4th Brigade Royal Field Artillery

[pudsey63]

Can anyone tell me where the 4th Brigade (specifically C Battery) were on 4th April 1918? I think it might have been the Battle of the Avre but am not confident in my detective skills. I' researching the service of George John Flack who was initially with the RHA in St John's Wood in 1911 and died on 4/4/1918. 

Any help much appreciated.

 

[charlie962]

There is an error on CWGC as he was actually C Battery RHA not RFA.

[pudsey63]

Ok. That did confuse me as the 'Soldiers Who Died' entry on Ancestry has him down as being in both. He was definitely in the RHA at St John's Wood in 1911, but I assumed he must have transferred. He's also RFA on the Soldier's Effects entry. The plot thickens.

 

Edited 16 March , 2019 by pudsey63

[charlie962]

C Bty RHA War diary on Discovery (or on Ancestry) is missing Nov 1917-July 1918. But 4 Bde RHA to which it belonged is here on Ancestry

[charlie962]

A good description on this page, showing locations and enemy bombardment of battery positions on 4/4/18

 

Near Villers Bretonneaux and all 3 batteries, C G and K, suffered heavy casualties. Heavy bombardment of 'C' at 4pm left only 2 officers and 11 men in the battery.

Edited 16 March , 2019 by charlie962

[pudsey63]

Thank you! It seems safe to assume that George Flack was in the thick of it. I'll go and get reading.

[charlie962]

Looks as though he was C Battery RHA from the very beginning, to Belgium with the Bty 5/10/14

 

C Bty RHA War Diary (but bits missing) from 3/15 to end of war is here. Not very detailed but worth looking through.

Edited 16 March , 2019 by charlie962

[pudsey63]

That's what I thought too. Incredible to have made it through four years. He's a man with little information on a local memorial compared with some of the others so it's really good to be able to fill in more of his story. 

[charlie962]

You saw he had a Pension card on Ancestry ? Mother Jane Esther Flack.

[charlie962]

41 minutes ago, pudsey63 said:

He's also RFA on the Soldier's Effects entry

That's just Ancestry's quality of Transcription. The ledger clearly says RHA.

[pudsey63]

That's why it's so good to be able to ask questions on here. You guys are all so knowledgeable! I've found out a fair bit about his family before the war. It looks like his brothers requested their share of his effects go to their wives directly so I assume they were probably away fighting too. His father died in 1916, ex-Met police.  

[charlie962]

CWGC has 4 others died that day for C RHA. All on Pozieres memorial. Presumably with the attacking and counter attackingthat day the bodies were not recovered. The other numerous battery casualties must presumably have been wounded although some may have died of wounds later. I've sent you a pm on Stanner.

              

Edited 16 March , 2019 by charlie962