ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY

[Karyn Gardner ( was Hodgson)]

So another question ; my other Great Uncle , Ernest Chapman Daniels  (  26000 ) served with the Royal Garrison Artillery , XLCII  Siege Battery  .

He never spoke about the War , not even to his wife and like my previous enquiry regarding Lance Corporal Francis Hodgson, I dont know much about where he went and what horrors he must have witnessed .

This was the gentlest and kindest of men - he brought my Dad up and was therefore my putative Grandfather .

Any movement information would be welcome.

Thank you . 

 

Edited 30 July , 2018 by Karyn Gardner ( was Hodgson)

[Heid the Ba]

XLCII doesn't make sense to me as a Roman numeral, is it correct?

[MaxD]

Just a bit of tidying - his army medal record has his surname as Daniel and the battery was 162 Siege which in latin numerals is CLXII although the siege batteries tended not to use them.  There is one diary covering Sep 1916 to Dec 1917 http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/f57dfd192d194298ac70388920bcfdf1

download for £3.50.

Others here more expert than I will perhaps be able to find the battery in one or other Heavy Artillery Brigades/Groups although we don't know exactly when he served except that he entered France after 1915.

 

MaxD

[Karyn Gardner ( was Hodgson)]

4 hours ago, MaxD said:

Just a bit of tidying - his army medal record has his surname as Daniel and the battery was 162 Siege which in latin numerals is CLXII although the siege batteries tended not to use them.  There is one diary covering Sep 1916 to Dec 1917 http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/f57dfd192d194298ac70388920bcfdf1

download for £3.50.

Others here more expert than I will perhaps be able to find the battery in one or other Heavy Artillery Brigades/Groups although we don't know exactly when he served except that he entered France after 1915.

 

MaxD

Thanks MaxD - I am quite badly  dyslexic so forgive me muddling numbers and letters etc.  

I do know his service number was 66000 which even I cant mess up ! 

It's always been a bit of a contentious point exactly  as to whether he was  Ernest Chapman  Daniels or  Ernest Chapman  Daniel - that's why I had to search using  both spellings but to the family , he was Daniels so I guess I just type things in as I remember them . When I search any records , I search on both names .

To answer your question though , he joined up at the outbreak of war in late  1914 in Scarborough ( where I believe  there was a Royal Garrison because it was/is  a port -?)  and he survived the war through to demob in 1918 /1919 .

I did  find and download that information from the National Archives yesterday but it really didn't tell me much, a lot of the entries were map grid references which  I am sad to admit , don't mean much to me . 
Update :- Have examined more closely today and it seems that 162 Battery were active  around Mons and Bethune up to the end of 1917    - which falls in the interactive on line tool I also found yesterday.

I imagine the logistics of moving heavy artillery around meant that artillery  units were less fluid . ?


 

Edited 30 July , 2018 by Karyn Gardner ( was Hodgson)
Update

[MaxD]

There is a brief piece about the Siege batteries here:

www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-royal-artillery-in-the-first-world-war/the-siege-batteries-of-the-royal-garrison-artillery

The picture is of a 9.2 inch Howitzer although I don't know (someone will) whether 162 SB was equipped with that gun, the majority had 6 inch Howitzers 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BL_6-inch_26_cwt_howitzer

 

The Royal Garrison Artillery units in the field were indeed less mobile than the Royal Horse and Royal Field Artillery.  In the most basic terms, the RHA and the RFA batteries were there to support the infantry taking on targets near to where we were attacking.  The RGA, by virtue of their heavier guns, remained more static for longer periods and were employed against targets in depth as the Longlongtrail describes.

Not sure what interactive tool you are using but they usually concentrate on the front line troops, bear in mind that the heavy artillery is deployed some 5 to 6 kilometres behind the front lines.

 

I've sent a message.

 

Max

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

162SB, went out to Western Front 4th Sept 1916 with 4 x 6" Howitzers (26 cwt).

Joined 15th HAG 12/09/16

to 63rd HAG 26/09/16

to 12th HAG 05/10/16

to 56th HAG 16/10/16

to 72nd HAG 02/12/16

to 70th HAG 08/01/17

to 6th HAG 16/04/17

to 30th HAG 19/05/17

to 6th HAG 16/06/17

to 67th HAG 03/11/17

(At rest etc 03/02/18 - 28/03/18).

No subsequent change

Personnel made p to 6 gun Establishment 26/08/17

Guns arrived 03/11/17 from 414SB

 

You can download the diaries for all of the numbered HAGs for £3.50 each,  from the Discovery site at the National Archive.

Search for 'Garrison'  'Brigade' 'WO 95' and the number of the HAG (Heavy Artillery Group=Brigade)

 

[charlie962]

There is a hospital Admission Record for him on ForcesWarRecords here

 

Suffering from Influenza 3/11/18.  Unit 162 Siege Bty RGA

 

Charlie

Edited 31 July , 2018 by charlie962

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

Karen,

Two points:

1) I think it might help others searching for Ernest if you could edit the first line of your post from

" Ernest Chapman Daniels  (  26000 ) served with the Royal Garrison Artillery , XLCII  Siege Battery  "

to

" Ernest Chapman Daniel (or possibly Daniels)  (  66000 ) served with the Royal Garrison Artillery , 162  Siege Battery ".

 

I appreciate you have severe dyslexia, but that line contains 4 important facts, 3 of which are incorrect.

New readers of the post  may read that line as fact, and be unable to find any reference to him anywhere.

According to FreeBMD, his birth was registered as 'Daniel' in Scarborough in 1895, and he was 'Daniel' in both1901 and 1911 Censuses.

 

2) charlie 962 has found reference to him being in 162 SB, but can I ask how you knew he was in 162SB before this?

Edited 31 July , 2018 by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr