180th Brigade Royal Field Artillery

[shutt]

Can anyone help with information about the 180th ?. My great uncle, John William Maltby (651943) was in "B" Battery. He died on May 1st 1918 and is buried at the Aire Communal Cemetery in France. I know next to nothing about his service or the circumstances of his death. I have been told that the 180th was part of the 16th Irish Division and that this was a territorial force. On his medal card it does have "TF". How he came to join that I am unsure as he was came from Sheffield, Yorkshire. I would be interested to know where the 180th served on the western front, especially at the time of his death. Any help or information would be very much appreciated.

[pw643]

Tom

See following link

http://www.ordersofbattle.darkscape.net/si...divs/16_div.htm

Regards

Paul

[shutt]

Thanks Paul. Interesting that the 16th Irish Division returned to England in April 1918. My great uncle died on May 1st 1918. Wonder if that indicates he died of wounds sustained at an earlier date ?.

[pw643]

Tom

SDGW shows the following

Maltby, John William. Born and enlisted in Sheffield 651943 Gunner Died of Wounds1/5/18

Regards

Paul

[shutt]

Thanks for the confirmation Paul, much appreciated.

[rflory]

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission site indicates that Gnr Maltby served with B Battery, 160th Brigade, RFA but the unit history for that battery does not show him listed among the casualties. "Soldiers Died in the Great War" indicates he died of wounds. His regimental number (651943) indicates that in 1916/early 1917 he was a member of the 1 Lowland Brigade, RFA TF. Regards, Gunner 1

[shutt]

Thanks rflory. I`m getting a bit confused, as the CWGC told me that he was in the 180th when I wrote to them in the 90`s to enquire about his grave in France. I was a bit puzzled why a guy from Sheffield would end up in an Irish TF division, wonder if 180th was a typing error ?. But if the 160th records don`t list him as a casualty maybe he was in the 180th ?. Is there any way of finding out for sure which he was in ?.

[shutt]

The more I think about it the more I think I was given duff information back in 1998 !. Checked the CWGC site, not that I doubted you rflory !. Can you tell me anything about the 160th, where they were in April/May 1918 perhaps. Also, I can`t seem to find what Division it was part of, probably me just being thick, but can`t see it on the link further up these postings !.

[jay dubaya]

Tom,

The 160th (Wearside) Bde RFA served throughout the war with the 34th Division.

My relatives also came from Sheffield, they served in the 9th (Scottish) Division, place of birth and residence played little part later in the war as to which units a man was sent, especially when it came to artillery,

Jon

[shutt]

Thanks Jon. Now all I`ve got to do is try to find out for certain whether he was in the 160th or 180th somehow !. Nothing is ever simple is it ?.

[jay dubaya]

Nothing is ever simple is it ?.

No. The medal rolls are your best route, with luck his overseas unit will be mentioned, but then there is no guarantee that it will be recorded there. There are a few forum members from Sheffield who have trawled the local newspapers of the time, I'll see what I can find, but no promises. Do you know which part of Sheffield he was from?

Jon

[shutt]

Hi Jon, I`ve put a request on the relevant posting section for help with the medal rolls if anyone is going to the NA, but will write as well. Unfortunately I can`t get there due to distance and circumstances. I do have his parents address in Sheffield, which I believe was his too. It is 28 Banham Road, Darnall, Sheffield. Thanks very much for all your help.

[rflory]

Gnr Malteby's whereabouts are somewhat hard to figure but here is what I have been able to put together so far:

1. His regimental number indicates that in late 1916/early 1917 he was serving with the 1st Lowland Bde, RFA TF. On 15 May 1916 that brigade became 257th Brigade, RFA TF and on 3 June 1916 it was redesignated as 260th Brigade, RFA TF. On 28 Jan 1917 the brigade was broken up as follows: A Bty became C/315; B Bty became C/81; the right section of C Battery became D(H)/255 and the left section became D(H)/256: D(H) Battery was redesignated as D(H)/84.

2. It appears that he later served in either 160th or 180th Brigade, RFA and was died of wounds on 1 May 1918, which would mean he was probably wounded some time in April 1918.

3. Maltby was buried at Aire (14km SE of St. Omer) which was the location of a number of medical units including the Highland Casualty Clearing Station and the 39th Stationary Hospital.

4. On 15 April 1918, 160th Brigade, RFA was in action near the Nieppe Forest which is only 10-20 miles from Aire.

5. 180th Brigade, RFA was not with the 16th Division during the latter half of April 1918 but rather was attached to other units. From 12-15 April 1918 it took part in the Battle of Hazebrouck and on 18 April 1918 it took part in the Battle of Bethune. These locations are also in the same general area as the Nieppe Forest and relatively close to Aire.

6. The best solution to this problem at the moment is to check the unit War Diaries at The National Archives:

The war diary for 160th Brigade for Sept 1917 to July 1919 can be found under WO95/2447 and the war diary for 180th Brigade for the period February 1916 to June 1919 can be found under WO95/1963.

Regards, Dick Flory

[shutt]

Thanks Dick, really appreciate you taking time to help me with this. I am hoping that tomorrow, I might get a few more answers, as I got in touch with an Aunt who I thought might have some photos of him other than the couple I have. Turns out she has looked in her attic and found a box which she says has a lot of old letters, documents, photos and some medals in it. She says some of the documents are from the Red Cross concerning his injuries. If I turn up anything I`ll be sure to let you know. Thanks again.