Trying to establish the location of this unit in early 1944. Any ideas, please? Sorry Chris, but that unit does not get a mention in the index of the 'History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914-55' Do you have any idea of the HAA Regiment that the battery was attached to?
I've done some more digging and the only (M)ixed HAA Regiments I have found reference to are these.. 132nd (M) HAA Regt. 137th (M) HAA Regt. 139th (M) HAA Regt. 155th (M) HAA Regt. 183rd (M) HAA Regt. and it would appear that these mixed Regiments did not exist overseas in early 1944. From 'Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914-55' by Brig. Routledge. The most striking innovation for 21st Army group, however, came in December 1944 with the arrival of a Mixed HAA Regiment, one that is with ATS detachments fully incorporated, the forerunner of others. Though a very small affair, when compared to the massive redeployment of Mark IIC regiments in ADGB, the move to Brussels of 139th(M) HAA Regiment produced its share of troubles for its CO and its brigade. The Regiment was in Nottingham when ordered to move overseas, at war strength, in early November. Among many other things, this required 200 ATS reinforcements. The second Mixed HAA Regiment, 132nd (M), arrived in Brussels in mid-January 1945 and deployed in bitter weather... The Regiment was closely followed by 137th(M) HAA at Brussels and by 155th(M) and 183rd(M) Regiments at Antwerp... where they were deployed against the V-1 threat.
Violette Szabo GC was a member of 137th(M) HAA Regiment RA in Oswestry Shropshire. http://www.dasreich.ca/szabo.html
Chris, is this a trick question and you're refering to the Bty portrayed in Carry On England, about a mixed sex AA Bty??? If not I do apologise.
Thanks for replies so far. '522 HY. (M) A.A. BATTERY, R.A.' That's what the rubber stamp on the Army Form B103-2 says very clearly! However, in column (B ) Unit it is referred to as either '522' or '522/154'; column (D) Place shows 'UK' throughout and dates in column (F) are from 18/1/44 to 28/2/45 Any more thoughts?
Done, put a space between B & ) I've had the same trouble with those bloody smilies.. OK the 522/154 should usually indicate the 522 Battery of the 154th HAA Regt. RA However they do not make the pages of the official history. It is a bit poor on the Home service Regiments. I have had no luck on tracing this unit, I'll keep looking.
I have drawn a blank after an extensive internet search. I did however stumble across an interesting piece on the compatative use of women in combat by the various warring nations. There is a piece on the ATS and AA mixed batteries somewhere near the top. Edit: Ahh, that's a pity. The link is dead. Sorry. I should have checked.
Can I make a suggestion? Are you sure the designation isn't 522 Medium HAA Battery RA? In my experience, that's usually what the (M) indicates. Can't explain the presence of the 'HY' though, since 'Heavy' was usually abbreviated to 'Hvy'.
Can I make a suggestion? Are you sure the designation isn't 522 Medium HAA Battery RA? In my experience, that's usually what the (M) indicates. Can't explain the presence of the 'HY' though, since 'Heavy' was usually abbreviated to 'Hvy'. I'm almost sure that the (M) indicates a mixed unit in RA speak. A Medium, Heavy Battery makes no sense at all.
A prize for the best academic title.. ‘I Love the Scent of Cordite in Your Hair’: Gender Dynamics in Mixed Anti-Aircraft Batteries during the Second World War Gerard J. De Groot 1University of St Andrews Abstract During the Second World War, labour shortages forced the British government to introduce women from the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) into anti-aircraft batteries. The decision was controversial since it brought women closer to active combat than they had ever been in the past. In order to preserve the non-combatant status of women, the female recruits were not allowed to load or fire the guns. Their roles were instead restricted to plotting and aiming. Though there was at first some resistance to the idea of mixed batteries, this came not from the Royal Artillery, but rather from senior officers in the ATS. This article examines the experiences of the women concerned, and of the men who fought with them. Special attention is given to the ways in which women were prevented from being fully assimilated into gunner units. The article also assesses the effect which this experience had upon gender identity and relations, and upon the role of women in war. Primary source material is supplemented by interviews with former members of the mixed batteries. From here
That's what I was thinking, Bod. I managed to find reference to a Dorsetshire Heavy Coast Artillery Regiment, formed 1924, which became 522 (Dorset) Coast Reg in 1940. Can they be linked? I'd spotted them too. I don't think they are our boys, or girls. The trouble seems to be a lack of OOB's (Order of Battle) for the UK in 1944. There are some for AA Command in 1940 but then nothing. So if this is a war raised unit, which owing to its high number it would seem to be, it does not appear on the early lists. I have found a manpower list that states the Command Order of Battle for June 1944, stood at 161,108 men and 74,678 women. Mainly in the south-east of England.
Any history of 46(m) HAA Regiment. I was posted to them early 1949 and ended up as Battery clerk on 117 bty. I did two practice camps, one at Bude in Cornwall and at Towyn West Wales. You can tell how much I did'nt like the Artillery, five months after demob, I was in the Royal Air Force! Ken
Violette Szabo GC was a member of 137th(M) HAA Regiment RA in Oswestry Shropshire YES a very old thread but have found the unit disbanding in 8 Corps District (Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein) in Oct 45 but no idea of the higher command, hence finding this thread and hoping somebody can help Bluebell Minor and myself
On VE day the unit was under command 50th Anti-Aircraft Brigade RA in Belgium 137th (Mixed) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel AL Galloway OBE Regimental Headquarters: B70 Antwerp Airfield 25 May 45 – Hamburg to organise a gun park for the handing in of artillery hardware as yet exact location to be confirmed 8 Oct 45 – disbanded 476 Battery: Major J Shearing 481 Battery: Major LA Mills 487 Battery: Major CR Gray
