Hi There Sorry, I have attached copies of my grandfathers war diaries but I am having trouble with page 4 as I can;t seem to make out the abbreviation letters. Granted ? ? at 47 ?? Basra Attached f.a.h ? at 87 Haa Regiment 6 J Ba? to 87 Haa Attached f.a.h? to 83 Haa Regiment 6J Ba? to 83 Haa Any help would be gratefully received. Thank you in advance. Keila
Keila, Welcome to the forum. Could not "f.a.h." be "f.a.p." (for all purposes)? See The meaning of "FAP" and "Leave LIAP"? You might also want to change the title of this thread to "Service Record query", using the Edit button, in order to attract the many experts (not me ) in deciphering Service Records on this forum. Michel
Thank you Michel, It could be FAP. I will try and change the title of this thread, when I have worked out how? Regards Keila
Quite confusing as we seem to be looking at Heavy RASC not RA. LIAP is easy it is Leave in advance of Python. Python Leave is awarded for anyone serving abroad for over four years They are no longer required to serve abroad so sent home to finish their service in the UK.. Is fap for advanced posting or forward area posting. Sorry my eyes are dim on this one.
I think Ba = BA = Base Area. The captial As seemed to be written as a. edit :ignore me, see CTBA below. doh!
Your grandfathers service record indicates he moved between units quite a lot. I would need to look at it in a bit more detail but essentially he was in the RASC (Royal Army Service Corps) and seems to have been mainly in units that were generally dedicated to supporting the Royal Artillery and in his case, Anti Aircraft Artillery. A quick search on the Discovery web site for the National Archives would indicate that a number of his units have war diaries but the record would need to be carefully timelined to ensure you had the right diary for each specific time period he was with them. If you were really keen then the diaries for the artillery regiments would probably tell you more about where they were stationed and where it was likely your grandfather would have been ferrying supplies and ammunition to.
Thank you IAZ for your helpful reply. Looks like I am going to be busy researching war diaries. Kind Regards Keila
It’s quite interesting looking through these records as there are some points of coincidence with my fathers. Not sure what 2 MAC is although MTC (Motor Transport Company) is quite often seen. The posting to ‘RASC Section for Light AA Regiment’ is interesting on 2 7 41 as it gives a location of Haslemere. My father was posted there in December 41 from a RASC company supplying HAA in London to a new unit that was being formed there to support 11th LAA. I wonder if they took over the same requisitioned property as their base. I can’t find an obvious diary reference for a RASC unit supporting 37LAA which is a shame as there is a diary for my fathers unit during the period in Hampshire. At that point his was being referred to as 11th LAA Platoon RASC and it didn’t get a RASC company designation until early 43 after being in North Africa for some months. The record then refers to 87th HAA around November 41. There is a diary for their RASC section WO169/2134 for July to December 41 and WO169/5840 for 1942 but he appears to have been transferred to 83 HAA RASC in early December 41 although only until the end of January 42. For that RASC unit diary you have WO169/5839. Unfortunately, I can’t make out much of the remainder of 42 until a reference to 1548 LAA. That would indicate to me another RASC unit dedicated to RA work (my father’s unit then was 1532 LAA). There appears to be a diary for 1943 WO169/12062. If your grandfathers unit was also renamed in early 43, there is a good chance that its preceding designation will have been noted. 1548 has 2 diaries for 44 – 45. WO170/2654 and then WO170/5897 for the first half of 45. 429 GT company has a diary for 1945 WO170/5770. Finally, your grandfather returned to the UK late September 45 and went to B Company 1 Holding Battalion RASC until 9 11 45. This was in Cheshire, at Oulton Park near Tarporley and coincidentally my father was there from around the beginning of December 45 until demob although most of that would have been on leave I think (apart from a spell in hospital in Chester over Christmas 45!) See leter addressed to him below.
Here's my attempt. Granted Field (?) Allowance/Allocation at 47 fils [1000 fils = 1 Iraqi dinar] per day. CTBA = Ceased to be attached. Richard
37th (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery - Wikipedia The Second Battle of El Alamein opened on 23 October, and 37 LAA Regiment followed the subsequent advance. By the end of the year it was defending the area around Benghazi under 2 AA Bde, with 213 HAA Bty attached. 37th LAA's RASC section was redesignated 1548 LAA Regiment Platoon, RASC, on 19 February 1943. Units - The Royal Artillery 1939-45 gives some general locations for the relevant units
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