Royal Horse Artillery Ayr

[mchutcheon]

Hi

My first go in the forum and I am researching my Grandfather, John McHutcheon.

I found his WW1 British medal and have downloaded his Medal Card. It shows he served with The Royal Horse Artillery as a Gunner - 2 regiment numbers 522 and 602162. This fits with what I was told as a boy and him being abroad and working with horses during the war. His 1920 wedding photo shows him in his uniform which matches other RHA photos on this website. I would imagine that living in Ayr at the time he would have joined the Ayr Barracks Territorial Force of the RHA. This is where I got stuck. I have tried to find out where the Ayr Barracks would have served - some sites suggest the Middle East at some point, merging with other units.

Can anyone help and guide me to where I could find out more about what happened to the Ayr RHA during WW1 and would his Service details be held somewhere

Thanks

[gnr.ktrha]

Hello,

Welcome to the forum. I can tell you that the Six digit number he was issued is a number which would have been issued to a member of the Ayrshire Royal Horse Artillery.

I'm fairly sure that they did serve in the Middle East, even possibly at Gallipoli. I will have a look through some books and see what I can find. Have you tried searching the 'Mother site' which is called Long Long trail? It is at the top left hand corner of the screen.

Regards,

Stewart

[mchutcheon]

Hi Stewart

Thanks for the reply

Yes I have checked the site and got some info - thats why I think he went to Middle East. I am very much in the dark as to his service in WW1 because my Grandfather died in 1970 when I was 7 so he never told me of his stories. My father died in 2003 and with no other surviving relatives, I am struggling a bit. As I said I do have his medal record downloaded, andwith other records from the web it seems that the Ayr RHA was joined with other regiments, but surprisingly there is little on the web particular to the Ayr RHA.

The only story I can recall being told to me was that early in his service abroad, he was ordered to take a lame horse back to the "stables" but the route had to be via the camp butcher/chef. As he passed by, the horse was shot dead, which saved the "butcher" having to transport the meat any great distance. Now whether that is true I do not know, but I do know that my Grandfather would have joined the RHA because he used to work on my Great Uncles farm which obviously used horses, so he was used to them.

Indeed after the war he became a Baker, and when the owner had to buy a new horse, my grandfather was sent from Ayr to past Glasgow to pick it up and rode it bareback home, some 30+ miles, no helmet etc - so much for health and safety!!

However, I digress, The reason I am putting so much importance into the history of my Grandfather is that I cannot go any further back on his bloodline as he was - ahem - illegitimate, so I would like to find as much on him and his war record as possible

Hope I havent bored you all too much

Alan

[Hoplophile]

The Ayr Battery of the RHA spent most of the war in the Middle East, going out to Egypt in 1915 with the mounted brigades that were charged with defending the Suez Canal. Between March 1916 and the end of the war, it served with the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division, first in Egypt and then in Palestine.

[mchutcheon]

Bruce

Thanks very much for the info

Can you, or anyone else, suggest any websites or books that could give me some more details of his service in the Middle East.

Thanks

Alan

[sotonmate]

Alan

From 1916 to 1917 the RHA Ayr was in the 4th Brigade RHA (TF). The Brigade War Diary in the National Archives Kew is found in WO95/1146. From 1917 to 1919 it was in the 18th Brigade RHA-War Diary WO95/4527.

You will probably have to attend at Kew to read these,but it is surprising how often someone on this Forum has access to Diaries !

Best wishes

Sotonmate

[Hoplophile]

Dear Alan,

Reconstructing the history of a battery of the Royal Horse Artillery in World War I is much like following the career of a character actor. You won't find many (if any) books that deal directly with the subject, but you will find lots of off-hand mentions in works dealing with other, better-known subjects - the military equivalents of the great stars and famous films.

There is a considerable literature on the Palestine campaign, on General Allenby and on the British, Australian and New Zealand mounted units that fought in the Middle East. The Wikipedia articles on these subjects are also surprisingly good, and offer lots of links that will help you with your search.

The bad news is that you will probably not find a 'one-stop shopping' solution to your question. The good news is that your search will take you through lots of interesting places.

Good luck!

Bruce