Alan24 Posted 29 May , 2014 Share Posted 29 May , 2014 John, re. 125 HB The serious errors I mention above are in the original text and not anyway a criticism of yourself. The document must have been written about 1919/20 and some of the names must have been confused. The dates of death for WEST and WALL are easily confirmed on the CWGC website. They also tie up exactly with entries in my great grandfather's own personal diary. His diary also confirms that guns from 174 HB arrived in Nov 16 to make a 6 gun battery. I did start a thread on GWF to check this out when i saw that 17 HB was noted in the document. As far as I know 17 HB was still active in its own right well in to 1918. Whilst this is a fantastic document in the absence of an official war diary, there maybe other errors not yet spotted. I will certainly PM you at the weekend and maybe we can compare notes. Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 30 May , 2014 Share Posted 30 May , 2014 Rachel Here are the relevant War Diary references: WO 95/3027 300 Brigade Royal Field Artillery 1915 June - 1916 Aug. WO 95/3027 301 Brigade Royal Field Artillery 1915 June - 1916 Nov. WO 95/3027 302 Brigade Royal Field Artillery 1915 Oct. - 1916 Nov. WO 95/3027 303 Brigade Royal Field Artillery 1915 Apr. - 1916 Nov. WO 95/1528 15 Brigade Royal Field Artillery 1914 Aug. - 1917 Nov. WO 95/1532 28 Brigade Royal Field Artillery 1914 Aug. - 1916 Dec. Good hunting! Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r30rvp Posted 30 May , 2014 Share Posted 30 May , 2014 Wow cheers Ron best get down loading Rachel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r30rvp Posted 30 May , 2014 Share Posted 30 May , 2014 Ron I have downloaded WO95/3027 for the 300, there are few things on there,hoping you might know. 'Horse castings by the A.D.V.S' I presume its something to do with the vets passing a horse fit for use, and do you know what the glasshouse was?? At least it confirms where John landed in France sham it on says 'in the field' so I cant see where he started! Now to pair up both diary's, slowly getting more of a time line Rachel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 30 May , 2014 Share Posted 30 May , 2014 Ron I have downloaded WO95/3027 for the 300, there are few things on there,hoping you might know. 'Horse castings by the A.D.V.S' I presume its something to do with the vets passing a horse fit for use, and do you know what the glasshouse was?? At least it confirms where John landed in France sham it on says 'in the field' so I cant see where he started! Now to pair up both diary's, slowly getting more of a time line Rachel Rachel Casting a horse is declaring it unfit for further use. The ADVS is the Assistant Director of Veterinary Services, the chief vet in the division. A glasshouse is a military prison, or by extension a local detention room. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r30rvp Posted 31 May , 2014 Share Posted 31 May , 2014 Thank you for clearing that up. Also reading through the diary it has ref to X amount B and BX I read on another diary that A and AX were shrapnel and high explosive shells, are these the same?? Many thanks Rachel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 31 May , 2014 Share Posted 31 May , 2014 Rachel I think that A and AX relate to 18-pounder ammunition, and B and BX were the equivalents for 4.5-inch howitzers. I've seen the reference you mention in another thread recently, but I can't find it at the moment! If I'm wrong, someone else will probably be along soon to correct me. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r30rvp Posted 31 May , 2014 Share Posted 31 May , 2014 Lovely Thanks Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marie18 Posted 16 August , 2014 Share Posted 16 August , 2014 Hi All, My Great Granddad William Thomas Colloby 1891-1953 was admitted to hospital, wounded in action 04/09/17. I came across the title page of his 'Burnt' records by chance, researching my family tree. This is the first time that I've posted on here and I'm hoping that someone will be able to make sense of the information that I have so far. William, a miner, from Wilnecote in Warwickshire signed attestation papers, for the duration of the war, with the Colours and in the Army Reserves 13.12.15 and mobilised 16.03.17. According to his service records William was 26; he was a 'Heavy Battery Gunner' regiment no. 145248 serving with the Royal Garrison Artillery. He was posted to first army pool in the field 12.05.17 and to 16 Heavy by RGA 24.05.17 wounded in action 4.09.17-admitted to hospital. Discharged to Base Depot 8.12.17 and reposted 19.12.17 Released as a Miner 1.01.19 It would be lovely to find out more information, such as where he was when he was wounded. If he was from Warwickshire, why wasn't he with a local regiment and how did he end up serving with '16 Heavy'? Any help/advice would be much appreciated Marie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 17 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 17 August , 2014 The war diary at the National Archives may prove useful: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=C7349283 Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillBrierley Posted 27 August , 2014 Share Posted 27 August , 2014 Thanks to whoever put the list of Brigades and service numbers on here. It's brilliant! Can I check if I have understood the system correctly? My interest is in the West Lancs Brigades, 275/285/276/286 and Div 55 & 57. Can I be confident that anyone in these brigades in 1917 would have been given a service number between 675001 and 700000, and they would have kept this number if/when they transferred or were posted to different brigades? Also presumably the reverse would be true: if a man was in a different brigade when he got a number and then transferred into W Lancs, he would keep his original number? I had a number of relatives in 286, mainly A Bty and am interested in writing up their experiences against the background of the war experience of the group as a whole. I've read 285 and 286 war diaries and also 57 Div war diary so have a good idea of the actions they were involved in, but I'd like to flesh this out with more personal stories. I also have a personal diary from one of my great-uncles that describes his experiences training at Deepcut and Salisbury Plain in 1915. I'd love to hear from anyone with a similar interest and stories to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lthursfield Posted 8 December , 2014 Share Posted 8 December , 2014 Looking for information on relation, driver Charles Frederick Slinger L/24346 joined Royal Field Artillery 171st Howitzer Brigade on attestation 1915 Age 22 Birth year 1893 Birth town Harrogate Birth county Yorkshire Birth country England Residence town Fleetwood Residence county Lancashire Enlistment place ST. ANNES-ON-SEA Death year 1917 Death day 27 Death month 5 Cause of death Killed in action Death place France & Flanders, Western European Theatre Flanking operation: the actions on the Hindenburg Line, 20 May - 16 June 1917? Cwgc gives his unit as D battery 170th brigade when he was killed? Have findmypast papers but many unreadable. Help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MikeGiles Posted 8 December , 2014 Share Posted 8 December , 2014 Looking for help for Gunner Christopher Giles served from 1916 probably from August after his marriage to Ellen Dent until 1919. Service number 146977 Born Blackburn , Lancashire in 1893 and died June 1959 in Blackburn. Assumed but not known to have joined the East Lancashire Regiment RFA unit 210. Received service medal and victory medal. Believed to have survived a gas attack possibly near Ypres Any help would be appreciated to nail down his unit and service history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorris547 Posted 9 December , 2014 Share Posted 9 December , 2014 Mike On Post 2 of this thread KONDOA shows that the Blackburn Artillery (1/1 East Lancs RFA later 210 Brigade) were re numbered 700001 to 705000 in 1917. His MIC shows his rank as Gunner but UK Service Medal and Award Rolls show his rank as Wheeler. No trace of a Service Record so not much else to go on. The WD of the Bolton Artillery (211 Brigade of 42 Div) for September 1917 in the Ypres sector shows that 4 Officers and 76 ORs were gassed. The Blackburn papers for Sep 17 onwards may be your best bet. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorris547 Posted 14 December , 2014 Share Posted 14 December , 2014 Mike The WD for 210 Brigade (WO 95/2649) shows the name, rank and number of every single other rank gas casualty during September 1917, on a daily basis. 42 Div RFA were in the Ypres sector during that month with 210 Brigade (Blackburn) and 211 Brigade (Bolton) being "grouped" together. There is no mention of 146977 Christopher Giles for that month. Most have numbers starting 70 and 71. The 71s would be mainly ex Manchester Artillery and also the Bolton Artillery Reserve Brigade (332 Brigade) which had been broken up. There were one or two casualties with other numbers e.g. 177706 Gnr Marsh G F and 178336 Dvr Highman F. The Bolton Artillery Reserve Brigades recruited throughout 1915 but by November men could attest into the Group System and wait to be called up. The Bolton papers named all recruits up to the end of November 1915, I do not know if the Blackburn papers did so but it could be worth checking. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tomf Posted 21 December , 2014 Share Posted 21 December , 2014 Hello, first post. I've been successful in tracing many of my ancestors (c13) who served in the first world war but I'm having some problems with my Grandfather His name was Thomas Fairclough and he was a Driver in the RFA (picture attached), he lived in Moss Bank in St.Helens, Lancashire. I've got three medal cards who may be himself and I'm guessing from the Brigade detail that the likely one is 287B (Reg no 686655) which I think is West Lancashire. This was dispersed in 1917 and the other Brigade on the card is 328B (Reg no 297891) which I can't find much about. H The other two cards show a Thomas Fairclough Reg No 247869 (312B) Reg No 116084 (248B) Which I think were not Lancashire Any assistance on this, especially identifying the right one and then how I might get some idea of the likely areas of service (my late father suggested he was involved at Hellfire Corner) would be most welcome. I have the war diary for the 287B which I think is the right one, but it only lasts for about a fortnight, from disembarkation on 7th Feb 1917 to dispersion on 20th Feb 1917 Thank you RFA is a difficult one as I've found out. Tom Fairclough Not sure why the image is so large or why so much space is left after, sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Porter Posted 22 December , 2014 Share Posted 22 December , 2014 tomf, Welcome to the Forum. I'm afraid you have made the error of assuming the Medal Roll reference is connected to the Brigade number. Don't worry as a lot of people have done this. However, you have correctly linked the number 686655 to possibly serving in 287 Brigade (2/3rd West Lancashire). The numbering block his number comes from also covers 277 Brigade and the reserves of 3rd West Lancashire. The 297891 number probably indicates he was on a regular attestation and was held in the Class Z reserves after demobilization or re-enlisted in 1919. There is no certainty that any of the 3 Medal Cards you have found relate to your grandfather as you have missed 5594 who was also a Driver at one time. You really need to find his medals, or him in the Absent Voters lists, to be sure which number(s) he served under. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tomf Posted 22 December , 2014 Share Posted 22 December , 2014 Thanks, that's very helpful, I did see 5594, who was from Newton-le-willows, very near St.Helens (Medal awarded so more detail), but that, and the fact there was an indication he served in the Balkans for his medal helped me discount this (either of these my father would have been aware of) I think the other two cards appear to be from Brigades formed elsewhere in the country hence I'd focused on that formed in West Lancashire, I may be wrong if I have not got it correct. Your help has been very much appreciated. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan24 Posted 15 January , 2015 Share Posted 15 January , 2015 Can I just clarify something in the list on posting no.2. it says "154 Halifax 296701 296850" I thought 154 HB was a Hampshire TF unit starting with numbers 352xxx Is there an error there somewhere or have I misunderstood? Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Porter Posted 15 January , 2015 Share Posted 15 January , 2015 Alan, That list has been superseded by a new thread - http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=207439 See post #3 in particular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r30rvp Posted 12 October , 2015 Share Posted 12 October , 2015 Good evening all I have been very lucky to receive my great grandfathers pocket diary from 1917, Timothy Powell 42347 RFA as a driver. he survived the war but died in 1928 due the effects of a gas attack at passchenale. Does anybody know what regiment he would of been in?? have looked at the above thread but cant see where his number would fit!! Also written is gramologes! (i think) looks a bit like short hand, tried google but it didn't help does anybody know what this might be also any help would be great many thanks Rachel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battiscombe Posted 12 October , 2015 Share Posted 12 October , 2015 T Powells number was L/42347 so that places him in one of the locally raised/regional Brigades or relate Ammunition Columns - they have the L/prefix... so if you have an idea of where he was living in 1915 that may provide a clue. if a Londoner the 40th [East Ham] Division Ammunition Column is one possibility.. I can see a few similar numbers for Londoners serving with that unit, enlisting August 1915 .. I seem to remember the unit became 16th Division Ammunition Column, arriving France 1916.. they were engaged at Third Ypres I believe, so this may fit.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r30rvp Posted 13 October , 2015 Share Posted 13 October , 2015 yes yes yes I have his short form of will at the back and the address is east ham!! so it looks like he could of been what you have quoted yay, from what we have been told he was gased at the 3rd battle of ypres so it all fits in. Do you know if there is a diary at the national archive?? Thank you so much for all your help Rachel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battiscombe Posted 13 October , 2015 Share Posted 13 October , 2015 16th DAC [ex-40th DAC) diary starts here ..WO 95/1964/1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r30rvp Posted 14 October , 2015 Share Posted 14 October , 2015 brilliant thank you very much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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