theraven Posted 27 March , 2005 Share Posted 27 March , 2005 can any one help ,im totally confused was there only 1 d battery rha which i beleive was with the 3rd brigade 2nd cavelry division (goughs command) as i have come across mention of d battery 64th brigade rfa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 27 March , 2005 Share Posted 27 March , 2005 Most RFA Brigades had a D Battery. This was normally the howitzer battery. I cannot advise on RHA Brigades. Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted 27 March , 2005 Share Posted 27 March , 2005 Hello, In the Great War the various branches of the Royal Artillery (Horse, Field and Garrison) did not have reigiments as they do now, but 'Brigades'. Each brigade had a number of 'batteries' which would be designated 'a', 'b', 'c' etc. Regards Old Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesmessenger Posted 27 March , 2005 Share Posted 27 March , 2005 Actually, it was slightly more complicated. The RHA batteries were lettered A-Z. You mentioned D Bty RHA. This was in 3 Brigade RHA, with E and J Btys, and supported 2nd Cavalry Division. Regular Army RFA batteries were numbered rather than lettered. Territorial Force and New Army divisions each had their RFA btys lettered A-D, with D, as Roop rightly states, being the howitzer bty within the brigade. RGA btys, on the other hand, were all numbered. Charles M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted 27 March , 2005 Share Posted 27 March , 2005 Hello again, I bow to the superior rank and knowledge of Charles Messenger. However I thought 'E' battery and Gough rang a bell. The following quote may be of interest: On the morning of 22 Aug 14 the 3rd Cavalry Brigade, Hubert Gough, was looking for the enemy in the area of Bray and Binche in Belgium. At that stage General Allenby, commanding the Cavalry Division, had decided to keep the artillery under his control. But when Gough observed a mass of German infantry moving towards 5th Cavalry Brigade on Gough’s right, Allenby released D and E batteries to the 3rd Brigade, when requested by Gough. E battery under Major Foreman opened fire. Probably the first British artillery fire of the war. According to ‘Goughie’ by Anthony Farrar-Hockley. Published 1975. A good read! Regards Old Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compo Posted 28 March , 2005 Share Posted 28 March , 2005 RGA btys, on the other hand, were all numbered. Charles M <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Except for RGA Anti-aircraft batteries which were numbered A-Z just like the RHA. Regds Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theraven Posted 28 March , 2005 Author Share Posted 28 March , 2005 many thanks to all of you who have made it a lot clearer to me ,i will now have to dig around to see what actions the various d batterys of each brigade took part in and from there i might be able to pin point which brigade my grandfather served with. once again many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rflory Posted 28 March , 2005 Share Posted 28 March , 2005 TheRaven: If you think that your man served in 3rd Brigade RHA and received the 1914 Star, give me his name and I will check it against the 1914 Star medal roll for that brigade. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theraven Posted 29 March , 2005 Author Share Posted 29 March , 2005 TheRaven: If you think that your man served in 3rd Brigade RHA and received the 1914 Star, give me his name and I will check it against the 1914 Star medal roll for that brigade. Dick <{POST_SNAPBACK}> thanks dick im not sure if he recieved any medals , or if i got the right brigade all i know for sure is that he was definatley r.h.a. he was gunner john lewis griffiths no 259707 joined the army if im correct in 1912. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rflory Posted 30 March , 2005 Share Posted 30 March , 2005 theraven wrote: he was definatley r.h.a. he was gunner john lewis griffiths no 259707 joined the army if im correct in 1912. I cannot find him on the 1914 Star medal roll for 3 Brigade, RHA and I have not been able to find a Medal Index Card for a man by that name nor for his listed service number. It would appear that he never went overseas and therefore was not awarded a medal. Regards. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theraven Posted 31 March , 2005 Author Share Posted 31 March , 2005 hello dick thanhs for your reply,i have spoken to my family and they are sure he was in france . we know that he was in india in 1921, i will try to upload a photo ,there may be a clue there that im missing regards the raven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compo Posted 31 March , 2005 Share Posted 31 March , 2005 Does the sign say? Peace Day 197 Day 1917 RHA That is service Hard to make out but if taken on "peace day" do they look happy to have survived 197 days or is it just the contents of those mugs speaking? In other words it may not be D battery. Just an alternative possiblilty. Regds Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesmessenger Posted 31 March , 2005 Share Posted 31 March , 2005 I suspect that the photo was taken in July 1919 to mark the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Looking at the medal ribands, there appear to be one or two 1914-15 Stars, which weren't issued until after the end of the war. Those without ribands also look young and are certain to have joined the Battery after the end of hostilities. I suspect that Raven's man is one of these, which will explain why there is no MIC for him. Charles M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theraven Posted 31 March , 2005 Author Share Posted 31 March , 2005 hello everbody thanks for taking an interest, all i can really say about my grandfather is what has been mentioned by family members which is abit sketchy at times as they are getting on a bit ,and he was a very personal man all i know to date is that he joined the army at the age of 16 in 1912 and served up until at least 1921 as i have photos taken in lucknow (india) is it possible for a regular soildier to remain in this country when men where drafted ? it has been mentioned that i might have got his number wrong , but this has been taken from a third class certificate of education ( army form c310 modiified for india ) when he came out we dont know but during ww2 he served with the int corps from 26/9/39 to 2/7/45 with the rank of w/cpl.based at holyhead port. you will have to forgive me for my lack of knowledge im very new to researching but am now thourghally hooked once again a big thank you to all of you and hopefully one day i will find out the whole story. the raven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theraven Posted 31 March , 2005 Author Share Posted 31 March , 2005 ps my grand father (gunner john lewis griffiths 259707 ) is the onewith a cross x by his left foot front row the raven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theraven Posted 31 March , 2005 Author Share Posted 31 March , 2005 theraven wrote: I cannot find him on the 1914 Star medal roll for 3 Brigade, RHA and I have not been able to find a Medal Index Card for a man by that name nor for his listed service number. It would appear that he never went overseas and therefore was not awarded a medal. Regards. Dick <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hello dick just a qiuck note i may be wrong but is it true that if a soilder continued to serve after 1921 his records would not be at the national archives but still retained by the m.o.d therefore that is why it is hard to trace him, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 31 March , 2005 Share Posted 31 March , 2005 Raven The 7th Division, XIV Brigade RHA : A section from each of 31(H) and 35(H) Batts joined May 16 and redesignated D Batt. This from LLT. The number you have provided would suggest he was a TF man, however the battery described above would be a regular unit by what I can determine. What date is the Cert of Education??? Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theraven Posted 1 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 1 April , 2005 hello roop not to sure on the exact date because it is in a poor state and part of it is missing but it is between 1921 and 1923, raven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theraven Posted 1 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 1 April , 2005 help please im totaly confused on the way army numbers where allocated,did each regiment have their own numbers and how can you tell the difference from regular soldiers and terratorials . and was the same number allocated to more than one man ( browsing nat archives came across same number issued to 2 men on more than one occassion ) doing my head in the raven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 1 April , 2005 Share Posted 1 April , 2005 Raven. If your amn was still in the army in 1922 onwards, his service record will still be with the army!! Have you tried this route?? Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theraven Posted 1 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 1 April , 2005 Raven. If your amn was still in the army in 1922 onwards, his service record will still be with the army!! Have you tried this route?? Roop <{POST_SNAPBACK}> roop not me personally but i have a cousin who is going down that road ,once he gets any where he will pass it on (he is also a member of the forum =ddraigmor ) do you know if it is possible to find a date of enlistment from his number ? regards raven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 1 April , 2005 Share Posted 1 April , 2005 "do you know if it is possible to find a date of enlistment from his number ?" No Raven it is not. The number you have given is a 6 digit number which most probably originates from the April 1917 renumbering, this would replace his original number. Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rflory Posted 2 April , 2005 Share Posted 2 April , 2005 Drake 1066 wrote: The number you have provided would suggest he was a TF man, however the battery described above would be a regular unit by what I can determine. I don't think this is correct. According to the information I have TF numbers for the Royal Artillery begin at 300,000. Regards. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 2 April , 2005 Share Posted 2 April , 2005 Hi Dick, I am not convinced this number is correct for the period we speak of. It certainly is not apparent in the online MIC's and similar numbers are do not reflect artillery as a generalisation so would favour your view . Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theraven Posted 2 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 2 April , 2005 hi dick and roop thanks for taking an interest. here's a thought as we are now trying to establish wether my gf was regular or tf ,what about comparing his number(259707) with a known regular soldiers number either side of it .would that then help to sort it out regards raven ps is it possible for a mans number to be changed again ( renumbering again after the war had finished when tf 's and new army went home leaving just regular men ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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