Sorry, I'm brand new to this forum and couldn't find how to open a new post. I'm researching my father's war history and have his service records which don't provide much help. I can see that he joined the 52nd LAA on 19.3.44. The next entry is 3.2.45, From photos I know he was in Sant'Angelo D'Alife, near Caserta, in April/May '44 and at Orvieto in June. He met my (Italian) mother in Urbino on 13th October '44. I think he defended Foggia air base initially until the Luftwaffe were no longer a threat. I'm trying hard to find who he would have been attached to in order to be able to follow his movements and actions. His name was Horace Petch (Cpt). Also any recommendations on relevant reading?
Fagiolino, Welcome aboard. Just looked, using a search engine, and there are no previous threads about your father. See: 52nd (East Lancashire) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery - Wikipedia and 52 (East Lancashire) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA (TA) - The Royal Artillery 1939-45 Only three threads here when searching with "52 LAA Regt" + site:ww2talk.com Time to go, hope this helps!
Assume this is his number in the London Gazette. Horace PETCH (198842). Page 4796 | Supplement 35250, 15 August 1941 | Lond... As an officer he should get plenty of mentions in the unit war diaries. Either visit Kew or get members of the forum to copy them. 1945 war diary . Light Anti-Aircraft Regiments: 52 Regt. | The National Archives 1944 war diary. Light Anti-Aircraft Regiments: 52 Regt. | The National Archives
Fagiolino. Get hold of Gary Tankard on this site - via Start a Conversation, and he will get you the WDs from Kew. I use him for WDs that I need and he is excellent. Regards Frank
Fagiolino. If you are interested in seeing where and how 52 LAA Regt RA were deployed at Cassino, I am guiding a group there on 11-14 May 23. Get me via the Start a Conversation button on my avatar. Regards Frank
Do you have his official service records from the MOD? If you have and post them on here folks will be able to help you interpret them.
Thank you so much all of you! Your help is much appreciated. I do have his war records but they say virtually nothing about 1944/45: Disembarked T. O. on 1.3.43 P??????? to R.A.R.T.D. (should be RATD??) to x(iv) - BNAF - 1.3.44 Posted to 52 LAA Rgt ?? x(iv) list - N.A. - 19.3.44 Posted to x(4)A list (RATD) – CMF - 3.2.45 Next entry is May '45. I understand the abbreviations and the X list but not quite sure what it means in this context. Posted to 52 LAA Rgt x(iv)? Why x(iv)? The ?? means illegible - looks a bit like S.o.S. Owen - Yes that is him in London Gazette. Would this be his promotion to 2nd Lieutenant (2.8.41)? Frank, I may be interested in your trip to Cassino. I hope to be in Italy at that time. I live 6 months of the year next to the Gothic Line where there are still many remains of the defensive line in the mountains. I'm happy to go to Kew myself but wouldn't know where to start. Would he not have been assigned to an infantry unit to give support?
Fagiolino. Get in touch on this site nearer the time if you want to join my battlefield study to Cassino on 11-14 May 23. A train goes direct from Bologna to Cassino. Only four hours. Regards Frank
Back to the Service Record (which I have yet to encounter in my research) so I rely on this 2022 thread: Guide for what to do once service record received? plus this longer one: X lists (Service Records) and others id'd searching "x list" + "ww2talk.com" . It might help others if you converted the scrawl text to a typed table; adding notes where you are stuck and inserting question mark(s) is not enough. As the war reached 1944 the British Army (and others) began to suffer from manpower issues, so AA artillery units were disbanded or re-rolled, invariably into infantry roles. Perhaps this happened to your father, as an individual or commanding a sub-unit i.e. a battery. Caveat our in house RA expert's website has scanty details and no indication the unit was re-rolled. Alas as you noted no indication which units they supported. I expect Light AA were rarely used for direct fire to support ground troops, although once the air attack threat diminished in Italy it could be. My tactical / operational knowledge of the Italian campaign is tiny.