I've gathered a lot of reading material and paperwork for 4th Indian Division in 1944, predominantly the infantry battalions, and am now trying to swot up on the artillery (about which I know very little). Can anybody supply or suggest reading linked to the following units? 1st Field Regiment R.A. 11th Field Regiment R.A. 31st Field Regiment R.A. 149th Anti-Tank Regiment R.A. 57th Light A.A. Regiment R.A. So far, I've found (but have not yet acquired copies of) these publications: - Shabash – 149: The War Story of the 149th Regiment, RA 1939-1945 (E. W. Capleton, 1963) - 31st Field Regiment RA: A Record (Owen N Roberts, 1994) Edit: Just ordered for 4 quid! - A Short History of the 57th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery (1947) - Gunfire Target: Six Years with the Royal Artillery by Edward A. Oates (Book Guild Publishing Ltd, 1996) - [11th Fd Reg.] If anybody happens to know about the size of the '44 diaries for these regiments, I'd like to know as I'm considering having them copied in the future.
You may want to expand the RA units that served with 4th Indian Division as follows: 1st Field Regiment, RA 5/10/39- 31/8/45 4th Field Regiment, RA 6/10/39- 16/9/40 & 8/9/42- 14/9/42 31st Field Regiment, RA 8/40 - 31/8/45 25th Field Regiment, RA 26/9/40- 6/6/42 144th Field Regiment, RA 28/1/42- 23/2/42 11th Field Regiment, RA 8/9/42 - 31/8/45 32nd Field Regiment, RA 8/9/42 - 23/3/43 3rd Regiment, RHA (A-T) 5/40 - 12/40 65th Anti-Tank Regiment, RA 9/41 - 9/4/42 149th Anti-Tank Regiment, RA 9/9/42 - 31/8/45 57th Light AA Regiment, RA 17/3/43- 16/8/43 & 6/10/43- 31/8/45 Also the following official histories should be helpful: Prasad, Bisheshwar, Ed. Official History of the Indian Armed Forces in the Second World War 1939-45. Combined Inter-Services Historical Section (India and Pakistan). Calcutta: Orient Longmans. Dharm Pal. The Campaign in Italy 1943-45. 1960. Prasad, Bisheshwar, Ed. East African Campaign 1940-41. 1956. Bharucha, P.C. The North African Campaign 1940-43. 1956. Farndale, Sir Martin. History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Volume V: The Years of Defeat 1939-41. London: Brassey’s, 1996.
Appreciated, dryan67. My original list was only intended to cover 1944, but having the complete list in one place is helpful. While I appreciate that diaries vary in content from unit to unit, author to author, would anybody care to venture a generalisation as to whether those produced by artillery regiments tend - on the whole - to be shorter, longer or about the same length as those of infantry battalions? Edit: Add to my original list: Title: A Short History of the 57th Light Anti-Aircraft Regt. Royal Artillery Author Name: Royal Artillery Great Britain Publisher: Gale & Polden Published date: 1947 On sale for the price of £ 578.99!
Are you still looking for information on the 4th Indian Division, 11th Field Regiment R.A? My late father who was in the 187 Battery may have kept some information; he certainly left some photographs.
I've just a moment ago replied to your post on the other thread--and, yes, I'm always looking for more!
