62 Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery

Discussion in 'Royal Artillery' started by Philip Reinders, Sep 20, 2010.

  1. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Here's the refs for the 247 Battery diaries from 1944 to 46 at the National Archives

    WO 171/946 247 Battery 1944 June- Dec.
    WO 171/4787 247 Battery 1945 Jan.- Dec.
    WO 171/9036 247 Battery 1946 Jan.

    Cheers
    Andy
     
  2. Buteman

    Buteman 336/102 LAA Regiment (7 Lincolns), RA

    I've got the 247 Battery war diaries. Send me a Private Message with your e-mail address and I'll send them to you. For some reason, I forgot to finish adding a link to this thread.

    Cheers - Rob
     
  3. Grinderboy

    Grinderboy New Member

    Rob,

    did you get a PM from me? just wondering if i gave yo the correct e-mail address?

    Regards,

    Matt.
     
  4. Buteman

    Buteman 336/102 LAA Regiment (7 Lincolns), RA

    Hi Matt,

    PM sent.
     
  5. Trackfrower

    Trackfrower Member

  6. Buteman

    Buteman 336/102 LAA Regiment (7 Lincolns), RA

    They were 1 Corp's Anti-Tank Regiment, but the 4 individual batteries were attached to various divisions/brigades in North West Europe.
     
  7. Buteman

    Buteman 336/102 LAA Regiment (7 Lincolns), RA

  8. JohnS

    JohnS Senior Member

    Did all 4 batteries land on Juno Beach on the 6th? I am pretty sure that 2 of them did.
     
  9. Buteman

    Buteman 336/102 LAA Regiment (7 Lincolns), RA

    Just looked at the war diaries for each battery and see below.

    245 landed D+1&2 off Graye sur Mer.

    246 landed D+1 ?

    247 landed two vehicles on Courseulles sur Mer on D-Day, the remainder on D+1

    248 landed all their vehicles on Mike Red Beach at Corseulles around 17-00 hrs on D-Day.

    If you want the pages, PM me with your e-mail details, and I'll send them to you.

    Cheers

    Rob
     
  10. KevinT

    KevinT Senior Member

    Hi Rob,

    Are there any vehicle census numbers listed in the War Diary at all?

    Would be interested to know.

    cheers

    Kevin
     
  11. Hi,
    I hope you can help me to obtain a picture of lieutenant Eric Francis Bell (from Greenock, born 1916) of the 245. Bttry. He was killed by a German raid on the Island of Sint Philipsland (NL) together with gunner Percy Thomas Baugh in the night of 22.-23. of january 1945. The community of Tholen wants to place an information sign about this raid for the Liberation Route. On this sign we would like to give all casualties a face. Next to the 2 Uk soldiers three polish and two dutch soldies were killed and a local boy of 18 years. We allready have a picture of Percy Thomas Baugh and all the other deceased.
    I would allso like to read the wardiary of that day of this bttry. Can anyone help me?

    Fred van den Kieboom, Archivist of the Community of Tholen
     
  12. Buteman

    Buteman 336/102 LAA Regiment (7 Lincolns), RA

    Hi Fred,

    There are three pages about the actions which resulted in the deaths of E.F. Bell and P.T. Baugh.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Name: BELL, ERIC FRANCIS
    Rank: Lieutenant
    Service No: 217866
    Date of Death: 22/01/1945
    Age: 28
    Regiment/Service: Royal Artillery
    Unit: 245 Bty., 62 Anti-Tank Regt.
    Grave Reference: Row A. Grave 7.
    Cemetery: ROOSENDAAL-EN-NISPEN ROMAN CATHOLIC CEMETERY
    Additional Information: Son of Osborne Alexander Bell and Louisa Grace Bell; husband of Beryl Joyce Bell (nee Goldsmith), of Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. [​IMG]

    Name: BAUGH, PERCY THOMAS
    Rank: Gunner
    Service No: 14299570
    Date of Death: 22/01/1945
    Age: 36
    Regiment/Service: Royal Artillery
    Unit: 245 Battery, 62 Anti-Tank Regt.
    Grave Reference: Row A. Grave 6.
    Cemetery: ROOSENDAAL-EN-NISPEN ROMAN CATHOLIC CEMETERY
    Additional Information: Son of Elizabeth Baugh; husband of Doris Mary Baugh, of Markfield, Leicestershire. [​IMG]
     
  13. Buteman

    Buteman 336/102 LAA Regiment (7 Lincolns), RA

    As a result of the above enquiry, I've discovered that there is a monument erected to the fallen of that night, which include an Officer and 2 Other Ranks of the Polish 1st Armoured Division and 2 Dutchmen.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The other Dutchman is Piet Avontuur of Breda, whose grave marker has been placed on top of this monument, as he has been buried in Dutch Military Cemetery elsewhere.
     
  14. [sharedmedia=gallery:images:28733]
    Percy Thomas Baugh
     
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  15. Buteman

    Buteman 336/102 LAA Regiment (7 Lincolns), RA

    The pages of Regimental Headquarters of 22/23 January 1945, which mentions the number of British, Polish and Dutch casualties.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  16. Other casualties on the 22. january:
    [sharedmedia=gallery:images:28734] prince MARIE ANDRZEJ PONIATOWSKI
    [sharedmedia=gallery:images:28731] BOLESŁAW PODEDWORNY
    [sharedmedia=gallery:images:28732] BRONISŁAW POWALKA
    [sharedmedia=gallery:images:28730] PETRUS ANTONIUS MARIE AVONTUUR
     
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  17. A.C.E. van T.

    A.C.E. van T. Member

    Wow, My grandad was a resistance fighter who served at the Coy at Stavenisse. The pillbox next to them was raided by para's of the Hermann Göring Division. 2 of them became POW and were executed later on.

    [​IMG]
     
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  18. Ronald William

    Ronald William New Member

    Hi, I've just come across the posts on this thread and realise it went quiet some time ago. I have been asked by the Liberation Day Commemoration Commemoration Committee at Sint Annaland Cemetary to trace any living family members of John Little Brown. The families of the two other casualties at Tholen on the 21st Jan 1945 have been successfully contacted They wish to invite representatives of all three soldiers on 4/5 May 2020. I have traced many of the descendents of John Brown's bothers/ sisters / cousins etc to almost the present day and managed to speak to one family member.

    Please let me know if you can help with contacts. I am also after any photographs of John Little Brown, perhaps as part of a group.
    Chris
     
    Buteman likes this.
  19. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    There is an excellent personal account of service in 62nd Anti Tank Regiment called " A Soldier Of The Second World War’ By John Hall. 1986. 95 pages. Maps

    Hall first joined a Royal Engineer’s TA. unit before the war & was later commissioned into the Middlesex Regiment, before finally transferring to the Royal Artillery with whom he spent the rest of the war serving with the 62nd Anti-Tank Regiment. He describes his training & then the fighting in Normandy & through to the end of the war.

    This a very well written account and includes poetry written by some of the gunners in his troop in the field in Normandy.

    Yes I left my England
    Not so very long ago
    On a mission to free millions
    Whose hearts were filled with woe.
    Of course, I'm one of many
    Hundreds went in before
    Didn't I see the dead and wounded
    As I set foot on the shore.
    My heart went out in anger
    When I saw one or two horrible sights
    Good clean Flesh and Blood shed
    So that millions could have their rights
    God was with us on ‘D’ day
    Of that you can be sure
    Otherwise there would have been hundreds
    In Eternal Sleep on that shore.
    So let's pray that God be with us
    All the rest of the way
    While all of us keep in Remembrance
    The lads that died on ‘D’ day

    COMPO DAY
    Hallo! ‘ere comes the blooming truck
    Loaded up wiv lots o’ tuck
    Wonder wot we've got today,
    'Ope it's a change from yesterday.
    Stewed steak we ‘ad the day before
    Please Gord don't give us any more,
    You and I know 1t's blooming good stuff
    But when yer've ‘ad 'eaps it gets kinda tough
    on Yer, when yer sleeps at nights;
    O my Gord turn on them lights.
    Stewed Steak, Stewed Steak! everywhere
    Gordluvaduck anuver nightmare.
    Now we look wiv anxious eyes'
    Back to where that blooming truck lies
    Nervous, biting fingernails
    ‘Ere it comes, go get it pals
    Cautiousiy; open Compo lid
    It ain't Stewed Steak-(bet half a quid)
    Give me a cliff, I’ll dive over the edge
    Mortar me quick its Meat and Veg!

    P.B.I.
    Just three initials that stand for three words
    Vital to your country at war
    Poor, Bloody, Infantry, that's what they mean
    A necessity to every Corps
    Without them, battles would never be won
    And victory erased from our sight
    See them go in at the break of dawn
    Silhouettes, in the coming light
    The heavens open, daylight streaks through
    The barrage has already ended
    Comes the deadly splatter of Spandau guns
    The objective is well defended,
    but the P.B.I.'s courage never fails,
    The advance through the weaving corn.
    Many of them won't be back
    to see another dawn.
    Nerves are strained to breaking point.
    There's eighty eights and machine guns galore
    Tiger tanks in concrete boxes,
    And snipers, a score or more.
    Still they advance,these gallant men
    Not knowing what they'll meet
    On they go, because they know
    There must be no retreat.
    Of course the objective was taken
    And they'll take many more.
    Just give them a bit more credit.
    And remember them after this war.
    P.B.I. I salute you all,
    and so should everyone.
    Infantrymen , you're glorious:
    Reap the harvest when its won

    Anon Gunners 248 Battery 62st Anti-tank Regiment RA
     
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  20. Spenceee

    Spenceee Grandad was 246Bty 62 Anti-Tank Royal Artillery

    Thank you!

    I've been trying to find out more about my grandfathers experience pre normandy and during the campaign. To think someone in the 62nd wrote a book about their experiences! I can only hope that there might be a story or anecdote thats relevant. Ridiculously expensive but I found a copy and bought it.

    Buteman has already given me a huge amount of info, but if by chance someone else here has a relative that was wounded (or worse...) around the 10th of October I'm trying to dig into the circumstances. Unfortunately there is nothing in the 246 battery war diaries from the 10th to 14th so whatever happened, how he was rescued is all a bit of a mystery. Cool to know that there is a whole group here though that want to remember.

    My grandad was Gunner William Spencer in 246 Battery, on the incredibly off chance that somone has a record or note about him I'd be forever grateful!

     

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