84 (Sussex) Medium Regiment Royal Artillery 28th September 1944

Discussion in 'Royal Artillery' started by Mark Hone, Oct 28, 2018.

  1. Mark Hone

    Mark Hone Senior Member

    I am currently in the process of organising my next school battlefields tour, which next year will be based around Operation 'Market Garden'. One of two old boys of our school killed in the campaign was Gunner Tom Spencer Hopkinson of 84 Medium Regiment, from Tottington in Bury, who is buried at Jonkerbos Cemetery, Nijmegen. He is one of four men from the unit who died on 28th September 1944 and were originally buried at Jonkerbos Old Cemetery. We have visited Tom's grave on our two previous Arnhem tours, in 2003 and 2009 but I have not been able to discover the exact circumstances of his death. Part of 84 Regiment's War Diary has been put on line but unfortunately the extracts do not quite go as far as 28th September. Any help would, as always, be most gratefully received.
     
  2. Mark Hone

    Mark Hone Senior Member

    I'm aware that there have been no replies to this but am still keen to get sight of the unit War Diary. With the closure of the Firepower Museum and the relocation of the RA Archives, I'm not sure of the best way to obtain it.
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2018
  3. hutt

    hutt Member

    You suggest that what you have seen is an extract. Maybe worth getting someone to copy it in whole for you at Kew or make a visit yourself. You probably should start there before you need to see the Firepower archive, wherever it may be now.

    70th Med regiment diaries in Italy mention incidents resulting in deaths or injuries to men and guns resulting from German CB fire.

    The reference for the diary at Kew is WO177 1066

    84 Regt.
    Ordering and viewing options
    This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded.

    You can order records in advance to be ready for you when you visit Kew. You will need a reader's ticket to do this. Or, you can request a quotation for a copy to be sent to you.

    Reference: WO 171/1066
    Description:
    84 Regt.

    Date: 1944 Jan.- Dec.
    Held by: The National Archives, Kew
    Legal status: Public Record(s)
    Closure status: Open Document, Open Description
     
  4. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  5. harkness

    harkness Well-Known Member

    Royal Artillery Attestations 1883-1942:

    Hopkinson_ra.jpg

    Hopkinson_01.jpg


     
  6. Mark Hone

    Mark Hone Senior Member

    Thanks for all of this. My main difficulty in research like this is that there is no prospect of me visiting Kew in person in the foreseeable future. However, the webmaster of the site which has extracts of the 84 Regiment War Diary on it has very kindly provided me with further information, including the exact location of Tom Hopkinson's death. My next task is to locate Tom's obituary (and accompanying photograph , I hope) in a local newspaper from the time.
    Thanks again.
     
  7. Dave Featherstone

    Dave Featherstone New Member

    Hi Mark found this post doing a google search for Tom Spencer Hopkinson, he was my Grandmothers cousin, that makes him my first cousin twice removed. I visited Tom’s grave in 2014 during the 70th anniversary of Market Garden. I am going again for the 75th next week. My Mother is still alive and I have his service record and the name of the Dutch family that adopted his grave.
     
  8. John58th

    John58th Member

    Hi Mark, I know this is a late reply, however, I just joined today and looking through the pages found your question. I have the War Diaries for 58th(Sussex) Field Regt RA, which upgraded to the 84th in Jan 44. Here is a quote from their diary for the 28th Sept 44 "On the night of 27/28 sep HF was fired, and at 0900 hrs 7 Med Regt took over support of 82 US Airborne Div. That morning the regt area was attacked by German jet propelled aircraft and 4 men were killed and 18 wounded. At 1315 hrs the regt moved to alternative posns with RHQ at St Dominics College at 678615. HF targets were engaged from 2130 hrs to 0540 hrs on the 29th." Hope you find this useful. Incidentally, I am researching my fathers records, he was with the 58th from 1938 to 1946, however, there is an anomaly as I have him in N.Africa, then onto Italy, which seems to be contrary to the 84th being in N Europe, so I am now trying to find out if he changed units. Regards John58th.
     
  9. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    This isn't an anomaly. 58 (Sussex) Field Regiment were originally a field regiment in 44th (Home Counties) Division. That division did not see any action after El Alamein, but 58 field joined 5 AGRA for Tunisa and Sicily. 5 AGRA one of the North African veteran formations returned to the UK for the cross channel invasion. 58 field regiment's pea shooter 25 pounders were replaced by 5.5" Guns turning it into a mighty medium regiment. But there was already a 58 (Suffolk) Medium Regiment so it became 84 Medium Regiment in December 1943. Same people, same organisation; different equipment, different name.

    He seems to have been one of the relatively few victims of a German jet airstrike. Arado 234 or Me262 Jabo. There is a website with a section on the Luftwaffe over Arnhem. Defending Arnhem © 2006 This is more interested in fighter actions, but one of their resident anoraks might have more information about a rare German jet ground attack.
     
  10. John58th

    John58th Member

    Hi Sheldrake, Thanks for the comment. I am new to this and any additional info is useful. The 58th War Diary has them in action right up to the cease fire on 13th May 1943. They initial ly thought they would embark for Sicily, but that was cancelled. From then to Dec 43 they seemed to be getting additional manpower etc ready for upgrading to a Med Regt. they sailed for Liverpool late Nov, arriving early Dec 43. The diaries say the official upgrade was the 5th Jan 44. Where my confusion comes in, is that I have some details, hearsay or a few photos with dates etc, of my dads time with the 58th from enlistment in 1938, (He was from Hastings, and I believe he was in the 230(Hastings) Bty, through Dunkirk, back in UK training, and then I believe in Egypt (photo). Then things go a bit grey, as he is back in UK, and in Scotland training? in Oct 1943. I then have him in Italy (photo) April/May 1944. So, as the war diaries follow the 58th, into the 84th, and all reference to the 84th is in UK prior to D-Day and then N Europe till end of war, I therefore assume my dad was either transferred or something before going to Italy. There is no tracer card on his movements, and I am awaiting any results from a search in the Glasgow records office. Regards John58th
     

Share This Page