4th (Durham) Survey Regiment, RA

Discussion in 'Royal Artillery' started by Kieron Hill, May 10, 2005.

  1. Uncle Jack

    Uncle Jack Member

    I have this photograph in my files listed as "1941-inside-tobruk-fortress FS Observation Tower from Col Hutchinson website "

    Now can not find that website ...

    Can anyone else sort out a link to the website?

    Thanks
    Robin 1941-inside-tobruk-fortress FS Observation Tower from Col Hutchinson website .png
     
  2. Uncle Jack

    Uncle Jack Member

    Now have this WD all 470 pages of it!

    Rich in details about the CBO work and of particular interest to us it contains many references to the FS and SR troops of 4th Durham Survey Regiment.

    Re The Pink House

    The CBO WD for 4 and 7 June confirms that their office was 'in house' at approx '4148 4279'
    Counter_Battery_Office_Tobruk_1941_0029 CBO in house Map Ref .JPG
     
  3. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    It's Nathan's website. You can email him for a better quality picture.

    Ubique Vir

    All the best

    Andreas
     
  4. Uncle Jack

    Uncle Jack Member

    Thanks Andreas I'll write to him
     
  5. Uncle Jack

    Uncle Jack Member

    Have sent two emails using address on his website but no reply so far. Can you DM me an alternative one
     
  6. Uncle Jack

    Uncle Jack Member

    Found another reference in the CBO RA War Diary TNA Re WD 169/1371
    Entry reads "November 20 Move back to near Pink House"

    They had only recently moved away on 31 October

    And Clarrie's Diary for 1 November records "Moved Sgts Mess into PINK HOUSE" BTW His capitals
     
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  7. rgr

    rgr Member

    RGR War Record Statement of Service B200 IMG_20220422_122609866.jpg
    I received the reply from my application for the Service Record of Richard Gibson Robertson a few weeks ago - it only took a couple of months for the Army Personnel Centre, Support Division, Historical Disclosures, Mail Point 555 to reply, which I thought was very good, considering they say it can sometimes take many months. I thought you might like to see what they sent me. The most surprising thing that I found out was that my father was sent to Greece for about three weeks in April 1941. We never knew anything about this. I knew that British and Anzac troops were sent to Greece but we never knew that my father was amongst them. The records give details of dates and there are lots of abbreviations which I am going through to try to understand what was going on. Some of the writing is very feint and some is difficult to read because of the handwriting, but I am getting through it with a bit of guesswork. I was rather disappointed that it does not give more details of the exact places where he was, but I suppose it must have been a huge job to keep all the files up to date for all of the soldiers, so I am thankful to all of those who did this in any case. I am attaching some photos or scans of the pages.
    Best wishes,
    Barry
     
  8. rgr

    rgr Member

    I hope all of the attachments worked. When uploading, it said 'maximum file size 2MB' but they were all bigger than that but it seemed to have accepted them, though I am not sure.
     
  9. Uncle Jack

    Uncle Jack Member

    Images have been shrunk lots. But are readable

    I'll take a look and get back to you.

    But did notice that after Greece he went into Syria - where my FIL was. Also he was transferred from No1 Bty to No2 when it was rebuilt after almost all of No2 was lost in Tobruk. My FIL was also transferred to No2 Bty in Sicily in 1943.

    Lots to work on ...
     
  10. Uncle Jack

    Uncle Jack Member

    Here is the War Diary page for the move to Syria
     

    Attached Files:

  11. Uncle Jack

    Uncle Jack Member

    And the next week
     

    Attached Files:

  12. rgr

    rgr Member

    Thanks very much. Who'd have thought it - snow stopped play! I really appreciate all the interesting information that you have been able to give me. I somehow had not spotted that he went to Syria either, so I have learnt a lot. I was just reading about the British Army's involvement in Syria. A very strange situation, what with Vichy French and Free French fighting each other and the British Army making the difference. The Vichy French gave up very quickly! I was surprised that the Vichy French soldiers were then given the choice to join the Free French but only 1 in 5 did, and the remaining 27,000 or so were allowed to sail back to France!
     
  13. Uncle Jack

    Uncle Jack Member

    A copy of the
    BOOKLET: WELCOME HOME BANQUET, 4th (DURHAM) SURVEY REGT, RA
    is currently on ebay. This one contains a number of signatures including my wife's grandfather Clarence E Hird (sr) who was one of the organising committee. Interesting to see that he signs without the 'E'.
    We are NOT bidding on this as we have our own copies but have taken a screenshot of the signature page for reference

    ORIGINAL WW2 BRITISH BOOKLET: WELCOME HOME BANQUET, 4th (DURHAM) SURVEY REGT, RA | eBay
     
  14. rgr

    rgr Member

    Thanks very much - I have saved the images.
    Best wishes,
    Barry
     
  15. Uncle Jack

    Uncle Jack Member

    Have now got the document - Report by Lt Col WHETTON on Tobruk 1941 TNA Ref CAB_106_372

    Some insights but no soldiers names.

    Included as an appendix to his summary are proposals for reorganising Survey Regiments into Composite Batteries as a result of experience in ME.
    This is headed GHQ. MEF. CMRE/27487/8/RA dated 1 September 1941 and signed by A. Maxwell Brigadier R.A.
    The structure proposed is that implemented in 1942.

    Also in an appendix is 'Summary of report of work by No1 Survey Troop 6 Survey Regiment RA During Western Desert Campaign. This covers the period 5th October 1940 to 17th February 1941. It is two pages long.
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2022
  16. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    That's some good ferreting.

    All the best

    Andreas
     
  17. rgr

    rgr Member

    Here are some album photos and accompanying captions written by my father Richard Gibson Robertson which may be of interest for some of the names and places and dates. Patsy is the little dog in the first photo that he adopted during his time in Syria in 1942.

    RGR Patsy et al El Alamein 1942.JPG RGR Almaza Cairo June 1941.JPG RGR and Vic Stokoe  Cairo 17 May 1941 .JPG RGR Cairo on leave 1942.JPG RGR at El Alamein.JPG
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2022
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  18. rgr

    rgr Member

    I thought it was interesting that it seemed important to note where everyone was from.
     
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  19. rgr

    rgr Member

    Dear all,

    After 11 years off and on, we have finally published our book ‘Tynegold’ co-authored by Peter Cain and Barry Robertson. Available from today in paperback or Kindle eBook formats on Amazon at:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tynegold-P...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660302320&sr=8-1

    It is also available on other Amazon EU sites like .de and .fr but in Kindle version only. You can get a taste of the book by clicking on the ‘Look Inside’ feature.

    Eleven years in the making, Tynegold is set in and around an alternative history of WWII and is based on a fictionalised and wildly expanded version of actual events featuring various family members. Some is absolutely true and meticulously researched, a lot is pure imagination. It was a way of recording and preserving the real family history while wrapping around it an adventure story.

    I'd like to thank Uncle Jack in particular and everyone on here for tidying up some loose ends which we have incorporated into the final version of our story.

    Any feedback and reviews would be most welcome.

    Best wishes to all,

    Barry
     
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  20. Deb Goodwin

    Deb Goodwin Member

    Can I ask where you sourced this diary entry, KLEIN is an Australian officer, I'm from Australia, researching Rats of Tobruk, I have found that there were 10 Australians from the 2/1st Survey Regiment, detached yo R Troop 4th Durham Regiment from 1 June-24 July 1941. I'm having difficulty identifying them from Australian war diaries. Wondering if anyone in this forum has access to the war diaries which may list the names of the Australians.
     

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