Hi my name is Andy (new to this) Just recently my grandad (Charles Joseph Haynes)passed away. he was a Bombadier in the 72nd medium Regiment (RA) from 1939 till the end of the WW2. I have his war Diary which starts : 23 June 1944: 97 Bty & half RHQ embarked on the William Carson from Silvertown Docks. it Finishes in Scherwin Harbour in Germany at the end of the war, All it is dates and Place's and if they were in Action or in Hiding. He was also Metioned in Dispatches which i have a PDF What I'm trying to do is build on this and garther more information about their Journey and the Regiment, I have found some bits from holland, but just wounding if any one has any more info that may be of help, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks indvance ( more than happy to transcribe my grandad's dairy for people reseach also)
Here's all the regiments diaries that are at the National Archives. WO 166/1935 72 Medium Regiment. 1940 Jan.- 1941 Dec. WO 166/7245 72 Medium Regiment. 1942 Jan.- Dec. WO 166/11384 72 Medium Regtiment 1943 Jan.- Dec. WO 171/1063 72 Medium Regiment 1944 Jan.- Dec. WO 171/5033 72 Medium Regiment 1945 Jan.- Dec. WO 171/9165 72 Medium Regiment 1946 Jan., Feb. Cheers Andy
Hi Andy + welcome 72 Medium Regt RA was a 3AGRA (Army Group Royal Artillery)formation which landed in Normandy on 27th June 1944 although your grandads Regt could have landed a few days before,after landing on 29th June 72 Med was attached to 8AGRA in support of 8 Corps, as you can see below. I do have the War-Diaries for 3AGRA & 8AGRA Best Rob
Captain Kenneth Watkinson was killed on 17 July 1944 when attached to 653 AOP Squadron. He was flying in his Auser when it was hit by a fluke 25 Pounder round over the Odon Valley. Tragic given the day before he dodged death (quite literally) when his Auster was set upon by 3 FW190s (out of 20 in action that morning) and hit in both wings.
Hi Andy I notice your post was in 2012 so don't know if your are still around doing this type of research. My Dad was also a Bombadier in the 98 72nd Medium Regiment. During lockdown I've been sorting out a huge number of letters that my parents wrote to each other - my dad's are all over uk - Ipswich, Woodbridge, Sevenoaks, Chester, Salisbury etc etc. but once he's in Europe there are still lots of letters but no detail about where he is. He used to talk about the horrors of Belsen but maybe because of what he'd heard. We have photos of him which he says are in action in Hochwald Forest and that's about it.. Wish we'd listened at the time but we were young.... Would love to share some info with you. Ellie
Hi Ellie, My step-grandad was also a L/Bombadier in 98 72 Med Regt. Sadly the only thing I know about him was he was awarded the Croix de Guerre Bronze Star, for looking after his troop casualties who were heavily shelled on the 26th July 1944 at Mouen, Calvados. Apart from the award citation I know nothing about that day. Info seems to be like hens teeth so I am hoping maybe you found some more info amongst your dads letters. His name was Gnr (L/Bdr 938210) Alec Charles Pratt. All the best Charlie.
