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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

45th Battery, Royal Field Artillery


QSAMIKE

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Good Evening Everyone......

Found this photo on a recent road trip......

For your viewing pleasure..... Thought you all may be interested.....

45TH BATTERY, ROYAL FIELD ARTILLERY, ALDERSHOT, AUGUST, 1913

Taken one year before the war broke out......

Mike

post-59838-0-92134900-1412981255_thumb.j

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A fine picture! The four officers seem to have different orders of dress e.g one is not wearing a cross belt and one has a longer sword than the others. I wonder why?

Old Tom

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Went on to be part of 152 Brigade RFA with Batteries 29 and 41 in 3 Division landing in Aug 1914.

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that is 42nd Brigade [XLII]. I suspect it is the 2Lt [C M Lister?] who is not wearing his dress uniform [he must have had one]. In similar prewar battery photos I have seen both dress and undress uniforms worn.

Why they are at Aldershot though I am a little unclear.. according to the Army List .. in June 1913 [May 31st] they were in Ireland at Athlone [and not indicated as moving on] and by June 1914 at Bulford .. [Aldershot being 1st and 2nd Div]... but don't have an Army List for late 1913

QSAMIKE - I dont suppose you could post a detail of the Sgt [maybe BQMS] on the officers left [our right] .. his face looks familiar .. it might be possible to work out who some of the senior NCOs are ...

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  • 2 months later...

Hello,

I am the great grand daughter of Captain D H Gill. I was wondering if you could zoom in on those front four officers as I can't see clearly enough which one my great grandfather is. He is definitely not the second one in. I find it strange he is not wearing his medals from the Boer War, as the 2nd officer from the left is.

I look forward to hearing from you.

K Taylor Roger

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I am afraid I have probably been misleading you here.. as I now wonder if this was taken on the occasion of the Brigade/Battery reorganisation of August 1913 when the old 145th Battery [of 48th Brigade .. at Aldershot,(which fits with photo) and due to move to Bulford according to Army List] was newly renumbered as 45th Battery [now 42nd Brigade.. which was indeed at Bulford by 1914..] .. in which case the officers would probably include 2Lt English, 2Lt Myburgh, ... perhaps Captain Neville and Major Belcher [both had DSOs].. but i think not D H Gill who was in the 'old' 45th Bty.

This is - I believe - Captain Neville who was 45th Bty Captain by 1914

post-7621-0-22537300-1419026800_thumb.jp

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Hello,

I am the great grand daughter of Captain D H Gill. I was wondering if you could zoom in on those front four officers as I can't see clearly enough which one my great grandfather is. He is definitely not the second one in. I find it strange he is not wearing his medals from the Boer War, as the 2nd officer from the left is.

I look forward to hearing from you.

K Taylor Roger

If Captain Gill is indeed one of the four officers, he is most likely the second from the right, the major being second from the left. This is based on the amounts of gold braid on all the officers' cuffs.

Ron

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  • 5 weeks later...

Good Afternoon Everyone......

Sorry for taking so long as the picture was on display and I just got it back......

Here are the Officers......

Mike

P.S. Going to have to do a couple of posts to get them all in......

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post-59838-0-52597700-1421698631_thumb.j

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thanks for the scans - I will see if we can ID some of these men..

I think one is a Canadian ... Myles Wallis English,

this picture of him as younger man was online.. I think its him .. listed in 145th Bty summer 1913 .. 45th Bty in 1914

post-7621-0-23058400-1421705630_thumb.pn

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you Mike very much for taking the time to scan those photos up close.

I can confirm that none of them are my great grandfather D H Gill.

In 1909 I have him in the 83rd Battery RFA. In 1911 he was at, what I believe was some sort of naval gunnery school at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Then I next have him in August 1914, with the BEF 4th Division, 31st Battery, part of the 37th Howitzers at Le Cateau.

Karen

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  • 3 years later...

I know this post is a couple of years old now, but theres a strong probability that my great grandad is in this shot. He was W H Hooper, BSM in the 45th Battery in 1914 He went over and was commissioned for bravery in October 14 (I have the commission and his photo), and promoted to Captain. He survived the war and left in 1919. I'm not that well up on uniforms, can I get a my better scan of this picture and see if I can recognise him?1520743651_Hoopercombined.jpg.336897aba7b0871dc498820ea1bebb01.jpg

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  • 4 months later...

Coming back to the Officers, that this appears to indeed be 2Lt Philip S Myburgh, having found another picture of him. the Major looks rather likely to be Dalrymple Arbuthnot [later Brigadier..], who had Chitral medal+ clasp and QSA & KSA [5 clasps on 2 medals]. I have seen Hooper listed on a record as BSM of 45th Bty in Feb 1914

137695889_LtPSMyburghRFA.jpg.df0f581e2ad31c89075a7dd131c71255.jpg571825979_MajPSMyburghRFA.jpg.db58a2301d04c1133ebb45bfc9759d91.jpg

Edited by battiscombe
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