I am trying to find photos and information about my Grandad who fought in the Battle of Anzio. I have very little information on him and I have been looking through many sites to no avail. Can someone please help me decipher the following information as I do not know what it means; and this is all I have come up with so far My Grandad is Robert Reginald Daniels Service # 816968 330 Bty 100 Lt A.A Regt. Royal Artillery DOB - 1907 / 08 He died February 18 1944 I appreciate any assistance in this matter. Thanks Carin
Carin, Only a small help here - 100 LAA were attached to British 56th Infantry Division, who were fed into the Anzio Bridgehead from 3rd February 1944 onwards. Of course the landings at Anzio fell under the 5th Army umbrella. No doubt the war diaries and personal service records may illuminate more detail about your granddad's service period in Italy (and elsewhere) WO 170/484 Description: 56 Infantry Division: R.A. Date: 1944 Jan.- June Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status: Public Record best
Carin. 100 LAA Regiment Royal Artillery was 56 BR Infantry Division's integrated light anti aircraft unit - it went wherever the Division went. Your grandfather would have been killed during the massive German counter attack that started on 16 Feb 44. Regards FdeP
I could not help myself wife is sleeping soundly. This may be of interest to you if the link works http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/1904/32858_611411_1974-00265/13926661?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3fdb%3dUKProbateCal%26h%3d13926661%26indiv%3dtry%26o_vc%3dRecord%253aOtherRecord%26rhSource%3d70699&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnRecord
Death date is a clue. One bty of 100 LAA Regt landed on 14 Feb and joined the three btys of 90 LAA regt and one bty of 56 LAA that had landed on 5 Feb. Another two btys of 100 LAA arrived by 19 Feb with 331 bty remaining in action aboard LSTs in Anzio harbour. This means you may need to look at the War Diary of 90 LAA not 100 LAA Regt. 90 LAA cas in Feb include 17 KIA, 100 LAA 7 KIA. It's not clear which regt had command of 330 Bty on 18 Feb. 100 LAA was relieved by 18 LAA in March and returned to Naples but remained formally under command of 56 Div.
Thank you very much to all of you who responded to me. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. I do have a few more questions though; What does 330 Bty mean ? Thanks again, Carin
In UK batteries were uniquely serially numbered by type, although there was often a gap between the numbers of the regular army batteries and of the Territorial Army and subsequent war formed batteries. As well as 330 LAA Battery there was a 330 Field Battery and probably a 330 HAA Battery, there may have been other types but I'd guess probably not. Bty was and is the official abbreviation for Battery, although inevitably in an army of conscripts unofficial abbreviations also got used. A battery was and is the sub-unit of an artillery regiment, and equivalent to a infantry company or armoured squadron. A LAA bty was roughly 250 men.
Mapshooter. What was the original doc that had 330 LAA Bty RA arriving at Anzio on 14 Feb 44? I have the Bty and its 18 x 40mm SP Bofors arriving on 10 Feb 44 and their task as being to reinforce protection of the six Fd Regt Gun Area in the British Sector. Regards FdeP