Found today... "Lawsons Company" "History of 53/87 Field Battery RA, North Africa Italy, March 1943 to February 1945" The bulk of this history is a detailed account of the Battery from leaving Tunisia in the last week of November 1943 for Italy to the end of 1944. The day by day account answers so many of the questions we have about the service of Uncle Tm (Lt Dixon TE). This has document has lain undisturbed in the bottom of his kist sice his death in 1975 ... only found as we are sorting a room out and did take the time to get to the bottom of the hundreds of items in there... Now understand his Anzio ear .. deaf .. seeing the total number of rounds fired in one day Robibn
Robin. I would love to read the book. Do you who the publisher was and the date of publication? Regards FdeP
Apologies for the delay ... getting back to WW2 after the break and many family questions about the Great War where we had many serving and lost a few. The history was a private publication. There should be other copies about but I've not yet found any reference to one. Our only information comes in a short letter found inside the front of our copy. Headed """"53/87 Field Battery, R.A. M.E.F. "Dear Tom I have much pleasure in sending you a copy of the battery narrative. Authority has been given for this to be published for private circulation only. The contents must not be communicated to the press. I should like ot take the opportunity of thanking Lieut. I. Edward-Jones, R.A. for all the hard work he did in compiling this history. Yours sincerely George Wakefield 20 July 46 """""" The salutation 'Tom' is hand written as are the signature and date. We had never seen nor known about this book (51 pages long) until last month when we were moving some stuff around and I said to my wife we should bottom this kist and find out what is in it. We'd brought it home after Tom's widow died in 2003. Tom died in 1975 had talked a little about Anzio. He was a very well respected press photographer and in the kist was also a collection of his passes to the major events of the 1950's including Geroge VIth furneal and the Queen's Coronation. He was often the designated press photographer given priviledged access. Hope you can find another copy somewhere ... it is foolscap size so difficult to scan and we do not want to handle it too much at present .. Do you have a family connection? There are several lists of the officers and many OR's also get mentioned. Robin
Robin. No family. My interest is that I run battlefield studies to Anzio for the British Army. I read absolutely anything on the battle because understanding it from every angle is very important to me. Regards FdeP www.cassinobattlefields.co.uk
FdeP and Robin I am helping the son of a former 53/87 Battery man find out more about his father's experience's in WW2. (The chap in question lives in the same village as me, and I am not being paid to do this). Just wondering if you got yourself a copy of the above? "Lawsons Company" "History of 53/87 Field Battery RA, North Africa Italy, March 1943 to February 1945" By all accounts this would be a fantastic keystone to our research, along with Regimental War diaries. Any help hugely appreciated. Chris
Chris. No I have not. If Robin returns to the site, I was going to ask him to scan it for me. What I cannot work out is which Regt the Bty belonged to. I am a simple infanteer who has yet to master RA records from the war. Regards Frank
Frank Perhaps some of our RA specialists would be able to help. I was also wondering if its possible that the RA Museum may hold a copy?? TD
Thank you for getting back to me. Service record Peter has for his father shows 53/87 Field Battery 2nd Field Regiment RA. Therefore the Bty must have been 2 Field Regt. I think this is confirmed earlier in the thread as the title of the document in question. If Robin still has acces to the document it would be very easy to scan it by photographing it with a reasonable camera phone. If not then I may enquire at RA HQ (Woolwich?). Many thanks
Chris. 2 Fd Regt RA were one of the three integral field arty regts for 1 British Infantry Division throughout Anzio. Regards Frank
Still following this thread. The book is packed away in store as we are having slate roof replaced .. means vast amounts of insidious dust.... Also lambing here starts this week Will take a look when I can Robin
Robin. If you could that would be superb. I have a pamphlet on the role of the arty regts that supported 1 BR Inf Div at Anzio but nothing of the detail that would be contained in that book. I look forward to seeing it posted on this site. Regards Frank
Robin it would be fantastic if you could find the book and copy it in some way. RA Museum is closed and relocating so would be some years before anything could be discovered there, if they even have it. Many thanks again. Chris
