131st Heavy Bty. RGA

[SRD]

Can someone help me to find out where the 131st Heavy Bty, RGA were on 28/12/1917.

Thanks.

[ororkep]

SRD

They were near Mory, from the 4 December when they came under 32 HAG, whose HQ was at Ervillers. On the 28 Dec one of their guns was put out of action through hostile shell fire. There is no mention of casualties although Gnr Powell is recorded as such on CWGC.

Rgds

Paul

[SRD]

Thanks. It was Powell I was interested in. I'd found the CWGC entry but could only find general info about that battery. Interesting that he wasn't buried at the cemetery in Mory.

Powell was the Manager at The Metropolitan on the corner of The Great Western Road and Tavistock Road, next door to Westbourne Park Tube station, his wife continued to run the pub for at least 10 years after his death. One of those formidable London pub landladies I suspect.

Is there more information on the Battery anywhere?

Edited 13 August , 2013 by SRD

[kevinrowlinson]

Gnr. Powells number indicates that he was conscripted/mobilised to No. 1 Depot, Clipstone Camp, Nottingham (for the short period it was there) arriving on the 12th October 1916. He would have been posted on fairly quickly to any one of a number of companies. A lot were posted to the Clyde RGA TF and from there after training to either a siege battery that was being formed, a Signal School or a reinforcing depot. It is likely that he didn't go out before Mch/April 1917 when he was probably posted to the 131st Heavy Battery as a reinforcement.

131st Heavy Battery left Southampton on the 8th March 1916 and arrived Le Havre the following day. It has a war diary but it only goes up to March 1917 and thereafter you would have view the various HAGs it was attached to. As Paul indicated it was with 32 HAG at his time of death and it diary can be viewed at the Nat. Archives under WO 95/389. Certainly if there had been any mention of his death (which would be unlikely) I am sure Paul would have said so. I would have said that there was a higher chance than most that he was a signaller.

Kevin

[SRD]

Thanks very much to you both.