Hi all, I’m hoping someone can help me again. I’ve found a lot of information relating to the movements of the 60th R.A. field regiment. My grandad was in R.A. 180 LAA 60th regiment, also written in the service record as 180/60. I’m told that 60th field is an entirely different regiment and I should search only for 60th LAA regiment. I have anD cannot find a thing? Can anybody help please?
Hi, This is a copy and paste from a post on another forum in 2003 - “Some of these posts date back a while, but for anyone still interested. I did quite a bit of research on the 14th Army in India/Burma some time back. I don't have much info on this specificaly but here is what I know (this is not necessarily comprehensive): 14th Army artillery 18th (self-propelled) Field Regiment, RA 134th Medium Regiment, RA 52nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA 69th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA 2nd Indian Field Regiment, IA 2nd Indian Light Anti-aircraft Regiment, IA 5th Mahratta anti-tank regiment, IA 656th Air Op Squadron, RAF IVth Corps artillery 8th Medium Regiment, RA 1st Indian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, IA 67th Indian Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, IA 1st Survey regiment, RA XXXIIIrd Corps artillery 10th Regiment, RA 16th Regiment, RA 99th Regiment, RA 100th Light Regiment, RA” You’re correct that 60 Field Regiment is a different unit to 60 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment Just wondering if you’ve misread 60 Regiment for 69 Regiment on the handwritten record as there is a 69 LAA in the above post. Good Luck Steve
Thanks Steve. I’d wondered about 69th myself as I’ve seen that mentioned in various articles but no I would say the 60 is clear. The reference re LAA come from commanding stamp
As far as I can see, the war diaries at the National Archives for the 60th LAA in India/Burma are: WO172/780-for 1942. Search results: wo172/780 | The National Archives WO172/2372-for 1943. Search results: wo172/2372 | The National Archives WO172/4720- for 1944. Search results: wo172/4720 | The National Archives Lower ranked soldiers are rarely mentioned amongst the pages of these diaries. These are also not available to read on line, you would have to visit the Archives yourself, or have someone copy them for you.
Hi I gave a summary of the movements of the 60th LAA Regt and 180th LAA Bty in a previous reply. Bamboo43 has identified the war diaries for you. These will give much more detail of course but often very little context. As already pointed out, the diaries very rarely mention NCOs and Other Ranks, when they do it is normally when men become casualties or are awarded medals for gallantry. May I ask what it is you are hoping to find? Then we might be better able to help. Rothy
I think I’ve established that I’ve gone completely off course following a post that suggests Chindits Naga Hills. That is 60th regiment but Field Artillery and I’ve not been able to find anything that follows 60th regiment LAA. So my intention had been to read the stories relating to the regiments movement rather than just the movement if that makes sense. Thanks for the response.
Understood. Unless you are planning your own visit, I'll add the war diaries to my list and see if I can copy for you on my next visit - maybe sometime in the next couple of weeks Rothy
Thank you that’s really kind of you to offer. The R.A. museum have now sent me info how to obtain the battery database records so I’m assuming that’s the same thing. I’ll order that as I’d like a copy to keep and will be happy to share if anyone’s interested in seeing it.
No problem - I'll leave the offer open in case. As a matter of curiosity I would be very interested to see what the R.A. Museum send you, thanks for the offer to share. Not only to see what details are included but also as a general awareness of the kind of information they hold,other than war diaries. Rothy
Yes hopefully it’ll be fairly informative. I don’t know how long it takes for them to send once the request has been made but I’ll upload ASAP.
My Great Grandad also served in 60 LAA in India. Is anyone able to decipher his record for me, I wouldn't know where to start?
Welcome, That's tough to read, but I've had a go at deciphering the entries. 'X (ii) List' indicates absence from his unit due to illness or injury - lots more about this on the forum (search for 'X2 List' 'X4 List' and 'Y List'). You really need his full service record from the MOD to get a fuller picture. This card is just one part of it, though it does give a rough idea of who he was with and when. Here's my best guess on dates and regiments/batteries: 23 Oct 1941 - 213th Light Anti-Aircraft Training Regiment 27 Nov 1941 - 313 Battery, 90th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 24 Dec 1941 - 312 Battery, 90th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 24 Oct 1942 - (HD?), 90th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 14 Nov 1942 - Y List 02 Jan 1943 - 454 Battery, 138th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 26 Feb 1943 - 122nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 31 Mar 1943 - (187 Battery?), 68th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 11 Jun 1943 - Xii List (Hospital) ?? ??? 1943 - (477 Battery?), 88th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 26 May 1944 - Xii List (India) 19 Jun 1944 - 60th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 22 Aug 1944 - Xii List (India) 04 Sep 1044 - 60th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 26 Sep 1944 - Royal Artillery Depot, India 19 Dec 1944 - 2 (??) India (2nd Echelon India?) 20 Jan 1945 - Res. Mob Anti-Aircraft Regiment 15 Feb 1945 - Xii List (India) 09 Mar 1945 - X4 List (India) 07 Dec 1945 - Class A Release ('Demob') 04 Mar 1946 - Released to the Z (Territorial) Reserve 1954 - Stamped 'Discharged Overage'
Ian, Welcome aboard. Others may come along and help. Always apply for his Service Record, even if the turnaround is reported as a year plus now. See: Get a copy of military service records Upload the records here once you've obtained them and then the forum can get to work on them. Please do not pay for any site on the internet who promise you his service records they will not have them, and you would have wasted your money. An example of what you get, this is an Army record, RN are different: Pte S Attley 14685855 4th Wilts Service Records | WW2Talk More help is on: Service Records Adding what you have already found can help, saves others from duplication. A Date of Birth and a Service Number help, though the experts here can surmount that gap. I have noted the 'Other Ranks' rarely feature in Google searches unless they have been awarded gallantry medals or written their memoirs. Searching Google will sometimes bring you back here. You must be agile and keep going. War diaries can contain almost anything. At the very least, they give the daily movements and most important actions of every unit. They may also contain information on casualties, message logs, rolls of officers (but not O.R.'s), maps, orders, and much else. They are available at the PRO to everyone. Drew5233 and some others are willing to scan them for the benefit of those who cannot get to the National Archives at Kew. It depends of course how much you want to know, just one battle or campaign for an example. Please come back and tell us what you found. Scanning threads it is clear some discover the site years after your posts and add their information or request help. Good luck.
