Those 2 are superb. Waiting for their uniforms or some other home defence group beginning training? If the former it really does look like the gun itself was the very first priority on the training staff's minds, straight off the bus and down to the very heart of things? Cheers H2H, keep 'em coming.
The 6LAA Battery started training as soon as the Bofors were delivered to N Ireland on the last week of April 1939. The training programme was then issued and the men started training before their uniforms were issued. For many months their only uniform was a pair of overalls and a pair of boots.
Here they are a couple of months down the line and still in overalls, but a tin hat has been added to the limited kit list of three items. They are firing for the first time beside a famous North Coast tourist landmark, Mussenden Temple. Each gunner fired one round into the sea.
How come such an excellent picture archive on one unit survived so well, and was created in the first place? They're not just historically good, they seem to be of generally good technical quality too. Gathered together recently or are they the fruit of some dedicated officers plan? (sorry for the questions, that's a hell of a resource you're working on there.)
6 LAA Battery RA (SR) were a group of 200 volunteers from Coleraine N Ireland. They were in action around the world from 1939 to 1945. After the war they were disbanded. Due to their close 'espirit de corps' they continued to have a reunion on the 23rd Oct (the Battle of El Alamein) every year. The majority of the photos were taken by the veterans themselves as the official photographs were stolen, along with the camera equipment during the return journey from Egypt in 1943. In 1988, the Secretary of the Old Comrades Association decided to start a museum of the battery memoriabilia. Most of the surviving members contributed all sorts of things, some had to be handed into the local police station. There were over 2000 photos and documents collected. I was given access to these by the current secretary. I have made a website and written a book on the social history of the Battery. The book is not for general sale, as it was totally funded. Since that time I have collected a further 1000 photos and documents from veterans and surviving relatives of deceased veterans. For the security of the photos and documents are copyrighted to Coleraine Museum Services. I'm able to use these photos as I am collecting them and I do not make any monetary gains from the use of the photos. Any money I make from lectures or the book are deposited in the OCA funds. They stopped their reunions last year, only 10 veterans survive in NI. http://coleraine-battery.tripod.com
