Anthony Hopewell Posted 8 January , 2020 Share Posted 8 January , 2020 Hello, I wonder is anyone here can help please. I am researching my father (who was in his 50's when i was born), 42364 Bmdr H Hopewell 376 Br RFA. He was wounded on 30/11/17 at the battle of Cambrai and taken PoW at Soltau. I have some letters he sent home to his mother from Soltau, but have very little other information. I would like any information about where/ when he joined up and his military career up to Cambrai. As I intend to visit Cambrai, I would love any very specific information as to where he may have been deployed/wounded. Many thanks in advance for any info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 8 January , 2020 Admin Share Posted 8 January , 2020 Welcome to the forum Anthony, I have split your query and moved it to the Soldiers subsection. With any luck, help will be along soon . Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 8 January , 2020 Share Posted 8 January , 2020 ICRC record https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/File/Details/801640/3/2/ Enter the ref number in the box. He is towards the bottom of the page presented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxD Posted 8 January , 2020 Share Posted 8 January , 2020 (edited) His unit was in fact 376 Battery one of the batteries of 169 Army Brigade. There is a war diary for the brigade which you can download from the National Archives at: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/e152ceb2a3ed450dac0374d4ba1a93de. This diary is not on Ancestry. Once you have it locations may be to be found. His medal card is also at the National Archives:https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D3558492 You can download it or look at the preview image for free. His service record does not seem to have survived (60% or so were lost to bombing in WW2). His rank was Driver which tells us his main role was with the horses of the battery. His POW record simply shows he was taken prisoner at Cambrai. He was at Soltau in February 1918 when the list was compiled https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/801640/698/20390/ it His injuries are given as right hip and left leg and the record says he was earlier in Munster. Max POW record crossed with Mark Edited 8 January , 2020 by MaxD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 8 January , 2020 Share Posted 8 January , 2020 (edited) There is a Pension ledger card for him. Thanks to the Western Front Association. That shows GSW Leg and Pelvis. GSW = shrapnel or bullet wound. Discharged 18/4/19. Got a pension of 12s for 30% disability for a period. Nottingham and a London address shown Appears on a War Office list 7/1/1919 as Released Prisoner of War from Germany, arrived in England Edited 8 January , 2020 by Mark1959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 8 January , 2020 Share Posted 8 January , 2020 (edited) deleted Edited 8 January , 2020 by Mark1959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Hopewell Posted 12 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 12 January , 2020 A big thank you to all who have contributed to my better understanding of his history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Hopewell Posted 12 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 12 January , 2020 On 08/01/2020 at 16:29, MaxD said: His unit was in fact 376 Battery one of the batteries of 169 Army Brigade. There is a war diary for the brigade which you can download from the National Archives at: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/e152ceb2a3ed450dac0374d4ba1a93de. This diary is not on Ancestry. Once you have it locations may be to be found. His medal card is also at the National Archives:https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D3558492 You can download it or look at the preview image for free. His service record does not seem to have survived (60% or so were lost to bombing in WW2). His rank was Driver which tells us his main role was with the horses of the battery. His POW record simply shows he was taken prisoner at Cambrai. He was at Soltau in February 1918 when the list was compiled https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/801640/698/20390/ it His injuries are given as right hip and left leg and the record says he was earlier in Munster. Max POW record crossed with Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Hopewell Posted 12 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 12 January , 2020 Thank you. i have just downloaded the war diary, to find that the diary for 169 Army Brigade for November 1917 was "destroyed, along with other documents, during the enemy counter attack at Gouzeaucourt on the 30/11/17", which is when my father was wounded and taken PoW. But that helps narrow things down. Your help is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxD Posted 12 January , 2020 Share Posted 12 January , 2020 Were you able to locate the battery? 169 Brigade was allocated to the artillery of 12th Division for the attack on 30 Nov. There is a long and detailed account of the action in the HQ RA 12 Div diary which can be downloaded https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14017512 It is on Ancestry at: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/60779/43112_1832_0-00000?backurl=&ssrc=&backlabel=Return#?imageId=43112_1832_0-00402 I have skimmed it only but it does have locations - when the battle started 2 batteries were in Gonnelieu, one in Villers Guislain and graphically describes the former having to leave their guns and the men fighting alongside the infantry and the latter being heavily shelled. Diligent reading of the rest of the diary may reveal exactly where each battery was, the account doesn't give the battery numbers. If you need help doing that shout! Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Hopewell Posted 12 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 12 January , 2020 Thank you, I was looking carefully for the 376 battery but failed to see much of them; 377 and 379 were mentioned frequently. I only managed to see that 376 battery was on the French /Belgian border in October. I then found a note in the war diaries requesting the diary for 169 battalion for November , which received the “destroyed” response. I am new to interpreting military information, so help would appreciated. Thank you Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxD Posted 12 January , 2020 Share Posted 12 January , 2020 OK leave it with me, real life intervening! Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Hopewell Posted 12 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 12 January , 2020 Thank you very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxD Posted 13 January , 2020 Share Posted 13 January , 2020 (edited) While most of the relevant diaries insist on referring throughout to "2 batteries of 169 Brigade" or "one battery of 169 Brigade" without giving their numbers, there is one entry in the 12 Div HQRA diary which clarifies things. As background, on 20 November, all 4 batteries were in Villers Guislain. On 29 November, some artillery brigades were moved away from 12 Div necessitating an adjustment of the remainder which resulted in 2 of those batteries being moved to Gonnelieu. The first two batteries to be hit by the enemy infantry were those in Villers Guislain at 6 50 am. These were able to fire a few rounds point blank but were then forced to leave their guns, having first removed the breech blocks and dial sights to render them useless. Both battery commanders were wounded and the diary records "about 30 men per battery are missing" The two batteries in Gonnelieu were attacked later in the day and the diary says that these were 377 and 379. Thus 376 must have been one of the two batteries that were located in Villers Guislain. (referring to the map and image at the link below) The diaries give the Villers Guislain positions in squares W 2 d and W 3 c, these are the two quadrants in which the two cemeteries are marked on the map https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=14&lat=50.0559&lon=3.1556&layers=101465203&right=BingHyb The12 DIV HQ RA diary I cited above is quite readable! Max Edited 13 January , 2020 by MaxD Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Hopewell Posted 13 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 13 January , 2020 Dear Max. So many thanks for this information which helps enormously. We plan on visiting the area in February and I now know exactly where to go. Thank you once more. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Hopewell Posted 13 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 13 January , 2020 Your information has also raised one other side question, born merely out of curiosity. Given that about 60 men were missing from that first attack, my father.s letters home from the PoW camp at Soltau, only mention meeting one other “RFA”, and with no indication that he knew him. Was it usual to disperse captives around different camps rather than taking them en-masse. His records show that he went to Soltau via Munster, would that have been the dispersal point? As I say, this is just curiosity and not part of my research, so no problem if it’s not possible to answer. Many thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxD Posted 13 January , 2020 Share Posted 13 January , 2020 His record shows he was at Munster before Soltau. As he was wounded mu guess is he was treated there initially and afterwards sent where the Germans decided. The men on the list he is on all seem to have some wound(s) and some/most/all have been in Munster previously. There was a hospital at Munster and Munster is next door to Soltau. (Note this is Munster not Münster (U with an umlaut) which had four camps further south. There is a reminiscence here: https://wartimememoriesproject.com/greatwar/pow/powcamp.php?pid=17943 (scroll down to Gnr Dorell) of a man captured on the same day going to Munster from Villers Gislain. This link is the start of the Munster list he is on ;https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/4584233/698/18811/ if you scroll down it you will find a large number of Cambrai or Villers Guislain on or about the end of November so here clearly are a "batch" who ended up together. I think it would be unwise to draw any firm conclusions from both these instances though. The fact that this list doesn't seem to have any other 169 Bde men doesn't mean anything really. There are an enormous number of lists and a large number of men of other units taken at the same place. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Hopewell Posted 13 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 13 January , 2020 Many thanks for that information, it all helps me get a better picture of his early life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now