West Sussex Defence - 917th Defence Battery

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by JimmyC1983, Aug 24, 2017.

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  1. JimmyC1983

    JimmyC1983 Member

    Hello

    Can anyone provide me with information about the 917th Defence Battery. They may have been part of the 5th Defence Regiment R.A. and based in Hove. My Grandfather was part of the Battery from the end of 1940. His war records show that he injured his finger on a gun in Lancing. I also believe that he may have manned a 4" mobile gun.

    Any further information (role, locations, photos) would be hugely appreciated.

    Thanks

    James
     
    JimmyC1983, Aug 24, 2017
    #1
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  2. amberdog45

    amberdog45 Senior Member

    Sorry can't help you, but welcome to the forum and best of luck with your research.
     
    amberdog45, Aug 25, 2017
    #2
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  3. PsyWar.Org

    PsyWar.Org Archive monkey

    James,

    I believe these are war diaries for the unit, held at the National Archives. Can't spot for before May 1941 though.

    *** ARCRE WAR DIARY SEARCH RESULTS ***


    WO 166/4907, ROYAL ARMY SERVICE CORPS: COMPANIES: 917 Anti-Aircraft Company. (1941 May - Dec.)

    WO 166/9071, 917 Company (1942 Jan.-Dec.)

    WO 166/13212, 917 Company (1943 Jan.-Dec.)

    WO 171/2561, 917 Company (1944 Jan.- Dec.)

    WO 171/6382, 917 Company (1945 Jan.- Dec.)

    WO 171/9877, 917 Company (1946 Jan.-Mar.)


    (Downloaded from ARCRE War Diary Search Engine: http://www.arcre.com/wdsearch - 2017-08-25 09:48 GMT)

    Good luck with your search.

    Lee
     
    PsyWar.Org, Aug 25, 2017
    #3
  4. JimmyC1983

    JimmyC1983 Member

    Thank you very much Lee. I'm not convinced that this is the same unit though, as I'm led to believe that the Battery was disbanded by the end of 1942. But I could be wrong.

    Cheers again.

    James
     
    JimmyC1983, Aug 25, 2017
    #4
  5. Richard Lewis

    Richard Lewis Member

    Hello James,

    Here’s a list of War Diaries at The National Archives. Unfortunately 917 Battery does not have a separate diary, but 5 Defence Regiment does.

    WO 166/2002. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 1 Defence Regiment. 1940 Nov.- 1941 Mar.

    WO 166/2003. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 2 Defence Regiment. 1940 Dec.- 1942 Jan.

    WO 166/2004. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 3 Defence Regiment. 1941 Jan.- 1942 Jan.

    WO 166/2005. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 4 Defence Regiment. 1940 Sept.- 1941 Apr.

    WO 166/2006. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 5 Defence Regiment. 1940 Dec.- 1942 Jan.

    WO 166/2007. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 6 Defence Regiment. 1940 Oct.- 1941 Feb.

    WO 166/2008. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 7 Defence Regiment. 1941 Jan.- Dec.

    WO 166/2009. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 8 Defence Regiment. 1940 Aug.- 1941 Dec.

    WO 166/2010. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 9 Defence Regiment. 1940 Oct.- 1942 Jan.

    WO 166/2011. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 10 Defence Regiment. 1940 Sept.- 1942 Jan.

    WO 166/2012. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 11 Defence Regiment. 1940 Dec.- 1942 Jan.

    WO 166/2013. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 12 Defence Regiment. 1940 Sept.- 1942 Jan.

    WO 166/2014. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE REGIMENTS: 14 Defence Regiment. 1940 Oct.- 1941 Nov.

    WO166/2015 to WO166/2048. ROYAL ARTILLERY: DEFENCE BATTERIES. [917 Battery is not listed].

    Regards,

    Richard
     
    Richard Lewis, Aug 28, 2017
    #5
  6. JimmyC1983

    JimmyC1983 Member

    Great stuff - thanks Richard. I don't suppose anyone has photos/transcripts from the 5th Regiment's diairies? Kew is a long way away and can't get there any time soon.

    Would appreciate any help.

    James
     
    JimmyC1983, Aug 28, 2017
    #6

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