Help Required.. Service Records... 1st Army: Alfred Richard Hale, RA

Hi, new to the forum so hope this is posted in the correct place.

Im very interested to learn about my grandads service in ww2.

I appreciate the best starting point for this is obtaining his service records and i am in the process of doing just that, however have some information and would appreciate if anyone could expand upon it generally.

His name was Alfred Richard Hale and was from Alton in Hampshire.

I understand he joined up in 1942, was in the Royal Artillery and served in Africa and Italy. I Recently looked at his war medals and he has the Italy star and Africa star with a 1st Army clasp.

My dad seemed to think he was in the 8th Army?

Although i believe he didnt necessarily discuss his experiances we understand he had been in Tunisia? Alexandria and was involved in Monte Cassino.

He was aparently in italy when Vesuvius last errupted which was march 44.

Would any of this ring true? Was there some kind of hampshire linked regiment he could have been in?

Many thanks for any help.

Jon.

 

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

He would likely have been posted where the Army saw fit so he would’ve been lucky to have been posted to a unit with connections to his home county.

My uncle served in 138 (City of London) Field Regiment Royal Artillery in 78 Division of 1st Army from “Algiers to Austria” and was born and lived over 300 miles away from the sound of Bow Bells.

British First Army order of battle, 4 May 1943 - Wikipedia

All will be revealed when you get his service records. I understand there is only a 4 to 6 week wait at the moment.

Please come back to the forum when you have his papers and members can interpret them for you.

Steve

 

Africa Star - Wikipedia

Clasps
Regulations issued in 1945 only allow one clasp, the first one qualified for, to be worn with the Africa Star. Despite this, both the 8th Army and 1st Army clasps were awarded to and worn by, inter alia, General Dwight Eisenhower and Field Marshal Harold Alexander.[5][18][19]
The North Africa 1942–43 Clasp was awarded for service with the 18th Army Group Headquarters between 15 February 1942 and 12 February 1943 inclusive, for Navy and Merchant Navy personnel in shore service, or for Air Force service in specified areas from 23 October 1942 to 12 May 1943 inclusive. In undress, a silver rosette worn on the ribbon bar denotes the award of this clasp.[5]
The 8th Army Clasp was awarded for service with the Eighth Army between 23 October 1942 and 12 May 1943 inclusive. An Arabic numeral "8" is worn on the ribbon bar in undress to denote the award of this clasp.[5]
The 1st Army Clasp was awarded for service with the First Army between 8 November 1942 and 12 May 1943 inclusive. An Arabic numeral "1" is worn on the ribbon bar in undress to denote the award of this clasp.[5]

So it would depend on when he was in NA - as Tullybrone says all will be revealed on receipt of his records.

TD

 

Hello Jon,

He could have been with the 1st Army in North Africa and the 8th Army in Italy, so could have been in both but at different times. His service records will lead you to the answers.

Best,

Steve.

 

Jon, It all rings true.
As an example only my father was in 78th (Battleaxe) Infantry Division. They went to North Africa with Operation Torch in November 1942 and fought their way to Tunis. This was in the 1st Army, which only existed for that campaign.

They were then in the 8th Army through Scilly and across to the Italian mainland in September 1943, up the Adriatic coast to the Sangro River when they were moved across to the Monte Cassino area. They were taken out of the line in July 1944 and went to Egypt arriving Alexandria on 22 July. In September 1944 they returned to action in Italy moving northwards.

Can I ask, did he survive the war?