Ben. Had another look at the Service Docs. and I think the one star, two star is to do with the classification of the work being undertaken by that unit. I guess the star system denotes the level of sensitivity I.e Secret or classified. Usually a star is denoted by an * Asterisk. My dad was demobbed from Wilhelm shaven. He Handed in his kit at York.
June , you may find this interesting its an interview on the IWM website http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80020100 Frederick Neville Howell severed in the 73rd Anti tank Reg 234 battery 1944 -1945 (joined 1940)
hi june i have been tring to find the nominal roll for 234 battery 73rd anti tank as my father and his two brothers served in it from 1942 -46 so i wonder if you could point me in the right diection thanks
198 & 234 (M10) batteries of 73 Anti Tank Regiment landed on D Day. The other two 195 & 196 batteries, equipped with the towed 17 Pdr gun landed on D+1. With three troops to a battery, H troop might have been the second troop of 198 battery and landed on D Day, under command 102 Atk Regt. (though someone else may know better)
Hi Chalkie1956, just out of interest how do you know they served with the 234 in the 73rd ATK ? I cannot find any ref to a mention in my Grandfathers service record. He would been with them in early 1945 he drove a "tank" which must have been the M10 and there is no mention for him in the 198 roll. So I can only guess he would have been in the 234 ?
There might have been other "tanks" besides the M10. 1. Some Anti Tank units used Crusader tank gun tractors for the 17 Pdr. 2. Some Archer units had Valentine tanks as Troop and battery commanders vehicles.. The organisation of 73 Regiment did not remain static durign Ww2. The Anti Tank artillery were restructured and reduced in late 1944 early 1945, with the number of guns per troop reduced from four to three and the M10 replaced by the Archer. There is another thread on this topic on this forum which goes into the details. Occasionally gunners were posted to a different battery, either to balance numbers or sometimes because their face might fit better there. (I know of one Gunner posted to a different battery for punching his battery sergeant major. Normally this might result in a charge and jankers, but in this case the BSM, had hit him first! )
