22nd Field Regt RA

Discussion in 'Royal Artillery' started by ExemploMike, May 23, 2016.

  1. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    Hello Callum

    Your wife's relative was buried near to the village of Moiano to the south West of Lake Trasimeno. The War Diary indicates that he was killed by a burst of shellfire north of Città dell Pieve whilst his battery was moving up to the front line which was between Villastrada and Vaiano. The actual incident was almost certainly along the section of road between Città della Pieve and Moiano.

    The CWGC website has a concentration form (attached) which shows Grid Reference 3881. Using echodelta and inserting the Grid reference preceded by wW you will see that this is the square in which Moiano is located. There was an important Field Hospital there with associated burial grounds. For more detail on burials from that part of the Trasimene Line where 4 British Infantry division was in action see my website assisiwarcemetery.weebly.com where there is also a map.

    In reply to Frank, despite the fact that Foiano War Cemetery is near to this part of the Trasimene Line battlefield, casualties from 4 Division who fell in the period 20-30 June are to be found either in Assisi or Bolsena War Cemeteries. (Those in Bolsena were wounded, taken to hospital in Orvieto, buried in the civil cemetery there and later transferred to the war cemetery. For example Lt D.C. Rose, Beds & Herts, who died of wounds on 7 July.) Only the men from 4 Division who were killed on or after 1 July, when the battle had moved on northwards into the area below Cortona, are found at Foiano

    Best wishes,

    Vitellino

    author of The Trasimene Line. June-July 1944
    and Cortona 1944
    both published by www.fondazioneranieri.org Perugia
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Sep 30, 2016
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  2. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    Vitellino.

    Terrific stuff. Thank you.

    Regards

    Frank
     
  3. CalumMc

    CalumMc New Member

    Hello Frank and Vitellino (Janet). Thanks for your very helpful replies. I am amazed that this detail is intact thanks to your efforts. I've ordered your book to get me started and the website is very helpful. Am I right in thinking that the war diary for the regiment is the next place to learn more? It looks like the National Archive holds a diary for most of 1944 and 1945.

    Regards, Calum
     
  4. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    Hello Calum,

    The Regimental War Diary will give you the best detail about the regiment itself but books about the campaigns and battles in which the regimient was involved put things into a wider context. I hope you enjoy researching the Italian Campaign.

    Best wishes,

    Vitellino
     
  5. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Hi Calum - All the regiments war diaries covering WW2 are at the National Archives.
     
  6. CalumMc

    CalumMc New Member

    Thanks again! I'll follow up with you on that offer.
     
  7. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    Calum.

    I commend Andy Newson - drew 5233 to you.

    He provides a brilliant service and at £0.10 a page it s great value for money. You get a CD in the post and nothing could be simpler.

    Regards

    Frank
     
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  8. Yes drew he was killed he was part of rear guard had to stay after every man for themselves regards
     
  9. QSHARP

    QSHARP New Member


    This is amazing. Captian A.C Sharp was my uncle. I was doing a quick bit of research online and was amazed to see this mention of his death. We never knew the exact details before. I have hundreds letters from him from learning to write up to a few days before he died, and the missing in action telegram. Does anyone have any further information on him, or do you know where I could find some? Does anyone know of any organisations who may be interested in the letters? Would he be in the Assisi cemetary too?

    Apologies for all the questions, I'm new to this and still getting over the shock of seeing him mentioned in the war diary like that.

    Q.Sharp
     
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  10. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    QSharp.

    If you read the diary again, you will see that he was killed whilst inside a tank. It sounds from the diary that he was incinerated and therefore unrecognisable. This meant that he was unable to be buried where he was killled and therefore he is commemorated on the wonderful Cassino Memorial within the Cassino CWGC cemetery.

    I am a battlefield guide for Cassino and would be happy to take a photo of his name on the Memorial when I am there with a group at the end of the month. Send me a message through 'start a conversation' and can get your email address.

    Whilst in the tank when he was killed on 28 Jun 44, he was supporting 2 Battalion Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment which means it is highly likely that he was also supporting them as a Forward Observation Officer controlling artillery at the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino. It was good practice for supporting arms like gunners to stay with the same infantry units so that they could develop good working relationships. What was achieved at Cassino during May 44 was quite something - you only have to look again at the Terence Cuneo painting on this thread to understand that there was a fearsome battle.

    The painting shows the Royal Engineers building a bridge over the River Rapido on the night of 12-13 May 44. One of the reasons that this was possible was that 2 Beds & Herts, 2 Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and 1/6 Surreys had got across the river under tremendous German fire and secured a bridgehead on the far bank. Your uncle would have been on the far bank with 2 Beds & Herts providing them with supporting artillery fire. In effect, calling in fire to destroy any threat to the men of 2 Beds & Herts holding on by their fingernails.

    Regards

    Frank
     
  11. QSHARP

    QSHARP New Member

    Hi Fank,

    Many thanks for getting in touch.

    My email

    A photo would be lovely.

    Also interested in the tours that you do.

    Thanks again

    Quentin
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2017
  12. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    Quentin.

    No problem.

    I will send it on 31 Mar 17 when I am in the CWGC cemetery.

    Two of the chaps in the group are gunners so I will ask them to tip their hat to Capt Sharp.

    Regards

    Frank
     
  13. Andy Mc

    Andy Mc New Member

    Hi
    Hi DRew, I guess from the research on the Forces site and reading this that my Grandfather Sjt W McMath 800723 would have been one of the 17 injured on the 24th June. That was the last action he saw having started the war as a regular with 22 Fd Regt with the BEF in France. After recovering from his injuries he took a commision and served with the cadets. He finally passed away in August 79 a year after I had enlisted in the QLR.
     
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  14. John Ellerton

    John Ellerton Member

    I am new to this site and have no idea whether anyone has seen the attached or is even interested, but here it is;
     

    Attached Files:

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  15. John Ellerton

    John Ellerton Member

    My father was Lt. John Ellerton, serving with this regiment since 1 Sep 1939.
    85528 Major John Francis Wilton ELLERTON, RA

    On 26 May 1940 (near Dunkirk) my godfather, and also an officer in the regiment, wrote in his journal "We were ordered to send back 1 officer, 1 serjeant & 1 bombardier immediately, who were to be the nucleus for training new armies, the assumption being that the rest of us would not be there to train them.
    “B” echelon were also sent back, leaving our fighting vehicles only."

    In my mother's diary, who had had a very romantic leave with my future Dad in April, wrote:
    31 May 1940 “John phoned before lunch to say he had arrived in Nottingham last night – very relieved but wasn’t keen on him. …….. Ronny brought me home. He was adorable as usual.”

    In my "history" of my father's life I have written:
    How do you think John felt? Just three weeks after having returned from leave, when he and Molly were having such a loving time together, and after having been through probably the most terrifying time imaginable, he returns to England (by the skin of his teeth, I would reckon) to find his girlfriend “wasn’t keen on him”! But that is life, and love too at that age, he being just 21 and she about to be 19 years old; and that’s if he realised Molly’s feelings at that time, too. And how did he get to, and why was he in Nottingham?


    My question to this group is: Could my father have been the '1 officer' or part of "B echelon" sent back earlier? Is there anywhere I can find out with certainty? I suspect record keeping was not of the highest priority at this time!
    His service record states: 1 Jun 1940 Service Record: “Returned to UK”

    John
     
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  16. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    B Echelon was not a place to find a Lt - unless that Lt was the Quartermaster which it is unhighly likely at 21 that your father was not.

    B Echelon is where the administration of the unit is done.

    Regards

    Frank
     
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2022
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  17. John Ellerton

    John Ellerton Member

    Thanks for that. So maybe, just maybe, he was the "1 officer"?

    Regards to you.

    John
     
  18. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    The British Army had a system called LOB - Left Out of Battle. When a unit went into battle it removed one person of each rank in order to ensure that if the unit got annihilated, the unit itself would survive.

    The LOBs formed the nucleus of a rebuild.

    Regards

    Frank
     
  19. John Ellerton

    John Ellerton Member

    Very interesting. I have never heard of that, but then I am not a military person myself. Thank you.

    While I am writing though, could anyone tell me what a medical rating of 'Category B' means? My Dad was wounded on 13th May 1944, at the final battle of Cassino, and was out of action for the rest of the war, and had a stiff left leg for the rest of his life.
    My mother's diary:
    12 Jun 1945 “Johnnie went to Medical Board. He is now Category B for 3 months which means he will get a job any moment now!”
    which indeed he did
    8 Jul 1945 Service Record: Posted to 119 Field Regt. Captain. (Stationed at Eastwell Park, Ashford, Kent.)
    16 Jul 1945 “….. wrote to Johnnie & thought of him. He is now Adjutant to 119 Field Regt.”

    Dad left the army in 1966 as an H/Lt. Col. I suspect that being classed Category B meant that, because of his stiff leg, he was not suitable material to command a fighting regiment, although he served in some (22nd L.A.A. Regt, Menden, Germany for one, from 1952-4).

    Thank you.

    John.
     
  20. John Ellerton

    John Ellerton Member

    In Tunisia:
    27 Apr 1943 22nd Fld Rgt War Diary: Regt. had a number of officers out with our infantry – Capt. Cave Bigley with 2RF did some excellent work through the morning, relieved by Capt. Yu in the afternoon, who did some fine shooting as did Capt. Bowers. “Morky” targets came fast and furious.

    Would anyone know what "Morky" targets are please?

    When I first read the diary entry, I thought someone had misspelt "Monkey", but soon realised that couldn't be right!

    John
     

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