Guest Posted 10 April , 2006 Share Posted 10 April , 2006 Please would anyone have any information regarding RGA 130 battery. All i can find at the moment is that this battery was part of the 9th brigade in the british fourth army on 11/11/1918. My grandfather was a bombardier Henry Toogood, 64668, trying to trace his service history, I understand that he was also a batman. Any information would be of great help THANKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoplophile Posted 10 April , 2006 Share Posted 10 April , 2006 Welcome, Dill! I just checked the catalogue at the National Archives in Kew: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/search.asp) This is a wonderful resource that serves, in effect, as a database of units still serving at the end of the war. As it turns out, 130 Heavy Battery, RGA was, indeed, serving with the Fourth Army on 11/11/1918. It also seems to have been serving with (or alongside) the 9th Brigade, RGA. (There was also another "130 Battery" in the RGA at this time. This was 130 Siege Battery, RGA, which ended the war somewhere in the Mediterranean. In 1918, most "heavy batteries" were armed with 60-pounder guns, while "siege batteries" were armed with guns or howitzers with a bore of 6-inch or more. I'm sure that other pals will be adding information to this thread, particular with respect to the service number of your grandfather. It would help if you could provide any other information, such as the year he was born, what part of the country he was from and whether (as far as you know) he joined the RGA before the outbreak of the war. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 10 April , 2006 Share Posted 10 April , 2006 Thankyou hoplophile for such a quick response My grandfather henry toogood 64668 was born 1887 and from shaftesbury, dorset. My family can remember him talking of horses carrying the guns being bogged down in the mud so i guess that would mean he wasnt in the 130 siege battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kildaremark Posted 11 April , 2006 Share Posted 11 April , 2006 Dill, By any chance did you get this 130B from his Medal Index Card? If it is not beside the reference to RGA then it is not the battery he served with but the reference to where you will find the Medal Roll rather than his unit. You need to get the Medal Roll which could possibly have a reference to his paricular battery ..... but dont be disappointed if it doesnt because most don't. He is close to my grandfather's number and the reference to his medal roll is also 130b. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Mark thankyou for the information regarding my grandfather RGA 130B. bit confused now. 130b did come from his medal card. next to his medals it just says RGA/130B then pge 3010. Rang the NA and was told the B would be his battery number. could the person i spoke to be wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kildaremark Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Unfortunately, they are wrong. This reference is only to the roll where the medal is recorded, so my grandfather's is also 130B but on page 2979. There is a chance that the Medal Roll will contain further information put in most cases will not. In Toogood's case, I'm afraid, it's too good to be true, back to the drawing board...... Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Johnson Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Dill, If you post a request on the I'm Going To The NA page then I am sure a kindly Pal will look at the Medal Roll for you. This MAY contain the Battery number to which your grandfather belonged. If it does, then you will be able to look at the Unit War Diary to see where they were and what they were doing. If you can get to Kew you could try and look for his Service Record yourself but you must remember that 60% of them were destroyed in WW2. Again, a Pal may do this for you or you may wish to engage the services of a Researcher who will do all the leg work for you. Hope this helps. Regards PAUL JOHNSON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ororkep Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Dill, I must concur with Kildaremark that the 130 is more likely the reference for the page where the Medal Roll is to be found and not the Battery reference. If you find the Victory and British medal roll page this will almost certainly provide the correct battery you need. This is a relatively simple task and should only take no more than half an hour, even quicker for a paid researcher. Also do not necessarily dismiss siege batteries as not being the correct type of battery your grandfather served with as many were horse drawn for the earlier years of the war, particularly the 6-in Howitzer and gun batteries. I have read over 26 complete RGA diaries and over half were horse drawn generally up until 1917, and my G Uncles horse drawn siege battery (81st) was certainly bogged down in the mud of Flanders with the wheels being fitted with special wooden girdles to enable them to navigate the terrible terrain. Regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Very little is indicated by his service number. It would appear to be one of a group of numbers whos men were distributed very widely amoungst differing units. Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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