II Brigade RFA (53rd & 42nd battery) or 30th Brigade RFA

[53RFA]

I have been researching my G.Grandfathers war record and I have come to standstill on a battery photo that has cost me weeks of research to no avail.  Why he just couldn't have written the date/place on the back I don't know... grrr. His name is James Bourne #13775 and I tried to find a photos of his battery Major's (et al) and the uniforms but have come up short.  With my naive knowledge I place the photo roughly 1905-1914 when he was RFA BQMS (centre back in the photo (over left shoulder of the Major), looks like a Sergeants cap?).  I was hoping somebody could place the period, place or officer in the photo please.  Seems 2x of the officers have QSA and KSA medals so must be after 1902. James also is wearing a pin which nobody else seems to have ... MID?

 

His Battery and (Major's) history:

1898-99 53rd Karachi, Deesa (Abdy)

1899-02 53rd Deesa, SAfrica Gunner(Abdy/Gordon)

1902 Landed  Southhampton railed to Bradford for medal ceremony - he was KSAM 2xclasps; QSAM 4x clasps; MID 

1903 Bradford (53rd LGF Gordon)

1903-14 Promoted to BQMS at some stage and moved, prior to 1910, from 53rd to 42nd Battery

1904-5 Bradford (53rd (Baron) C.F. Rugge-Price, 42nd A.D. Kirby)

1906-7 Leeds (53rd (Baron) C.F. Rugge-Price, 42nd A.D. Kirby)

1908-9 Coventry 42nd /Newport 53rd (42nd p.s.c G.A.S Cape/ H.J. Brock, 53rd (Baron) C.F. Rugge-Price)

1910-13 Waterford/Fermoy 42nd (H.J. Brock) - Brigade then goes to India without him

1914 30th Brigade - Bulford (Howz. battery ukn.) (majors:C.M. Ross-Johnson, L.T. Ashworth, G.J.C. Stapylton)

1914-15 Battles of Aisne (MID), 2nd Ypres (MID) promoted to 2nd Lt. in field and then formally, then wounded (no record)

1916 Assumed training (home) role (ukn - per obituary)

1920 Left service from Parkhurst (Albany Barracks, IoW), Outer Def. AA 'R' Battery as Ltn. (no record of promo, per postcard).

 

Sorry about all that.  I hope somebody can place/date/rank or put a name to a face.  Apparently H.J. Brock was well over 6' so rules him out.  The closest face I have come across is G.J.C. Stapylton which I think, given he would have been BQMS would be correct.  It is close but I don't think it is him. Stapylton was sadly KIA on day 2 of action by the 30th.

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FROGSMILE]

 Visible evidence suggests the photo is Bradford Circa 1903.  There is no ‘Major’ in the photo.  The most senior man present is a Sergeant (3-gold stripes right arm with gun over), who wears the final pattern (1898) of blue frock with its distinctive chest pockets and gold lace trim to collar and cuffs, as well as broad gold band on his pill-box cap.  Note how the bullion lace is rendered distinctively pale by orthochromatic film, whereas the bright yellow worsted lace of those men wearing blue tunics, such as the Corporal ‘rough rider’ (riding instructor) sat adjacent, is rendered dark.  

 

Other men wear a mixture of old pattern pill-box style forage caps with brass rank badges,  blue, folding field service caps and, the recently issued and disliked ‘Brodrick’ caps with large brass gun badges.  These latter mostly worn with the equally new, ‘drab’ (dark khaki) Service Dress (SD) with removable coloured shoulder straps and embroidered worsted lettering shoulder titles on the uppermost part of the arm, or dark blue 9-button full dress tunics.  

 

The Corporal wears both, King’s and Queen’s South Africa medals, whereas the Sergeant still has only the ribbons, which as the other men have neither, suggests the photo was taken before  a general medal presentation.  Most of the Bombardiers and Acting Bombardiers (both one-stripe) are gun layers, as marked by the cursive script ‘L’ above their rank.  These were substantive ranks. 

Edited 23 March , 2018 by FROGSMILE

[53RFA]

Holy smoke! Thanks very much FROGSMILE that was more than I had hoped for and very impressive.  I tried to do as much research before posting to show a bit of willing and not to embarrass myself and definitely did not succeed on one of those fronts. I have donated to the site or at least to the long long trail - let me know if this is incorrect.

 

Anyway to aid other researchers I will put down as many names (sgt. and below) that may be in the photo as possible.  

 

53rd RFA Black B 9320 Gunner                     53rd RFA Cook A 87672 Bombardier 53rd RFA Cook Albert 87672 Corporal 53rd RFA Cove W 4247 Driver 53rd RFA Curie G 704 Driver 53rd RFA Fraser C 784 Driver 53rd RFA Gill H 69165 Sergeant 53rd RFA Hopkins J 5526 Gunner 53rd RFA Keen F 9355 Gunner 53rd RFA Patten J 13903 Gunner 53rd RFA Pickett W 99219 Driver 53rd RFA Pollard F 93936 Gunner 53rd RFA Puttock C 7522 Gunner 53rd RFA Puttock Charles 7522 Gunner           53rd RFA Seymour     Sergeant 53rd RFA Thomas     Corporal

Edited 23 March , 2018 by 53RFA
delete dupes

[FROGSMILE]

Glad to help.  I omitted to mention that the photo very likely shows the men of a ‘sub-section’ (one gun).  Each was commanded by a sergeant with a corporal deputy, a number of bombardiers and some gunners and drivers.  They were very much a team and lived and worked together in the field.  A field battery generally comprised 3 sections, each of 2 sub-sections.

 

BQMS and BSM both wore the same rank badge at the beginning of the war, three stripes with gun above surmounted by a crown.  

Edited 23 March , 2018 by FROGSMILE

[53RFA]

Thanks again. Yes my thought was this was a photo of just one gun team however I was caught-out by the sheer depth of the management structure just to operate the darn thing (which I am sure was logistically very complicated).  

[FROGSMILE]

8 hours ago, 53RFA said:

Thanks again. Yes my thought was this was a photo of just one gun team however I was caught-out by the sheer depth of the management structure just to operate the darn thing (which I am sure was logistically very complicated).  

 

The gun was relatively straightforward, the man effort related to horse transport and the rapid manhandling of ammunition to feed the gun’s rapid rate of fire.