Guest suetowler Posted 19 April , 2006 Share Posted 19 April , 2006 Hi I'm researching Gunner William David Dow (service number 54494). I have tracked down where he is buried from the commonwealth war graves commission, and also have a copy of his medal card. I work in a High School, and every year we take students to Ypres as part of their History GCSE course. We have been able to include Will's grave in our itinerary for the trip, and I am able to tell the students about his family and life before he went to war, but I would like to be able to tell them more about what he did once he was in action in order to make the experience more 'real' to them. I happened into this forum whilst searching for the 34th Siege Battery RGA on Google, and as luck would have it, someone else was looking for information about a relative in this unit. Somebody had helpfully attached details of the Heavy Artillery Groups that the battery was attached to from August 1915 to 1918, but I don't know where I need to go to find out more information. If anyone could give me some advice on where to go next, I would be really grateful. Thanks Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 19 April , 2006 Share Posted 19 April , 2006 National Archives Sue, Diary available to order online http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalog...&accessmethod=0 Third Army, 84th Brigade RGA Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essdee Posted 19 April , 2006 Share Posted 19 April , 2006 Sue The diary for 34 Siege listed at Kew only covers Nov 17 which may give you an idea of what they were up to. Some diaries are a bit dry ie 26th - fired 140 rounds, windy. As there is so little available on them the next best thing would be to read through the HA Bde/HAG/Brigade diaries, these three are one and the same thing. WO 95/296 2 Brigade Royal Garrison Artillery 1917 Feb. - 1918 Nov WO 95/297 3 Brigade Royal Garrison Artillery 1915 Oct. - 1918 Dec WO 95/468 14 Brigade Royal Garrison Artillery 1915 Apr. - 1919 Mar WO 95/469 21 Brigade Royal Garrison Artillery 1915 June - 1919 July WO 95/218 26 Brigade Royal Garrison Artillery 1915 July - 1919 June WO 95/224 45 Brigade Royal Garrison Artillery 1916 June - 1918 Dec. WO 95/394 60 Brigade Royal Garrison Artillery 1916 Sept. - 1919 July WO 95/396 84 Brigade Royal Garrison Artillery 1917 Jan. - 1919 June As your a school teacher you'll have tons of holidays and free periods so you should be able to zip through the above. If you go to Kew I'd recommend taking a digital camera. Just copy everything and read it later. Also, you can have a look at the "burnt records" WO363 and see if a soldiers file exists for him. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olosangus Posted 21 April , 2006 Share Posted 21 April , 2006 Sue, whilst not about 34th SB it might be worth gettng a copy of " London Gunners" available from Naval & Military Press ( might even get it on Amazon ). It is the story of the HAC Siege Battery and will give you a pretty good idea of the life of a typical Siege Battery through the war. Your pupils might find that a bit more interesting than some of the "dry" facts and figures that us old timers find so fscainating !! Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suetowler Posted 24 April , 2006 Share Posted 24 April , 2006 Thanks guys! I'm scheduling a trip to Kew in the summer hols! I'm also tracking down the recommended reading. Should keep me quiet for while. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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