161st Yorkshire Battn. Royal Field Artillery

[Guest Mavis Powell]

I have found much information about my grandfather, born raised and married in York, through discovering the "Burnt Records" this month. He emigrated to Argentina in 1908 and travelled from Argentina with his wife and nine children to join up in York in 1915. He was a locomotive driver and I would like to know more about his battalion and the type of work they/he did in France and Holland.

He was 39 yrs. 2 mnonths when he enlised. He was repatriated to Argentina in 1919 on the S.S. Darro.

I always understood from my father, one of the nine children, that their father took them to England so that they could get an English education. The children lived and went to school in the Spanish language and he wanted them to learn better English. He achieved his wish as my father returned from Argentina to England around 1925 and never returned to the country where he was raised.

I gather from his records that he worked at something related to engine driving or railway work in the war, in France. What might this be?

Also there is a reference in the records to "the Portuguese Mission"... he was posted to it and made up to Sergeant, the rank he held when demobilised.

What would this mean?

I would like to know if anyone can add information or thoughts to this.

Thanks.

Edanta

[sotonmate]

Edanta

Are his Burnt Records very burnt ? Do you have his name and number and any data that is readable about his postings on those records ? If you can post a few more details there may be help from the gathered host !

Does it really say 161st Yorkshire Battn.RFA ?

Best wishes

Sotonmate

[Guest Mavis Powell]

Hello:

I read your reply to my letter of October 27th and wrote a further letter to you.

However, I am having difficulty finding my way around this forum and I cannot find

copy of the letter I wrote.

I am wondering.... did you hear from me in reply to your letter?

Please let me know, when you have time.

Thank you.

Edanta

[Ron Clifton]

Edanta

"161st Yorkshire Battalion Royal Field Artillery" must be a mistake. The easy bit is that it should be a battery, rather than a battalion, and you have mis-read "Batt".

The Royal Field Artillery was horse-drawn so he could have been a driver, of wagons or guns, but not an engine driver. The Royal Garrison Artillery, which contained the heavier guns, used tractors to pull them and he could have driven one of these, but in that case his unit would probably be 161 Siege (or Heavy) Battery RGA, not RFA. Does any of this tie in with a revised reading of his record?

The Portuguese sent two divisions to fight on the Western Front as part of the British Army, and the "Portuguese Mission" was the liaison team. It is rather typical of the Army's perceptiveness that a man fluent in Spanish would be able to speak Portuguese as well! (Of course, he may have done business with Brazil pre-war.)

Ron

[mmm45]

Edanta

Could it be 168???

I have come across reference to this Yorkshire based Battery deploying overseas , predominantley a West Yorkshire(Huddersfield,Brighouse) unit

Ady

[Scott]

Edanta said:

I have found much information about my grandfather, born raised and married in York, through discovering the "Burnt Records" this month. He emigrated to Argentina in 1908 and travelled from Argentina with his wife and nine children to join up in York in 1915. He was a locomotive driver and I would like to know more about his battalion and the type of work they/he did in France and Holland.

He was 39 yrs. 2 mnonths when he enlised. He was repatriated to Argentina in 1919 on the S.S. Darro.

I always understood from my father, one of the nine children, that their father took them to England so that they could get an English education. The children lived and went to school in the Spanish language and he wanted them to learn better English. He achieved his wish as my father returned from Argentina to England around 1925 and never returned to the country where he was raised.

I gather from his records that he worked at something related to engine driving or railway work in the war, in France. What might this be?

Also there is a reference in the records to "the Portuguese Mission"... he was posted to it and made up to Sergeant, the rank he held when demobilised.

What would this mean?

I would like to know if anyone can add information or thoughts to this.

Thanks.

Edanta

Hi Edanta,

My grandfather was also in the 161st Yorkshire Brigade as a 2nd Lieutenant from Aug 1917 to mid 1919. You can see the discussion thread

They would have been 32nd Divisional Artillery , (War Raised Unit) (CLXI Brigade) which was part of Kitchener’s K4 Fourth New Army. My grandfather was in A battery. If you can see in the 'burnt' records if there is an A, B, C or D in front of the Batt, it would help. There is a book about the Scarborough Pals which were C Battery.

Chris10 is also out looking for info on 161st Yorkshire Brigade. His great grandfather was a driver in D Battery

 

In both discussion threads you can see several books that Dick Flory has recommended.

As mentioned by someone earlier, your grandfather if in RFA wouldn't be associated with trains.

Typically each Battery would have around 200 men at full strength. Each battery was commanded by a Major or Captain, with a Captain as Second-in-Command, and 3 Lieutenants or Second-Lieutenants in charge of 2-gun sections. The battery would also include a Battery Sergeant-Major , a Battery Quartermaster Sergeant , a Farrier-Sergeant, 4 Shoeing Smiths (of which 1 would be a Corporal), 2 Saddlers, 2 Wheelers, 2 Trumpeters, 7 Sergeants, 7 Corporals, 11 Bombardiers, 75 Gunners, 70 Drivers and 10 Gunners acting as Batmen.

Hope this helps a little

[Guest bertsgrandson]

I too have discovered that my grandfather was a driver in the RFA. He would have been 18 years old in 1916 and lived in Normanton. His service number was 115504.

He was badly injured by shrapnel ( I remember seeing the scars ) and I was told by my father that he only survived because he was blown between the horses he was driving and they took the later blasts and saved his life.

I would really like to find out his regiment and where he served, so that I can visit the memorials of his comrades who didn't make it, and pay my repects.

Any advice or info would be really appreciated.

[Guest]

My father, Ramsey Gelling Johnson, fought with the "B" Brigade from 1916 to 1918 and after my attendance at the Centenary of Passchendaele I have been trying to find out more details of his time in France. I have a photograph of the surviving members taken at Vilich Muldorf at the conclusion of the War. He joined up with the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps and in 1916 was sent to join 3"B" Reserve Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, Exeter.  On 7 April 1917 he joined the 161st (Yorks) Brigade RFA at Savy in Northern France  where he was allocated to "B" Battery. I just wondered if there was any further information.

[Mark1959]

Best to create a new thread for your father. Your enquiry will get lost here. Name and RFA as a title should attract the artillery experts