my Great Grandfather Fred Bennett was a gunner in the royal artillery, he died of TB contracted during service in 1942. this is the only info i can find 88 Lt. A.A. Regt. Royal Artillery. I dont know what 88lt and A.A. means. Can anyone tell me where he could have been stationed at what 88lt and A.A means please.
This is the reference to the 88 LAA war diary held at the National Archives for the year 1942: WO 166/7676 88 Regt. 1942 Jan.- Dec. The WO 166 part of the file reference means the unit where at home during this period, i.e. in the United Kingdom. Lee
Three main ways: - Make a visit to the archives in person at Kew, Surrey; - Request the National Archives to copy it for you (expensive); - Ask someone like myself or Drew to copy it for you (at 10p per page). I'm intending to visit tomorrow (Saturday) if all goes to plan. Hard to say how large and detailed the war diary will be but as it's a home diary it'll probably be less than 300 pages at a guess. Lee
There are diaries for the 88 LAA Regt from Nov '41 to Dec '43. All are home (UK) diaries. To find out exactly where he was and with what units you'll need to apply for his service record. This can be obtained from the Ministry of Defence but can take up to a year to receive it and it costs £30.00. Details here: Ministry of Defence | About Defence | What we do | Personnel | Service Records | Making a Request for Information held on the Personnel Records of Deceased Service Personnel Lee
Not sure if you have looked at the CWGC website, but the information may help some of the other chaps with their searches: Name:BENNETT, FRED Initials:F Nationality:United Kingdom Rank:Gunner Regiment/Service:Royal Artillery Unit Text:88 Lt. A.A. Regt. Age:36 Date of Death:03/04/1942 Service No:1782570 Additional information:Son of Watson and Elizabeth Bennett, of Glossop, husband of Annie Bennett, of Glossop. Casualty Type:Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference:C. of E. Sec. Grave 3889. Cemetery:GLOSSOP CEMETERY Looking at the Royal Artillery 1939-45 website, I found on RA 1939-45 88 LAA, that the Regiment was part of the Home Forces, and so it seems did not serve overseas. But, as PsyWar.Org suggests the service records will help you with most if not all of the information you seek. Mark