I am researching Walter Peacock's war record for our village's VE Day commemoration. We know he enlisted in this regiment in 1942 and I would like to know in which campaign(s) he served. I saw in an earlier thread that this regiment was attached to 4th Indian Division. In civilian life he was a tractor driver, so it would seem likely that he would have been a driver. He survived the war but was still stationed in Greece on 27th Feb 1946 when he was killed in an motor accident. He was buried in the Phaleron War Cemetery, Greece a few kilometres south-east of Athens. Thank you
There is only one way to find out what you need to know and that is by obtaining his service records, the forms are on this link Request records of deceased service personnel and only the MOD hold his service records, no other site does TD Casualty
Hi 1st Field Regiment - RA 1939-45 1 Fld Rgt But as TD said only his service records will confirm full details, he may have been in other regiments. regards Robert
John. 1 Fd Regt RA was one of three artillery units that directly supported 4 Ind Div - they went where ever the Div went and provided all the Forward Observation Officers - the people who controlled the guns whilst working alongside the infantry. 4 Ind Div was at the Second & Third Battles of Cassino in Feb-Mar 44 and at the Battle of the Gothic Line from Aug 44. In Dec 44, in response to a Communist Insurgency in Greece, the Div, along with others, were moved to Greece. Regards Frank
Hi 1 Fd Regt arrived in Greece on board MV Eastern Prince & LST 36 on 11 December 1944. Here are extracts of Military Command Athens (MCA) RA Weekly Activity Reports. No.2 - 24 Dec 44 No.3 - 31 Dec 44 No 4 - 06 Jan 45 This is a best guess Order of Battle for Greece in 1946. Major Units 4th Brit Inf Div Dec 44 to Feb 46 Northern Greece & Macedonia 4th Ind Inf Div Oct 44 to Feb 46 Eastern Greece 23rd Armoured Brigade Oct 44 to April 46 Athens 13th Inf (179, 180 & 181 Bdes) Feb 46 to ??? Athens & Patras Minor Units British Military Mission in Greece (BMMG) 212 Area 202 Sub-Area Apparently 13th Inf Div was made up forces pinched from 4th Ind Div and 4th Brit Inf Div and 3 fresh Inf Battalions brought over from Italy. Strength Jan to Mar 46 50,000 Apr to Jun 46 38,000 Oct to Dec 46 20,054 More Info on 4 Ind Inf Div at 4 Indian Infantry Division Hope this helps Gus
Hi Here's the movie of 1 Fd Regt in action in December 1944 as mentioned above. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2747988478548337 Gus