I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has any information regarding the 32 Heavy Regiment RA during WW2 any piece of information will be most helpful. Thanks Tim
I have the War Diary for the 32 Heavy Regt RA, Jan 44 - May 45 inc Btys. There is no diary from Sep 43 when they were formed till the above. Let me know if I can help. Rob
Yes any information regarding positioning of the regiment during this period would be very useful and any mention of a RQMS Thomas George Hayter MBE would also be good his MBE was for services in Italy with the 32nd I have found his citation. I am in the process of applying for his service record and am trying to put together a bit of a picture of his service in the meantime, I know in 1939 he was serving with the 62nd Anti Tank Regiment and he served in the 8th Army I am not certain whether the 32nd Heavy Regiment RA was ever part of the 8th Army or if his service with the 8th Army was pre 32nd Heavy Regiment RA service. Many thanks Tim
I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has any information regarding the 32 Heavy Regiment RA during WW2 any piece of information will be most helpful. Thanks Tim Can only help post WW2 as follows 32nd Heavy Regiment RA command 1st Canadian Army in Holland Regimental Headquarters: unknown was planned to join 17th Army Group RA command 1st Corps District 20 Jun 45 – to command 21st Army Group redesignated 32nd Field Regiment RA 26 Jun 45 – 32nd Field Regiment RA to 5th Infantry Division command 30th Corps District 107 Battery – 105 Battery – 120 Battery Regimental Headquarters: Halberstadt east of Goslar 4 Jul 45 – Osterode am Harz south-west of Goslar by Aug 46 – Sheil Barracks Verden 20 Mar 47 – Wolfenbüttel 1 Apr 47 – redesignated 45th Field Regiment RA 70 Battery – 116 Battery – 176 Battery 18 Sep 47 – Sheil Barracks Verden by Jan 48 – UK Best of luck with your research
Here is a brief summary of 32nd Field/Heavy Regiment RA 32nd Field Regiment, RA Station: Brighton Batteries: 107th/121st, 115th/120th The regiment was an army field regiment and mobilized at Brighton. It concentrated at Bondue, France by 24 September 1939. It moved to Lommes on 28 October 1939. It joined III Corps in January 1940. During the advance into Belgium on 18 May it formed part of the screen on the flank of 4th Infantry Division. It was evacuated from Dunkirk and served under Eastern Command on its return from France. It was reorganized with 107th, 115th, and 120th/121st Batteries in December 1940 in the United Kingdom and was again reorganized with 107th/121st and 115th/120th Batteries on 11 March 1941. The regiment was sent to India in March 1941 and arrived on 5 May 1941, when it came under command of RA Southern Army. It embarked for Iraq on 7 June 1941 and arrived on 17 June. It came under command of 8th Indian Infantry Division on 24 June 1941 in Iraq. The regiment was ordered to Syria and fought at Tel Kotchek, which surrendered to the regiment. After the campaign, the regiment moved to Mosul, Iraq and then to the Persian border for operations there. It fought in Persia under 8th Indian Division from 25-28 August 1941 and remained on occupation until 29 September 1941, when it returned to Iraq with the division. 262nd Anti-Tank Battery joined the regiment on 25 May 1942. It left the division on 11 June 1942 and arrived in Egypt on 15 June 1942, where it became 8th Army Troops. It came under command of 5th Indian Infantry Division in Egypt on 3 September 1942, but transferred to 4th Indian Infantry Division on 8 September 1942. It left the division on 23 March 1943 and came under 8th Army. It was converted to 32nd Heavy Regiment on 18 September 1943 with 107th, 115th, 120th, 121st Heavy Batteries. It moved to 9th Army in Palestine and Syria by the end of 1943. It served under 1st Candian Army Group RA from October 1943 until February 1945 in Italy. It then moved to North-West Europe with the formation and served there until 27 May 1945. On 27 May 1945 it was reconverted to 32nd Field Regiment with 107th, 115th, and 120th/121st Batteries.
Many thanks for the detailed replies it has certainly made things much clearer, will be interesting to see what comes out from his service record and whether he was part of the regiment from the outset of the war. His campaign medal entitlement was , 1939-45 star , Africa Star 8th Army Bar , Italy Star , France and Germany Star , Defence and War Medal. Plus his MBE and TEM. Much appreciated Tim
32nd Heavy Regiment RA command 1st Canadian Army in Holland Regimental Headquarters: unknown was planned to join 17th Army Group RA command 1st Corps District 20 Jun 45 – to command 21st Army Group redesignated 32nd Field Regiment RA Need to make a change to the above after reading 17th Army Group RA War Diaries again, would appear 32nd Heavy Regiment RA was under command, Group HQ was Wormhout south of Dunkirk, then on 23 May 45 moved to Chateau Lambert Brussels command 20th Line of Communication Sub Area, where 32nd Heavy Regiment RA left for conversion back to 32nd Field Regiment RA, orders of battle were destroyed for that time however they were on the distribution list for routine orders Hope this helps
Good Morning I have come into possession of letters between (primarily) my parents. My father was in the 32nd Field Regt. R.A. and part of the B.E.F.. There is a letter from (I assume) the Colonel who was injured at some point telling my father he was being discharged and transferred to the 27th and asking if he would return to be his batman. Unfortunately, his signature is - well, my mother called him the Darling Censor because it looked like Darling. Do you, by any chance know his name? I'm trying to get to know these people who became my parents. Thank you.
I think that it's L.H.G. Dorling actually. He had an M.C. from WW1 and was granted an OBE in the 1945 Birthday Honours. 1945 Birthday Honours - Wikipedia
Thank you, both. It's quite fascinating meeting my parents when they were in their 20s and now you have given me the opportunity to discover a bit more about the Colonel (who seems a really decent chap in my father's letters!)
Coleen. These are the travels of 32 Hvy Regt RA. The important bits, from my point of view, is the time that they spent in Italy. They supported the 1 Canadian Corps attack on the Hitler Line just north of Cassino from 23 May 44 in an operation called Op CHESTERFIELD. The 1 Canadian Corps attack broke through the Hitler Line at Pontecorvo-Aquino and enabled the Eighth Army to continue their push towards Rome. They were then allocated in Aug 44 to support 4 Indian Division for the break through of the Gothic Line at Rimini. They would have supported attacks on places like Tavoleto, Gemmano and the Republic of San Marino. In Nov 44, they switched over to support V British Corps in the flatlands beyond the Apennines around Forli and Ravenna before being shifted back to 1 Canadian Corps again in Mar 45 for their move out of Italy to NW Europe. He would have ended his war in Germany. Regards Frank
Wow! Firstly thank you so much for sharing.. I have really struggled to previously find any real detail. My Grandad (Thomas Jenkins) passed a number of years ago but this all resonates with stories he told and the limited pictures we had. If you know anyway of gaining for details I would be very grateful. Thank you once again
Colleen, as you can see from the page above posted by Frank from my website, 32 Heavy were in 17 Army Group RA in April 1945. They were part of Dunkirk Force during March & June 1945 supporting the Canadians who were besieging the port. You can see the page Here. Hope this fills another little gap. Derek
