Summary
- 938 – Men identified with service number (+9 this month)
- 731 – Confirmed ’08 service numbers (+10)
- 85 – Men identified without service number (+85)
- 22 – Portraits (+1)
June was a really productive month with progress in a wide range of areas. Highlights included:
Review of post WW1 Royal Artillery Attestations
It started with a detailed run through the post-WW1 Royal Artillery Attestations on FindMyPast. After the the men of the Howitzers were demobilised after the Great War, many of them rejoined the Territorials in 1920, often giving details of their previous service, including their service number. These papers provided 5 new men who have now been added to the roll. The most interesting was Charlie Jones, who I had found a newspaper article about several months ago. Charlie Jones was a Trumpeter and both the youngest member of the Welsh Division and also one of the shortest. You can read more about him here – Click Here
New list of Men of the Brigade without Service Numbers
I also added a new page identifying men of the Brigade who I’ve found but don’t have a confirmed service number for yet. In total, there are 85 men on the list men, many of whom are pre-war Territorials who left the Brigade prior to the start of the War or who did not serve abroad. The new page can be found here – Click here
The power of Facebook
I also put posts on a number of different local history groups on Facebook and this triggered a great response and I made contact with a number of descendants of men of the Brigade.
I’ve been working with them to draft more detailed profiles of their ancestors and uploaded the first one last week on 253, Walter Pike, including a fantastic postcard of the 2nd Battery football team in Shrewsbury, August 1914.
1916 page update
And finally, I’ve continued to work on the 1916 page. Its still not finished, but its almost there.
Christmas 1916 is a very important date for the Brigade. Its when it ceased to exist as a standalone unit, with the 2 batteries being transferred into other Brigades to create composite (18 pounder and 4.5 inch howitzer) Batteries in line with the rest of the artillery. I plan to continue writing the history through to the end of the war, but it will be focussed on the 2no C (Howitzer) Batteries of 265 and 266 Brigade, RFA.
Next month
In the next few weeks I’m hoping to do the following:
- Publish a couple more profiles that I’ve been working on with family members.
- Get another trip to Kew. I have leads on another half dozen men and hope to prove them.
- Take another look at what service numbers mean and draft a page.
- Think about ways I can present the amazing pictures that I have found better. At the moment, you need to know where to look.
- Finish the 1916 Page – although I’ve said that before!!
