Gunner Secker RHA

[brenda secker]

How can I find RHA 69 brigade.I have the medal card of charles henry secker reg no 12086.69 brigade belongs to what please.?

He was in sheffield barracks in 1901.france in sept 1914 and raglan barracks about 1912., but I can't find 69 brigade.please help me

[rflory]

There was no 69th Brigade, RHA. There was a 69th Brigade, RFA which served with 13th (Western) Division from Feb 1915 until it was broken up on 3 May 16. The Brigade embarked at Avonmouth from 18-24 Jun 15 and arrived at Alexandria on 6 Jul 15. It left the Brigade Ammunition Column, horses, wagons, and 50 men at Alexandria and sailed for Mudros, arriving there on 9-11 July 15. The Brigade disembarked at Anzac on 15-19 July 15 and went into action three days later. It was evacuated on 19 Dec 15.

The brigade embarked at Alexandria on 14 Feb 16 and disembarked at Basra on 7 and 9 Mar 16. It reached the front at Ora on 4 Apr 16. On 3 May 16 the Brigade was broken up. A Battery joined 55th Brigade, RFA in the 13th Division; B Battery joined 3rd (Lahore) Division and was posted to 4th Brigade, RFA; C Battery joined 13 Brigade in the 14th (Indian) Division; and D Battery was posted to 9th Brigade, RFA in the 7th (Meerut) Division. Regards. Dick Flory

[brenda secker]

There was no 69th Brigade, RHA.  There was a 69th Brigade, RFA which served with 13th (Western) Division from Feb 1915 until it was broken up on 3 May 16.  The Brigade embarked at Avonmouth from 18-24 Jun 15 and arrived at Alexandria on 6 Jul 15.  It left the Brigade Ammunition Column, horses, wagons, and 50 men at Alexandria and sailed for Mudros, arriving there on 9-11 July 15.  The Brigade disembarked at Anzac on 15-19 July 15 and went into action three days later. It was evacuated on 19 Dec 15.

The brigade embarked at Alexandria on 14 Feb 16 and disembarked at Basra on 7 and 9 Mar 16. It reached the front at Ora on 4 Apr 16.  On 3 May 16 the Brigade was broken up.  A Battery joined 55th Brigade, RFA in the 13th Division; B Battery joined 3rd (Lahore) Division and was posted to 4th Brigade, RFA; C Battery joined 13 Brigade in the 14th (Indian) Division; and D Battery was posted to 9th Brigade, RFA in the 7th (Meerut) Division.  Regards.  Dick Flory

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Dick

Thanks for you reply.I'm still at a loss though as to what regiment my granch belonged to.He entered France in 1914 in September as his medal card says so.

it says:-

14 star SUFF [or SUPP] RHA/69

Also on RFA/330B

it implies he had the Victory/British and 14Star medals

I am very new to this site and am having difficulty moving around it at the moment

but I so much want to find out more.I have a photo I will try and attach but it may not happen.Thank you for caring to help

regards Brenda

[rflory]

Brenda: The notations "RHA/69" and "RFA/330B" have nothing to do with his unit. Rather they indicate the volume number for the medal roll for that medal. I think the two medals he is wearing may possibly be the Queen's and King's South Africa Medal and you indicate that he also received the 1914 Star. A researcher should be able to find him on the medal rolls for those medals and those rolls should indicate the batteries in which he served. I have the medal rolls for D, E and I Batteries, RHA for the 1914 Star and when I get home tonight I will check to see if he is in one of those batteries. Regards. Dick Flory

[brenda secker]

Thanks Rory - I will check on the site tomorrow when I get home from work - I think we are on opposite times here.I am from Wales in the UK and need my beauty sleep now.Many thanks for your kind offers and your help

regards Bren

[rflory]

Brenda: I downloaded the online Medal Index Card for Gunner Secker tonight. The medal index card indicates that he received his 1914 Star on a Supplemental RHA roll and that his embarkation date for France was 20 Sept 1914. No RHA battery went to France on that date or any date close to that date. The closest two RHA batteries are 'H' Battery, RHA which went to France on 14 Sept 1914 and 'N' Battery, RHA which went on 27 Sept 1914. This plus the fact that he is on the RHA Supplemental Roll suggests that he went to France as a replacement to one of the RHA batteries which was already there.

The medal index card also indicates that he later transferred to the RFA where he received a new service number (46303).

Regards. Dick Flory

[brenda secker]

Dick - I have had that medal card for about 6 months and haven't been able to understand any of it.I should have come here a long time ago.

Why would he have transferred and should I be looking under a different thing.Any idea how old my picture is?

regards Bren

p.s. what does he received his 14 star on a supplemetary RHA roll actually mean

[rflory]

Brenda: He could have tranferred for a number of reasons. The two most likely are that (1) the RHA was the cream of the crop for the artillery and many were transferred to RFA units to help provide some training and leadership; (2) the small size of the RHA field gun did not lend itself to trench warfare and so some RHA units were assigned as RFA Army Brigades during the war.

1914 Star rolls for other ranks were submitted on a unit by unit basis. Some men for one reason or another were not on the initially unit rolls so they were added to a later (or "Supplemental") medal roll. My guess is that because of his transfer to the RFA he was not placed on an original unit medal roll and someone later found the error and added him to the later, supplemental, roll.

I am not an expert on uniforms but I think that uniform was the dress RHA uniform until the beginning of the Great War - so it is probably a pre-Great War photo.

If you can enlarge the part of the photo that shows his two medals and post it with greater resolution we might be able to determine what the two medals are that he is wearing and the medal rolls for those medals may then give us more information.

Regards. Dick Flory

[brenda secker]

Dick - Lots of things are becoming clearer in such a short space of time.I think you are becoming my ray of sunshine. He could have worn this for ceremonies then or maybe when he married my nana in 1911.

Will do what I can with the photo - maybe gone a while but trust me I'll be back

Diolch Bren

[brenda secker]

Hi Dick - Back before you.I have tried all ways to enlarge the medals but cos it is an old picture and not the original everything I do just blurs it more.

On the subject of photos I have in my possession a collection of photographs taken in 1944/45.they belonged to an old aunt who passed away - alas I will never know why she had them or kept them .They were found in the back of her wardrobe.

They are pictures of the following

Arnhem Bridge 1945 / Nijmegin Bridge sept 1944 / Field Marshall Montgomery / J Beach Landing Area France 1944 / The Boys near Roemond Nov 1944 / Waiting for the Word Go Riechwald Forest Feb 8 1945 / Mortar Position Riechwald Forest / Forward Position Near Goch Germany March 1945 / Christmas day 1944 Ardennes Belgium x2 [in the snow] / Flying Bomb Site Pas de Calias Area August 1944

Would these be of interest if I can scan them into my PC and put them on the Forum. Some have pictures of men that people might recognise maybe

let me know what you think and I'll go with your decision

regards Bren

[armourersergeant]

Sorry to butt in here.

In regard to those photos, It may be that you could scan and post in the Utterley off topic section. They do sound fascinating and i for one would be greateful of a gander at them.

regards

Arm

[brenda secker]

Hi Arm

No problem, I'll do that .They are very interesting and it seems a shame not to share them.thanks for the advice.I've only just joined and didn't want to do anything which seemed incorrect

regards Bren