will take place at Bristol South on Thursday 23 December at 4p.m. Any flowers to the Co-Op at 99 Church Road, Redfield, or donations to either Cancer Research or St. Peter's Hospice.
In 1939 the family were living at 64 St David’s Crescent, Bristol and David’s Father Thomas, re-enlisted into the Royal Navy before the start of World War II on 3rd September 1939. Tragically he was one of the early casualties of the conflict, serving in HMS Courageous which was sunk following enemy action on 17th September off the coast of Ireland when David was only seven years old. This left Adeline to bring up her two children single handed during the War and the census of 1939 reflecting the fact she was a widow.
During the second quarter of 1950 aged 18 David married June Heather Bryant in Bristol, they had two sons, Malcolm D W born in October 1950 and Adrian T born in April 1953. In September 1950 David was called up for his National Service, enlisting into the 1st Battalion Scots Guards as a Guardsman with service number 22410797.
In late 1951, the 1st Battalion deployed to Cyprus with the rest of the 32nd Guards Brigade. In February the following they year were deployed to Port Said in the Suez Canal Zone after the Egyptian government abrogated the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 which had given the British a base in the Suez Canal Zone and was intended to expire in 1956. They spent five months at Camp Moascar and during their time in Egypt, performed several tasks, including patrolling, guarding and incidents that involved coming under attack from Egyptians, snipers and riots. The Battalion remained in Egypt until late 1954, although David returned to the UK during 1952 at the end of his National Service Commitment. For his service he became eligible for the General Service Medal with clasp ‘Canal Zone’, although this medal was not approved or awarded until 2003 over 50 years later!
Following his release from National Service David enlisted into the 5th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment Territorial Army with the same service number. He spent most of his service with B Company (City of Bristol) and promoted to Sergeant on 1st June 1959. He was awarded his Efficiency Medal, according the Back Badge Regimental Journal on 29th July 1960, but this is more likely to have been during 1964 due to David’s age and joining date in the TA. David no longer appeared in the Sgt and WO list of the Back Badge Journal in Winter of 1966, thus it is likely he had left the TA by then aged 34.
No other detail is known about David except that June passed away in September 1991 aged 62 in Bristol and David 13 years later on Friday 17th December 2004 aged 72. His obituary read:
ROGERSON, David John. Passed away at home on Friday 17 December 2004. Father to Malcolm and Adrian. Grandfather to Samantha, Scott and Stuart. Great Grandfather to Ashleigh, Alex and Kyle. The funeral service will take place at Bristol South on Thursday 23 December at 4p.m. Any flowers to the Co-Op at 99 Church Road, Redfield, or donations to either Cancer Research or St. Peter's Hospice.
The Story The pair of medals awarded to David John Rogerson were acquired from Norman W Collett’s web site on 4th May 2021, having been pondered for a while.
They were of interest because of the slightly unusual combination; it is not often a General Service Medal with ‘Canal Zone’ clasp is found with other medals, especially an Efficiency Medal.
Interestingly although no detail came with the medals, there was only one direct match on Ancestry.UK, this being established by deducting 18 from 1952 (the year that the Canal Zone medal qualification began) which established a birth year, 1932 and that David John Rogerson lived in Bristol, tying up with his later service in the Gloucester Regiment Territorial Army.
Oddly, no record could be found of the Army Order confirming the award date of the EM. It is possible it was a late claim and at the same time as his GSM in about 2004. However, David’s service number 22410797 appears to be from a batch issued in late 1950 which fits the timeline detailed in his biography.
Thanks to Danny Rees a colleague from the Birmingham Medal Society further information was obtained from back copies of the Gloucestershire Regimental Journal, The Back Badge. This included David’s promotion date, award of the Efficiency Medal and confirming his personal details. Together with Ancestry.UK and his obituary on the internet, this allowed a brief biography to be pieced together.
Interestingly during the research, David’s Father, Thomas William was found to have been killed in action aged 53 on 17th September 1939, just 14 days after the declaration of War, whilst serving in HMS Courageous. His details have therefore also been researched as it is considered important for Thomas to be remembered also, as one who gave his life for his country.
CLICK HERE TO READ Thomas William Rogerson's story.
They were of interest because of the slightly unusual combination; it is not often a General Service Medal with ‘Canal Zone’ clasp is found with other medals, especially an Efficiency Medal.
Interestingly although no detail came with the medals, there was only one direct match on Ancestry.UK, this being established by deducting 18 from 1952 (the year that the Canal Zone medal qualification began) which established a birth year, 1932 and that David John Rogerson lived in Bristol, tying up with his later service in the Gloucester Regiment Territorial Army.
Oddly, no record could be found of the Army Order confirming the award date of the EM. It is possible it was a late claim and at the same time as his GSM in about 2004. However, David’s service number 22410797 appears to be from a batch issued in late 1950 which fits the timeline detailed in his biography.
Thanks to Danny Rees a colleague from the Birmingham Medal Society further information was obtained from back copies of the Gloucestershire Regimental Journal, The Back Badge. This included David’s promotion date, award of the Efficiency Medal and confirming his personal details. Together with Ancestry.UK and his obituary on the internet, this allowed a brief biography to be pieced together.
Interestingly during the research, David’s Father, Thomas William was found to have been killed in action aged 53 on 17th September 1939, just 14 days after the declaration of War, whilst serving in HMS Courageous. His details have therefore also been researched as it is considered important for Thomas to be remembered also, as one who gave his life for his country.
CLICK HERE TO READ Thomas William Rogerson's story.
Medal Details:
- General Service Medal: 22410797 GDSMN D.J.ROGERSON. S.G.
- Efficiency Medal: 22410797 SGT. D.J.ROGERSON. GLOSTERS.
This page last updated 12 Jun 21