86th Anti Tank Regiment July 11th 1944

I'm hoping that someone might be able to help me.
Curently I'm researching Gunner William Baty 4385887 of the 86th Anti Tank Regiment.
He was killed on the 11th July 1944.
I was hoping that someone might have a copy of the war diary for that date they could share with me?
It hasn't yet been digitised and Kew is a long way from where I live.
Thanks im advance for any replies.

 

Hi

I have the 86 AT Diary covering 1944. At my usual rate of 10p per page the diary would normally cost £27.50.

if you’d donate my fee to the JustGiving page below I’ll send you a copy via Dropbox

https://bit.ly/3SkoUfa

 

Thx Drew5233.
Might need to order a few pages.
Could you maybe advise if the diary contains any reference that could account for his death?
I'll happily give to your Justgiving page - just let me know how many pages I need please.

 

Hi
I only provide copies of complete war diaries so you’d get all of the diary inc appendices from Jan to Dec

 

86 Anti-Tank Regiment RA (TA) - The Royal Artillery 1939-45

Crusader II Gun Tractor

Worth looking through these threads

86th Anti-Tank Regiment - SPs?

86th Anti Tank RA

86th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery

 

Thanks for the offer but I can't justify spending that much on this project.

 

Thanks foir the reply.

After reading through some of these links I think that William Baty may well have been killed along with the rest of his crew at the battle for Hill 112 on the 11th July 1944.

 

Operation Jupiter (1944) - Wikipedia.

 

From Ancestry war Casualty list there were 3 casualties for the 11th.

 

Excellent Deacs,

Not familiar with these sheets.

Columns = Number, Name, Rank, Initials, Casualty page number? Regt, Date

4385887 Baty Gunner W 702 86 A.Tk Regt 11.7.44

3535809 Cousins Gnr EG 696 86 A.Tk Reg 11.7.44

951971 Doel Gnr (Driver Operator) EJ 703 86 A.Tk Reg 11,7. 44

If this is correct we could assume that with a Driver operator, they were the crew of an M10 SP with 17 pdr Gun
from which one might deduce his Battery number.

How many men in an SP Crew?
What happened to the rest?
Any other records online?

Unfortunately Derek Barton (ra 1939-44) doesn't list the SP's against Battery.
However he might have the details in his notes.
Derek is always keen to update where he can.
He might turn upon line today (Good Friday) or tomorrow, as in the week he is often busy.

 

Deacs thank you very much.
This confirms what I'd read in another post. 3 comrades from 130 battery 86th Anti Tank regiment were killed on the same day 11/7/44.
I now need to determine the circumstances around their deaths.

 

Thanks for the continued help Uncle Target. There's a suggestion in the other posts I've read that 130 battery was a towed 17 pounder.

 

Sorry cant get any further.
The only chance that I can think of is to get a copy of the War Diary page(s) for 11.7.44.
It may, or may not, be mentioned in the pages of the Diary on that day, or possibly in the Appendix where equipment losses might be listed.
A very long shot I'm afraid.

It all depends how far you want to go, I assume from your previous comments that you are are not a relative or have a limited budget.
Thoroughly understandable, time can help in these situations.
Maybe wait a while and look on the forum from time to time.
Things do crop from unforeseeable places, possibly years later.

It has happened in my research to 67th Field Regt.
6 years and still finding out more about men who fought and died in the Regiment.
Research began in Italy but answers have appeared from enemy diaries by people who study in Italy and Germany.
Keep your eyes and mind open for solutions.

 

CWGC entries suggest there were at least 5 members of 130 battery killed on the 11/7/44.
Gunners;
3535809 EG Cousins
4804821 GG Goddard
951971 EJ Doel
14270963 I Jones
4385887 W Baty

 

Progress.
Now we can confirm that this was 130 Bty

Need to find out if 130 were Towed or SP

Look for 130 Bty in War Diaries or books.

 

Look back to #4

Operation Jupiter
"The British advance went well at first but fighting for Hill 112 took all day and Maltot changed hands several times.
On 11 July, counter-attacks by the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen, 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg and the schwere-SS Panzer Bataillon 102 (102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion) in the afternoon, forced the British off the top of Hill 112 to positions on the north-facing slope.[2]
The operation was a tactical failure for VIII Corps but a strategic success for the Allies, attrition having reduced the II SS Panzer Corps to a condition from which it never recovered.
British operations of the Second Battle of the Odon conducted in the Odon valley continued in July and the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division occupied Hill 112 almost unopposed on 4 August".

Suggest we need to dig deeper if possible, regarding the above.

 

With a crew of perhaps 5 men would it suggest a towed 17 pounder?

 

The Hill 112 Memorial Foundation

Many videos on Yt regarding Hill 112 but mostly seem to be infantry from Wessex Div.

XII Corps (United Kingdom) - Wikipedia
86 A/T are listed in their Order of Battle for June 1944.

5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment - Wikipedia
The action is dealt with in detail on this thread.

 

I can copy July 1944 only for you, if that is all you need. £3 a file + £0.12 a page...I can copy just the narrative or include appendices and/or WE returns, depending on your research requirements.

 

According to a document from Italy I was looking at, the complement for a 17 pounder there was 7. There could have been some variation... but I think a 6 pounder is more likely.

Or: the complement for an M10 was exactly 5.