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Remembered Today:

Canadian Field Artillery - 61st Battery 14th Brigade


Steve Bodie

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Hi

My ancestor was born in Jersey in 1881. In 1910 he moved to Canada. He later joined the CEF and after spending time in Witley camp England arrived in France on the 28th August 1917 and served the rest of the war in France becoming a seargent in Sept 1918.

He served with the Canadian Field Artillery - 61st Battery 14th Brigade. Can anybody offer me any clues as to what his regiment was doing between these dates. I'm very eager to get this information so his story is not forgotten.

His name was Alan Beck Bellingham his regimental number was 327904 and I am lucky enough to have his service papers which are full but don't appear to offer the info I require to plot his potential movements in France.

Thank you very much for any help you can offer.

Steve

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There is a book that is partially available for viewing on Google books - which mentions some of the movements of the 61st Battery C.F.A. It is called "On the Way!" by Christopher R. Kilford. Hopefully this link will take you to one of the pages in question. Link to page 46.

There was a unit history produced, The 61st Battery CFA, c 1924. It is mentioned in the bibliography of Kilford's book (pg. 198), and a copy is located at the Sir Alexander Galt museum and archives. It is only 9 pages long. I have not seen it.

Kilford's book gives the following details. The 61st Battery was mobilized February 26, 1916 as the 61st Overseas Depot Battery CEF. They stayed briefly at the Lethbridge (Alberta) Exhibition grounds, and then moved to Petawawa (training camp) in Ontario at the end of May 1916. The Cameronia took the 61st men to Liverpool, England, where they arrived on September 23rd, 1916. Their first stay was at Witley Camp. At this point they numbered 195 all ranks. They trained in England about one year, and arrived in France on August 21st, 1917 under the command of Major G. S. Brown.

It was designated the 61st Overseas Field Battery on April 3, 1916, and on September 11, 1916 as the 61st Battery CFA, CEF. (Kilford, pg. 42)

War era issues of The Lethbridge Herald newspaper are available online. There should be articles on the 61st throughout that newspaper. Link.

Finally, you can check through the Canadian war diaries online to see if you can track his unit's movements.

The 14th Brigade C.F.A. diaries are all online (link below). You will need to read through each page to track their movements. You can see we are on the right track as the 3rd page shown for January states that we are dealing with the 61st battery (among others) in this particular set of diaries. 14th Brigade C.F.A. War Diaries

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There is a book entitled The Diary of the 61st Battery Canadian Field Artillery 1916 to 1919 (100 pages) that was published after the war and was recently reprinted by the Naval and Military Press and is available from them online at: http://www.naval-military-press.com/diary-...9-pr-18214.html for £7.50. A B Bellingham is listed in the nominal roll of the Battery on the date of leaving England for France as '327904 Cpl. Bellingham, A. B.' and on the nominal roll dated 11 November 1918 as '327904 Sjt. Bellingham, A. B.' On 19 September 1918 he was the Sergeant with 'B' Sub-Section of the Battery.

Regards, Dick Flory

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Guys

Thank you so much for your responses, more than I could have hoped for. I'm looking forward to following the links you have given me.

This really is great news.

All the best

Steve

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  • 11 months later...
Hi

My ancestor was born in Jersey in 1881. In 1910 he moved to Canada. He later joined the CEF and after spending time in Witley camp England arrived in France on the 28th August 1917 and served the rest of the war in France becoming a seargent in Sept 1918.

He served with the Canadian Field Artillery - 61st Battery 14th Brigade. Can anybody offer me any clues as to what his regiment was doing between these dates. I'm very eager to get this information so his story is not forgotten.

His name was Alan Beck Bellingham his regimental number was 327904 and I am lucky enough to have his service papers which are full but don't appear to offer the info I require to plot his potential movements in France.

Thank you very much for any help you can offer.

Steve

Hello Steve

Alan Beck Bellingham was recorded in Jersey's 1919 Roll of Honour and Service which we now maintain on the Channel Islands in the Great War website www.greatwarci.net. Noting his surname, was he related to the travel agency of that name in Jersey?

We would be interested in any material about Alan that you could share with us to include on our web site.

Kind Regards

Barrie

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  • 4 years later...

Bombardier Alan Beck Bellingham 327964, must have been transferred at some point to the 61st Battery, because he is listed as a member of the 59th Battery when the 15th Brigade (soon to be 14th Brigade) embarked on S.S. Cameronia, September 13th, 1916.

Next of kin listed as Mrs Philis Prince Bellingham of 163 Parkview St., St. James, Manitoba. His enlistment noted as Channel Islands March 13, 1916.

My grandfather, A. Bbdr. Richard Francis Walshe 331905, enlisted as a Driver with the 61st and made it all the way to Mons at the Armistice, and then occupied Germany, following the March to the Rhine.

I have been able to trace his footsteps throughout the war with the assistance of the War Diaries of the 14th Brigade, the War Diaries of the 5th Canadian Divisional Artillery, and the aforementioned Diary of the 61st Battery Canadian Field Artillery.

I have learned that you are lucky to have a relative in the artillery, because their locations were quite often documented to an accuracy of within 5 yards using their coordinate system at the time.

Here is a fantastic little tool you can use to convert the trench map coordinates to longitude, latitude coordinates, which you can then easily input into Google Earth or Google Maps.

http://rdf.muninn-project.org/TrenchCoordinates.html?

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  • 2 years later...

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100 years ago, to the day, my grandfather A/Bbdr Richard Francis Walshe and his comrades set across the channel and their great adventure had truly begun.  

This post will chronicle his activity on a daily basis.  I hope to be able to fill in the missing details following their last war journal entry of 3 May 1919, while their Brigade was still in Orp-le-Grand, Belgium and continue to their arrival in Halifax.

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A/Bbdr Richard Francis Walshe:  back row, sixth from the left.

 

 

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D-Sub.  England c. 1916-1917
A/Bbdr Richard Francis Walshe front left.

 

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D-Sub (mounted). England c. 1916-1917
A/Bbdr Richard Francis Walshe first from left.

Edited by ejwalshe
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21 August 1917

5th Divisional Artillery
mp0pc2v9j7vlv7j6g.jpg
kw4f46p6yal47j16g.jpg
14th Brigade C.F.A.
qdj6ao331iz844h6g.jpg
szn4cs15iiinxga6g.jpg

61st Field Battery
lzn1oawacyutok96g.jpg

Edited by ejwalshe
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22 August 1917

5th Divisional Artillery
e9uk2i9e8ep97q56g.jpg

14th Brigade C.F.A.
e33rkr0qg9a90ha6g.jpg

61st Field Battery
jedwlnir4wd83ec6g.jpg

Edited by ejwalshe
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23 August 1917

 

5th Div Artilleryyazcdx1udh57f226g.jpg

14th Brigade C.F.A.xo32wrszc6vpxde6g.jpg

61st Field Battery

q2jkze6bfh7j63x6g.jpg

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24 August 1917

 

5th Divisional Artillery39klktoblbsyjy16g.jpg

14th Brigade C.F.A.a9s574s1m9d4ak96g.jpg

61st Field Battery7a50aiwosfy6pv16g.jpg

ftwi55a3lxzozpb6g.jpg

Edited by ejwalshe
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Hi David

 

Thanks for reading...yes, I am very familiar with the 60th, 66th and 61st "war journal" texts.

 

Tim McTague is keeping an eye on me when we get to significant dates when the 60th happens to be mentioned in the 61st text, and vice-versa.

 

Remember they did most of their training on Salisbury Plain - I suppose the Witley Camp period was much shorter as they were "trained and ready for war" at this point.

 

Or perhaps was the move to Witley somewhat premature, as a reason to get out of their disease infested tents on the plain?

 

What do you think?

 

Thanks, Ted

 

 

Edited by ejwalshe
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25 August 1917

5th Divisional Artilleryc6s69vg66xxhcan6g.jpg

14th Brigade C.F.A.c5187l5dhqt8czo6g.jpg

61st Field Battery

mjqv41bmm3hjdci6g.jpg

0e4jip3y1p2dybp6g.jpg

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Hi Ted,

 

glad that you'd already seen that. 

 

As for Witley, I had assumed that it was almost a "finishing school" for units before they headed overseas.  The particular unit I am investigating - 58th Bde RFA - had done much of their training in Leeds before heading south to Witley in the Spring of 1915 for a few weeks while anxiously waiting for orders to head overseas. 

 

Very much enjoying your posts,

 

All best wishes,

 

    David.

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26 August 1917

5th Divisional Artillery
17ftf4h4fjr78rl6g.jpg

14th Brigade C.F.A.
wq98n7ndg8wff476g.jpg

61st Field Battery

9oik58lt2t2obnd6g.jpg

 

Edited by ejwalshe
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27 August 1917

5th Divisional Artillery
2brobfi76i5stm46g.jpg

14th Brigade C.F.A.
y1590yz7ftm2ra86g.jpg

61st Field Battery
abcnvwr5zr8vmj56g.jpg

Major G S Browne. Unit: 61st Battery, Canadian Field Artillery.
2a14wso14bri53q6g.jpg


© IWM (HU 114559)

Edited by ejwalshe
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28 August 1917

5th Divisional Artillery
4nwv5xzi19ow6726g.jpg

 

14th Brigade C.F.A.
04m6x5w5h01ss9a6g.jpg


mmeygromr274i0t6g.jpg

 

61st Field Battery
n5v98tysulw55756g.jpg

 

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29 August 1917

 

5th Divisional Artillery
z80eeat63d123qj6g.jpg
b665v275ia7nk7x6g.jpg
Brigadier-General E.W.B. Morrison, G.O.C. of Royal Artillery Canadian Corps
November 1917

14th Brigade C.F.A.5qdwsimrxjxcdbz6g.jpg

61st Field Battery
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r8a877h7b28p47m6g.jpg
Left to right sitting:
-Brigadier Sergeant Major William Jermy Jephson
-Lieutenant Alexander Gordon Oliver
-Captain Colin Hood Collinson
-Lieutenant George Simpson Raley
-Lieutenant Abner Gladstone Virtue
Left to right standing:
-Sergeant Fleet
-Sergeant William Allan Wallas
-Sergeant-Major John Wallace Donnan
-Sergeant Fryer
-Sergeant John Alexis Turcott
-Sergeant Percy Stuart Tennant
Orp-le-Grand 1919

Edited by ejwalshe
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30 August 1917

 

5th Divisional Artillery
a81n9d2hdp49qd46g.jpg

 

14th Brigade C.F.A.
waop2tc1byhr63r6g.jpg

 

61st Field Battery
580j8eri3astse26g.jpg

 

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31 August 1917

 

5th Divisional Artillery
wsas5i63bdnlyft6g.jpg

 

14th Brigade C.F.A.
nlz8aottaiqesmv6g.jpg

 

61st Field Battery
pxt1dqs3apvpbn56g.jpg


7qzpp6f5gbtsgvm6g.jpg


Brigadier-General William Okell Holden DODDS, CMG, DSO, VD

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1 September 1917

 

5th Divisional Artillery
laganapdouub3cx6g.jpg

o7eq0rut5bc4pcc6g.jpg

ctccygtclkbe3r76g.jpg

hw3cbwtasjkn2ol6g.jpg

 

14th Brigade C.F.A.
ewktrr6588mtmjt6g.jpg

 

61st Field Battery
g1zglorlh7g98zl6g.jpg

 

Edited by ejwalshe
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2 September 1917

 

5th Divisional Artillery
y2wrdhoydi5w5iq6g.jpg

 

14th Brigade C.F.A.
8orqpwaboyszpw06g.jpg

 

61st Field Battery
wqut5fl0s9w26du6g.jpg

 

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3 September 1917

 

5th Divisional Artillery
z6hbfd7jy4sgps16g.jpg


wojvtfgxtx8cdlj6g.jpg

 

14th Brigade C.F.A.
cpkgg0fb1vdbw996g.jpg

 

61st Field Battery
jm2tbbmumh7iyza6g.jpg

 

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4 September 1917

 

5th Divisional Artillery
d453eviq94mx5dj6g.jpg

 

14th Brigade C.F.A.
58pyb4t390wye3i6g.jpg


bwidkw35818lp5t6g.jpg


At some time, officers of the 61st Field Battery will recover pieces of the ring from the brass bell in the ruins of the church in Carency.  I am still looking into this, as I became aware from an article published in the Lethbridge Herald, decades after the war.

61st Field Battery
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Pardon me....the wagon lines were moved back to town a couple of days ago due to the mud.
m1f7f72wcov7ujd6g.jpg

 

Tomorrow be the 5th, and mark my words, it will be a great day for the 5th!
And we'll soon know the true meaning of "England Forever"!  :evil:

Some significant locations are passed on the way, including Le Château d'Olhain, a 15th-century castle located in Olhain, Fresnicourt-le-Dolmen, and the modest château in Camblain-l'Abbé, where we find many MIKAN photos of the General Staff.

paand9tot1dq4dx6g.jpg


One of many inscriptions on the walls at Le Château d'Olhain.

I have suspected for some time this MIKAN below was taken at Le Château d'Olhain - still no proof though.
nedntfxfd21586o6g.jpg


Canadians lunching in a shelled Chateau near the line. October, 1917.

3712f4p6d0wfjmf6g.jpg


Visit of Commander-in-Chief Sir Douglas Haig to Canadian Corps Headquarters, Camblain l'Abbe. September, 1917.

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