Please can anyone give me any infomation on the Royal Artillery stationed in Gibralta. I have recently found out my grandfather was in the RGA 1st world war. For some obscure reason i believed my father Albert Henry Ault was in the Middlsex REGT, but he too it appears was in the Royal Artillery. He was stationed in Gibralta and i have tried too find any info i can on my father. Please any help would be fantasic i dont know his army number or his battalion. He and my mother divorced in the early 1950s sadly he died in the 1870s. yours sue ault
Hi Susana and welcome to the forum. There's a few RA chaps on here that will hopefully help you out. My only knowledge is Gib has it's own Regiment that's native to the land in the main. They were in much demand during the Falklands conflict for their ability to speak Spainish and those that went south in '82 were used as translators. Oh and the French Air Force bombed Gib in 1940 Regards Andy
I would say most definately yes but most probably in the form of Anti-Aircraft and coastal defence batteries.
World War II In 1938 the Governor General Sir Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside formed a Territorial Unit which would be of Artillery to help man the anti-aircraft guns on Gibraltar. The Volunteers paraded for the first time on 28 April 1939. Just before the outbreak of the war, more volunteers were called for and men were allocated to the 4th and 27th Coast Batteries of the Royal Artillery as well as to the Royal Signals, Royal Army Service Corps and Royal Army Medical Corps. On the 2 September 1939, the Gibraltar Defence Force was mobilised. The Heavy Anti Aircraft section was attached to 19 AA Battery Royal Artillery and deployed with two 3 inch guns to the Admiralty oil tanks, on the east side of the Rock. They fired their first shots in anger on 7 July 1940 and from then on they were often in action against Vichy French and Italian planes, engaging German planes later in the war. They shot down their first enemy aircraft, on the night of the 20 August 1940. The entry in the unit’s War Diary reads as follows: <TABLE style="BORDER-RIGHT: #aaa 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; BORDER-TOP: #aaa 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; FONT-SIZE: 90%; BACKGROUND: #f9f9f9; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; MARGIN: 0.5em auto 0.8em; BORDER-LEFT: #aaa 1px solid; WIDTH: 80%; PADDING-TOP: 4px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaa 1px solid" cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=4><TBODY><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">"Third bombing raid over Gibraltar, first plane came over at 23.30 hours and was picked up by searchlights at the moment of bomb release. It kept a steady course and AA fire was opened. Plane was hit and brought down in the straits". </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> In April 1942, the Coastal Defence element was merged with the Anti Aircraft section. Early in 1944 the force was reconstituted under the Defence Force Ordinance 1943. The majority of volunteers were placed on the reserve list, with other sections disbanded. Royal Gibraltar Regiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hello, Yes the Royal Artillery were based in Gibraltar during the Second World War as there were many many gun batteries on The Rock. The magazine series After The Battle covered Gibraltar in WW 2 and the units stationed there in issue Number 21. I believe it is still available as a back issue. See... www.afterthebattle.com
Hello Sue You may find this interesting and want to try some further searching. British Pathe - "THE KEYS" ON "THE ROCK" D
Hi, Sue, I was out on Gib earlier this year, and as well as a load of duty free Cig's I brought back quite a few photos and also the ATB book, and some other interesting bits and piecies. I will have a look through when I get home tonight and post P
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/general/19899-gibraltar-images.html I had already posted a few of them. Doh
Sue, not had a chance to look through the ATB book, but think you will find this helpful Gibraltar Defence Force
From what I can see, the following RA units were based in Gib. 82 (Essex) Heavy AA Regiment RA(TA) (July 40 - May 43) 18 Defence Regiment RA (Apr 41 - Mar 44) 3 Light AA Regiment RA (Sep 41 - Aug 43) 3 Heavy Regiment RA (Sep 39 - Jan 41) became 3 Coast Regt. 3 Coast Regiment RA (Jan 1941 - ) 19 Coast Regiment RA (Dec 42 - Mar 45) 141 Light AA Regiment RA(TA) (Aug 43 - Mar 44) 10 Heavy AA Regiment RA (Dec 39 - Nov 40) 13 Heavy AA Regiment RA (Mar 41 - Dec 42)
Sue, the following are photographs that are in the ATB book on Gib, and are from the IWM. There is a map in the centre of the booklet which shows the position of all of the defence positions on the rock, which I will try and scan at some point. Source : Search Results
This, may take a while to type up, but the below is a list of the Batteries (Excluding Bofars) on Gibraltar. PRINCESS CARLONINE'S BATTERY - One 6 inch Mk VIII TOVEY BATTERY - Two 6 inch Mk VIII WHITE ROCK AA - Two 3.7 Inch SIGNAL HILL AA - Two 3 inch 30 CWT GLACIS AA - Two 3,7 inch MONTAGUE BASTON AA - Two 3.7 inch DETATCHED MOLE AA - Two 30 inch 20 CWT RECLAMATION AA - Four 3,7 Inch DEVILS GAP BATTERY - Two 6 inch Mk VIII OIL TANKS - One 6 inch Mk VIII BREAKNECK BATTERY - One 9.2 inch Mk X on Mk V mounting LORD AIREY'S BATTERY - One 9.2 inch on Mk VII Mounting OIL TANKS AA - Two 3.7 inch MARTINS BATTERY - Two 4 inch QF O'HARA's BATTERY - One 9.2 Mk X on Mk VII mounting SPUR BATTERY - One 9.2 Mk X on Mk VII mounting LEVANT BATTERY - One 9.2 Mk X on Mk V mounting EUROPA ADVANCE BATTERY - Two 4 inch QF WINDMILL HILL AA - Four 3.7 inch BUFFADERO BATTERY - One 9.2 Mk X on Mk V mounting 'P' EMPLACEMENT - Two 9.2 inch Howitzers SOUTH BATTERY AA - Four 3.7 inch LIGHTHOUSE AA - Four 3.7 inch WEST BATTERY - One 9.2 Mk X on Mk V mounting GENISTA BATTEY - Two 6 inch Mk VIII NAPIER BATTERY AA - Four 3.7 inch SOUTH MOLE BATTERY - One 4 inch QF In addition the following emplacements were placed on the Harbour walls T.1. - one 6pdr twin mounting T.2. - one 6pdr twin mounting T.3. - one 6pdr twin mounting T.4. - one 6pdr twin mounting T.5. - one 6pdr twin mounting T.6. - one 6pdr twin mounting Also, a total of 34 Bofors sites existed. British Defenses Had Operation Felix taken place during January 1941 as planned, what opposition would the attackers have faced? In September 1939 the garrison comprised two British battalions: 2nd The Kings Regiment and 2nd Somerset Light Infantry. 4th Devonshire arrived in May 1940 and 4th Black Watch in July 1940, so by January 1941 four infantry battalions were in place. (Later in the war this strength grew to 1st and 2nd Gibraltar Brigades with additional battalions.) 3rd Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery (previously "Gibraltar Coast Defenses" and later redesignated 3rd Coast Regiment) controlled 4th, 26th, and 27th Batteries with 8 x 9.2-inch guns, 7 x 6-inch guns, and 6 x twin 6-pounders. (Artillery strength also grew considerably later in the war.) In September 1939 two AA batteries, the 9th and 19th, defended Gibraltar from air attack with 4 x 3-inch, 4 x 3.7-inch, and 2 x 40mm guns. HQ 10th AA Regiment was later formed to control the two batteries. The 82nd Heavy AA Regiment arrived in July 1940 with three batteries (156th, 193rd, and 256th) including 16 3.7-inch guns, 8 x 40mm Bofors guns, and the first radar sets. 3rd Searchlight Battery also arrived in July. Some shuffling of assets and re-numbering of units followed (including departure of HQ 10th AA Regiment, but no batteries); however, this AA strength was not further reinforced until March 1941. Because there were no fighters based at Gibraltar during this time (and no facilities for supporting them), AA fire was the only defense against the bombing of Gibraltar BBC - WW2 People's War - Gibraltar's role in WWII BBC - WW2 People's War - What life was like on the Rock during the War Years
http://forum.axishistory.com/download/file.php?id=153637&sid=f747a06c2b7a5c2b46b14688916eb56e http://forum.axishistory.com/download/file.php?id=153693&sid=f747a06c2b7a5c2b46b14688916eb56e http://forum.axishistory.com/download/file.php?id=155269&sid=f747a06c2b7a5c2b46b14688916eb56e SOURCE : Axis History Forum • View topic - Gun Batteries On Gibraltar
Does anybody know were 114 Battery were stationed on Gib? I have an uncle who served there 3/3/41 to 8/9/43: I have a few pics of his time there: http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=203&pictureid=1725 http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=203&pictureid=1722 May 1943 - Gibraltar http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=203&pictureid=1721 Gibraltar Easter Mon 6/4/1942 http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=203&pictureid=1720 Gibraltar Aug 1942 Gnrs Mallen & Bell
Belly, 114 Battery, I think was with the 3rd light Anti Aircraft Regiment as part of Gibraltar Command, and according to ATB magazine, where equipped with Bofors, of which there was a hell of a lot on the rock. I counted 34
I figure that the RGA had a very long stay in Gibraltar. My grandfather who was an RSM in the RGA in WW1 had a three year posting there between 1902 and 1905, so I guess the artillery were there long before that even. David
Hi guys, we were in Gibraltar yesterday, hope this isn't taking things off topic? Here's a few pics: sorry the last one isn't clearer, I still have the original and can zoom in if you need some more detail.
