I'm doing some research for my father into his uncle who served in the above unit and was killed in June 1941. There is very little on this Regt online, so if anyone can shed any light on what they did in 1941 - even where they were posted (we think he was in North Africa) - that would be great. He is buried in Herstmonceux rather than abroad which suggests he may have died in the UK. Many thanks
23 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA (TA) - The Royal Artillery 1939-45 Never went to Africa but spent time in the UK in 1941 Herstmonceux WW2 Memorial Alfred Alan Howard Crouch Royal Artillery https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2723395/alfred-alan-howard-crouch/ If you want to know how and where you need to look in 23 LAA war Diaries someone on the forum might be able to give you advice on this. You could also apply for his Service Record via .Gov
Could be anything from a road accident, training accident to a health problem or an air raid. See my comments above #2 Browse the CWGC website via the link you can download a Certificate of Remembrance for free and see family details in the Register He was buried once, unlike many who died abroad in battle. Many were initially buried near where they fell then moved to a CWGC War Cemetery after the war. Someone on the forum might pinpoint an air raid on 22 June 1941 but that would be difficult to prove unless there is an air raid memorial somewhere with his name on. There were a lot of air raids in 1941 in particular. After 1941 Germany invaded Russia and the bombing decreased.
On the date of his death the regiment were in 65 Anti-Aircraft Brigade, 5 Anti-Aircraft Division based in the Southampton area. As Uncle Target has suggested the Regiments War Diary may hold the answer. Derek
Nothing found so far in the Southampton areas for June 1941. The last casualties of air raids in the city were in a small raid on the suburbs of the city in May 1941 and on 8 July 1941 in the area of Victory Crescent, Millbrook, killing three people. Unless he died of wounds from the May raid. That would normally appear in the CWGC record.
Hopefully a member will post his entry on the official casualty list - available via fmp - which will note the cause of death. Could be recorded as anything from KIA, DOW, Accident, Drowned. If it’s not a straightforward war related death you could check with Sussex Records Office for an inquest report. May be something in local newspapers. Steve
Casualty list has him as died of wounds, RA casualty card has nothing of much use, I'm on the bus just now but can add images later
65 AA Bde was responsible for the Southampton Gun Defended area shown on my site which ran from north of Winchester down to the coast so you might need to look a little further afield than just the city. Unfortunately the LAA sites are not well documented and my map shows only the HAA sites. I use the Extended Defence of Britain overlay on Google Earth to plot most of them. That only shows 3 Bofors towers in the Southampton area with no indication of the units involved. There were 2 RAF stations within the area, RAF Eastleigh & RAF Hamble. These may well have had LAA protecting them.
Royal Naval Air Station, Eastleigh, Hampshire - WartimeNI Raids on 17th April and 26th June 1941 were unsuccessful for the Luftwaffe. Two men lost their lives on 22nd June 1942 as German bombers attacked. Timely air raid warnings prevented a much higher loss of life.
Checked RAF Hamble no incidents recorded within the timeframe. 5th April 1941 - Bofors AA guns were positioned around Hamble, on the shores of Southampton Water, the airfield and round Satchell Lane.
I visited Herstmonceux Church and cemetery earlier this month. A pleasant spot with views across to the South Downs.
