59th and 538th Siege Batteries, RGA unit records/

[SgtPrice]

Dear Forum Pals,

I am researching an officer, John Cecil Bawtree Hawkins, who served firstly with 59th and then 538th Siege batteries. He was awarded a Military Cross in January 1916 and I am trying to determine where and why he was awarded it. I have already tried to search Ancestry and The National Archives without much success. If there are any pals who can point me in the right direction where I can discover more I would be very grateful.

regards,

Sgt Price

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

The first document you need to consult is called WO95/5494 and can be downloaded for free from the National Archive if you first register for a free account: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4558646

From that you can see that in March 1916, 59 SB were in 7  HAG (aka Brigade/Bde.), RGA.
It looks as though their diary for the period in question is:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/c8b82c47d47d4ff9bb6971a0df972d1a

There may be a mention in the diary of Hawkins' MC, which should at least give you the answer to the 'Where' bit and hopefully the 'Why?' bit also

There doesn't seem to be a surviving diary for 59  SB specifically.

538 SB were a bit late to the party, probably only arriving in France in 1918 and with no trace in WO95/5494, so outside the timeframe of the MC.

 

Edited 15 April by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr

[SgtPrice]

Dai,

Many, many thanks for the swift response and for the information you have posted. It is appreciated and I will start digging around on the TNA website later with a view to getting the relevant documents.

Best wishes,

Stuart.