Hi All Previously started thread elsewhere but hoped maybe posting here might cover some missing areas Thanks to help from forum members and some of my own detective work I think my father was attached to 100th Anti Tank in Burma from about 1944, possibly as a driver of a Priest. I have requested service records but still waiting for them. Pics attached [sharedmedia=core:attachments:148879] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:148854] If anyone can shed any light it would be much appreciated
Found this cutting from The Highlander which may point to his whereabouts prior to returning home IEUAN PHILLIPS 1924 – 2013 It was learned belatedly of the death on 17th August 2013 in Hampshire, of Ieuan Phillips. He had enlisted in the 100th Anti-Tank Regiment Gordon Highlanders in 1943, whilst they were in Nira, India. He was caught up in the Battle for Kohima, where he said together with many others, they lost three of their Majors. In May 1946 on his completion of 3 years and 2 months abroad, his Army Service ended. His unit was at that time in an area 11 miles form Poona. We could get no details of his life pre nor post service, other that leuan lived in Gosport Hampshire. His funeral was in Gosport, on what would have been his 89th birthday.
My grandad was in 100th Anti-Tank, 169 battery and was at Kohima too. His unit got Valentine Archer self-propelled guns, but not till later on (like June 1945!!)
Davey, first, welcome to the forum! I know they are really a side note to your granddad's war, but I would be very interested to learn more about the Archers, if you don't mind my asking. Do you have any more specific information?
Hi Davey, Do you know how many Archers the battery or the regiment received? Where and when? Were they in the line for any of the time between then and the end of the war? I see at least six in the first photo you posted. Cracking shot! I can see that many of the Archers have their engine compartments opened up. Very deep in the weeds here - Some of them have detachable plates with horizontal slots cut out of them, hanging from the gun shield. These were supposed to be used to cover the grilles on the Archer, to protect against downward-heading shrapnel. As far as I know those didn't reach units in northwest Europe before VE Day. (Look at the darker horizontal lines behind the gun barrel here - those are the slots cut out. )
OK. from the regimental history, they set up at a place called Piska, near Ranchi in mid to late June 1945, where they got "twelve 57-mm half-tracked guns, and soon the Gordons were firing the new weapons on the range. Six Valentine tanks became available for instruction in driving and maintenance." I know it says "tanks", but my grandad's picture shows very clearly that they are Valentine Archers. I guess the guy who wrote the book wouldn't know the difference - my grandad did, he got cross if we referred to them as "tanks" and not "self-propelled guns"!! The regimental history states they didn't go into combat with this "new weapon" and from what I recall in my grandad's service record, Archer training was cancelled part way through as the war finished. His record is currently in storage, but i promise that when I dig it out I will scan the relevant page for you. Sorry the pictures are not great, but note the 2 Div crossed keys on the trackguards (far left of the above photo, not the one attached to this post)
I love the fact that your grandad knew the difference between tanks and self-propelled guns and insisted on the latter. It sounds like he was a proper gunner! The 57mm guns on half-tracks sound like the T48 Gun Motor Carriage but that sounds quite unusual. (Wikipedia, at least, says that those T48s accepted by the British army were converted back to regular half-tracks...)
My grandma said "he commanded 6 tanks" sooo I guess those archers were his (he was a (T)Captain by this time I think - he was a Lieutenant at the relief of Kohima). There is a good chance he would have known the original poster's father as my grandad was in from 1st September 39 til 1946 and went to the Far East in late 1943 On a side note I was allowed to climb into the Archer held by the Overloon museum in Holland and took some photos if you're interested (I won't hijack this thread with them). There is also one at the Australian Armour museum in Cairns if you din't already know. Let me know if you want me to post them up somewhere?
