77th Field Regiment - RA

Discussion in 'Royal Artillery' started by MrsB, Apr 15, 2016.

  1. MrsB

    MrsB New Member

    This is my first time on this website so I apologise if this is posted in the wrong place.

    I am hoping to get some help regarding this regiment and in particular my grandfather who served in it. His name was Donald Yoxall - DOB 21/09/1909. I have his dog tags and a Competence to drive certificate and know that he was Unit 77th Field Regt RA - Rank L/BDR, Army number 11271239. I have found some info on a 77th Medium Regiment in the RA that come under a Major General George Roberts but I am not sure if this is the same regiment. There is also a 77th HIghland Field Regiment but I assume this is different?

    I have put this information into Forces war records and it comes up with nil results so I am unsure where to go from here. Any help on his particular record and any information on the 77th would be gratefully received.

    Thank you.
     
  2. Rob Dickers

    Rob Dickers 10th MEDIUM REGT RA

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  3. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Welcome MrsB

    you can get copies of the war diaries for a small fee from a few members who go to the National Archives at Kew
    hopefully they will be along shortly


    regards
    Clive
     
  4. Guy Hudson

    Guy Hudson Looker-upper

    Mrs B,
    This is Donald's Royal Artillery attestation from 1941. He appears to have also served with a Search Light unit and a Light Anti-Aircraft regiment.
    Guy
     

    Attached Files:

  5. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

  6. MrsB

    MrsB New Member

    Wow - thank you so much for such swift and informative replies. I'm new to this but with your help I am confident that I will be able to gain some valuable insight into my Grandads past.
     
  7. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    How do Mrs B

    As already advised ignore WFR website and apply for a copy of his records from the MoD. They cost £30 but they'll tell you all the units he served with because by the looks of it he served with more than one. His records will also tell you the dates with each unit so you'll then be able to identify what war diaries to look at.

    Good luck
    Andy
     
  8. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    77 Fd Regt RA were one of three Field Regts in direct support of 4 British Infantry Division. Other Regts were allocated to them depending on the task but three, of which 77 Fd Regt RA was one, remained with them throughout. The other two for most of the war were 22 Fd Regt RA and 30 Fd Regt RA.

    That would place your grandfather in Italy in May 44 at the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino. From there, the Div pushed up through central Italy fighting its way to the east of Florence before being moved to the Adriatic coast in order to take part of Op OLIVE, the British Eighth Army assault on the Gothic Line at Rimini in Sep 44.

    He would have had quite a war.

    Regards

    FdeP
     
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  9. gmyles

    gmyles Senior Member

    Hi Mrs B

    4th British Infantry Division (4 Inf Div) were sent to Greece in December 1944 to reinforce troops who were fighting against a Greek Communist Insurgency trying to sieze power and had all but a 2 square mile of the centre of Athens under their control.

    77 Field Regiment Royal Artillery (part of 12 Infantry Brigade) Strength 731. Arrived Phaleron (Port South of Athens) 15-Dec-44 on board the HM troopship Bergensfjord which left Taranto (Italy) on 13/12/1944

    The three 4 Inf DIv Royal Artillery (RA) regiments (22, 30 & 77) and their Anti-Tank Regiment (14) were merged and used in an infantry role for the duration of the civil war and renamed the 4th Inf DIv RA Rifle Battalion. Only a handful of field guns were brought over.

    The structure of 4th Inf DIv Rifle Battalion was (names and numbers added where available):

    A Company (from 22 Fd Regt RA formed 13 Dec 44 arrived Glifadha 16 Dec 44)


    Major G.S.Goode, RA Company Commander
    Captain G. Thornton, RA 2 I/C
    Lieutenant D.G.E. Hoare, RA 1. Platoon Commander
    Lieutenant R.H. Twinch, RA 2. Platoon Commander
    Lieutenant A.F. Howell, RA 3. Platoon Commander
    Lieutenant M.E.B. Peters, RA Company HQ Duty Officer

    B Company (from 30 Fd Regt RA formed 11 Dec 44)

    Major J.G.N. Watson, RA (112 Bty) Company Commander
    Captain H.G. Pearce-Batten, RA (104 Bty) 2 I/C Till 25 Dec 44
    Captain T.E. Nuttal, RA (112 Bty) 2 I/C From 25 Dec 44
    Lieutenant W. H. Todd , RA (104 Bty) 1. Platoon Commander 1 Off and 36 ORs - 3 Sections of 10 from 104 Field Bty
    Lieutenant Newman, RA (111 Bty) 2. Platoon Commander 1 Off and 36 ORs - 3 Sections of 10 from 111 Field Bty
    Lieutenant J.C.R. Fieldsend, RA (112 Bty) 3. Platoon Commander 1 Off and 36 ORs - 3 Sections of 10 from 112 Field Battery
    Lieutenant E. Brown, RA (112 Bty) Company HQ Duty Officer HQ Coy 3 Offs and 22 ORs

    C Company (from 77 Fd Regt RA formed 12 Dec 44)

    Major F.P.C. Trahearn, RA Company Commander
    Captain , RA 2 I/C
    Lieutenant , RA 1. Platoon Commander 1 Platoon from 305 Field Battery
    Lieutenant , RA 2. Platoon Commander 1 Platoon from 306 Field Battery
    Lieutenant , RA 3. Platoon Commander 1 Platoon from 455 Field Battery
    Lieutenant , RA Company HQ Duty Officer Coy HQ from 305 Field Battery

    D Company (from 14 A-Tk Regt RA formed 11 Dec 44 - 6 Offs 130 ORs)

    Major R.H. Adams, RA Company Commander
    Captain , RA 2 I/C
    Lieutenant , RA 1. Platoon Commander
    Lieutenant , RA 2. Platoon Commander
    Lieutenant , RA 3. Platoon Commander
    Lieutenant , RA Company HQ Duty Officer

    E Company (from 22 Fd Regt RA formed 20 Dec 44 arrived Glifadha 26 Dec 44)

    Major H.A.M. Earle, RA Company Commander
    Captain E.G. Smith, RA 2 I/C
    Lieutenant D.B. Bradshaw, RA 13. Platoon Commander
    LieutenantM.G. Reed, RA 14. Platoon Commander
    Lieutenant J.H.Whitelaw, RA 15. Platoon Commander

    F Company (from 77 Fd Regt RA formed 1 Jan 45)

    Major , RA Company Commander
    Captain , RA 2 I/C
    Lieutenant , RA 1. Platoon Commander 1 Platoon from 306 Field Battery
    Lieutenant , RA 2. Platoon Commander 1 Platoon from 306 Field Battery
    Lieutenant , RA Company HQ Duty Officer Coy HQ from 306 Field Battery


    I have the war diaries for Dec 1944 (WO 170/959) and Jan 1945 (WO 170/4750). PM me your email address if you want a copy.

    Hope this helps

    Gus
     
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  10. MrsB

    MrsB New Member

    Thank you to everyone who has posted a reply. My search has only just begun but you already have given me lots of information to follow up on. I have attached a photo of my Grandad and a couple more that he sent back to my Grandma of men he was serving with. It is sobering to think that some of the men in the photos will not have made it back. Indeed they may be one of your relatives but unfortunately, as is often the case, I didn't take the opportunity to talk to my Grandad about his experiences while he was still alive and so now they are just brave nameless faces.
    Donald Yoxall 001.jpg
     
  11. Freedom

    Freedom Member

    Hi, sorry to revive an old thread. Can anyone confirm whether this 77 Field Regiment Royal Artillery is the same as 77th (Highland) Field Regiment? Many thanks.
     
  12. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    Yes it is.
    Old threads are there to be revived!

    Tim
     
  13. Freedom

    Freedom Member

    Many thanks.

    According to his pay book my Grandfather was serving with 77th Fd. Regt. R.A. at the end of the war, with the 306 Field Battery R.A.
    It also shows him being variously employed by the
    British North Africa Force (BNAF) - March 43 to Dec 43
    Middle East Force (MEF) - New year 44 to end Feb 44
    Central Mediterranean Force (CMF) - March 44 to Sept 45

    So I know he was with 77th Fd. Regt. R.A in Sept 45 and I'm trying to work it backwards. But tracing the movements of the 77th (Highland) Field Regiment the dates seem to match pretty closely. Leaving Dorset to North Africa around 15 March 1943, then to the middle east force (family anecdotes say Egypt - which fits), then Italy, then Greece.

    Should I assume he'd spend the whole of his war with the same Regiment?

    The dates in his pay book are out by a week or two here and there compared to online histories of the movements of the 77th, but otherwise seem pretty close.

    What do you think?
     
  14. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

  15. Freedom

    Freedom Member

  16. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    Freedom.

    If your grandfather was in 77 Fd Regt RA in May 44 then that would place him at the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino. If he was with them in Sep 44, that would place him at the Battle for the Gothic Line.

    He had quite a war.

    Regards

    Frank
     
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  17. Freedom

    Freedom Member

    It's certainly looking that way so far.
     
  18. Brucehc

    Brucehc New Member

    Good evening all
    Prompted by my 9yr old saying that he needed to tell the class about his grandparents' and great-grandparents' memories and experiences of WWII (for tomorrow!) I dug out the details I have, and ended up here - learning more in 5 minutes than I have in a ew years of naïve attempts.
    Details - Lt Malcolm Stewart, 305/77th Field Regt, RA. CMF
    I need to spend some time with a magnifying glass and type up his letters (to my grandmother), but dipping in at random it seems he had travelled a lot and had a different war to the "normal war" people assume - playing tennis, having feasts in Greece and trying (unsuccessfully) to make sense of the Regt's accounts.
    My mother's only mentioned her father's presence at Monte Cassino, but beyond that (and what's hidden in the letters) I know nothing. I'd be very grateful to any enlightenment and, yes, I'll make an application for his papers - thanks for the link.
    Regards
    Bruce
     
  19. gmyles

    gmyles Senior Member

    Hi

    According to 77 FD Regt WD for Jan 45, Lt Malcolm James Stewart joined the Regt on 19/01/45 from a Light Anti Aircraft (LAA) Regiment (Doesn't say which one). Service Number was 126926.

    Looks like he joined the RA in 1938 as a Gunner. (Previous Service Number - 1431626). Commissioned in April 1940.

    https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34828/supplement/2141/data.pdf

    upload_2020-9-28_12-47-42.png

    Hope this helps.

    Gus
     
  20. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    Bruce.

    Your grandfather was an officer which means he is so much easier to track. The War Diaries for 77 Fd Regt RA will have a monthly Return of Officers and he will be on it from the moment he joined to the day he left. He would be mentioned in 305 Fd Bty RA War Diaries if they kept any. A lot of Artillery Batteries did keep their own WDs.

    4 Infantry Division arrived in Cassino in late Mar 44 and were there for the immense Fourth Battle in May 44. The Division then moved slowly up the centre of Italy fighting hard battles at the Trasimeno Line in Jun 44 and the Arezzo Line in Jul 44 before reaching the area to the east of Florence in Aug 44. From there, they were moved back for rest before being committed to the massive Battle of the Gothic Line on 15 Sep 44 in support of 1 (Canadian) Corps. They pushed through the Gothic Line and on into the Po Valley following Highway 9 to Faenza. In Dec 44, they were withdrawn and moved to Greece to help put down the Communist Insurgency.

    4 Infantry Division is best remembered for the crossing of the Rapido river at Cassino which has been immortalised by Terence Cuneo in his oil painting 'Crossing the Rapido'. It brilliantly captures the achievement. Your grandfather's guns would have been supporting that operation from gun positions behind a large feature called Monte Trocchio.

    Regards

    Frank
     
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