History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
th
The Battalion takes shape
The 9th Medium Regiment was a war raised unit, and began its life as the 8th Battalion, “The Buffs”
(Royal East Kent Regiment).
Men of the 8th Battalion trained as infantry soldiers. The story begins in the summer of 1940 as the battalion took shape. On July
4 th 16 officers and 150 other ranks formed the nucleus of the battalion at Bodmin Barracks in
Cornwall, under the command of
Lieut.-Colonel T.T. Laville (late of the Indian Army). Shortly after they moved to Dropmore
Hall in Buckinghamshire to prepare for new intakes of men.
Tents were erected, cookhouses and latrines built. Work also began on the defence of nearby
Cookham Bridge. The first intake arrived and were equipped and clothed. However, the War Diary reports ‘no rifles available’. A vast amount of modern weaponry had been lost at Dunkirk, and therefore few rifles were available at this time for training battalions. Harry Kemp, who joined the battalion in July 1940, remembers the rather unhappy circumstances in which new recruits found themselves:
We were to be trained as infantry by a contingent from the D.C.L.I, who had just returned from
India, all regular soldiers. They tried to take advantage of us, and tried to bully us unmercifully.
The food was atrocious, and we had to eat out to obtain enough food, on our nine shillings a week. At one time, we actually went on strike, and on a parade the C.O. accused us of mutiny, and threatened to have us shot. It turned out that the cooks were selling the rations to local traders and they were court- martialled. This, of course, was all hushed up and the D.C.L.I. personnel gradually were either posted or got rid of somehow, and the battalion really took shape and we became quite efficient. However, it was a long time after we were formed in
Dropmore Hall, Burnham,
Buckinghamshire before we had any weapons. We trained with long poles. The first rifles we had were 1914 vintage, could not fire and were used for marching only!
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Joining the battalion a little later,
Alan London remembers being sent, after enlistment at
Canterbury, to Taplow in
Berkshire, where, living under canvas, rigorous training began with foot-drill, bayonet practice and twelve mile route marches.
For these men, mostly from Kent and London, initiation into the ways and life of the wartime
Army was underway. Scarcely had these raw recruits (which were of a very high standard according to the War Diary) begun to feel their feet when orders came to move to the West
Country.
Coastal defence
The Battalion arrived in Paignton by train and was instructed to man beach defences to protect this coastal region from enemy attack. At this time the threat of invasion was very real. HQ and
D Company settled in at
Torquay, B at Goodrington, A at
Brixham and C at Paignton.
Miles of barbed wire was placed on the Battalion front at St.
Mary’s Bay, Berry Head, Hope’s
Nose and Oddicombe.
Sandbagged positions were dug in on the cliff tops, and patrols organised. Harry Kemp recalls.
We were employed in fixing
Danart wire (barbed) on to the beaches along the sea front. The plan was that if the Germans had invaded, we were to retire to
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA positions a mile inland and dig slit trenches!
Forming the 209 Infantry
Brigade along with the 7 th and
9 th ‘Buffs’ Battalions they became part of 77th Division, and settled into what amounted to front-line conditions. Such was the fear of invasion, orders stressed that full strength was of
‘primary importance’ on the beaches. The role of the Battalion was outlined in Operational
Order No1 thus: ‘To destroy the enemy with Inf. Weapons as he attempts to disembark or is in the process of disembarking’ and ‘to prevent any enemy infiltration inland. Ominously, this order stated ‘The Battalion will hold out against all invasion attempts, under all circumstances and will fight to the last round and the last man….THERE WILL BE NO
WITHDRAWAL.’ This was written at a time when the
Battalion was under-equipped, and one can speculate that in the event of an invasion (and if these orders were adhered to) they would have been wiped out.
It was a tale of frustration for officers, however, as these valuable coastal defence duties delayed the development of the battalion into a cohesive fighting unit. Furthermore, ammunition, rifles, transport and material in general were woefully short. Rifle ranges were unobtainable in the early days and companies made their own
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arrangements, and fired out to sea (when they could obtain practice ammunition).
Inexperience in handling weapons led to a very unfortunate incident at the
Exbury Hotel billet, Torquay. On the 16 th of November, 28 year old
Pte Austen of D Company, accidentally shot himself in the head with a rifle. His body was taken home to Kent for burial.
Nonetheless, the situation gradually improved. The 8th
Battalion took over 6pdr. guns from the Royal Artillery for use in the defences should the occasion arise. The men showed proficiency in handling these unfamiliar weapons. Gun drill and marksmanship were ‘very satisfactory.’ A rifle range was eventually allotted for firing practise, and in the snow of early
January 1941 soldiers honed their skills at marksmanship. Slowly, weapons and vehicles began to arrive. February saw the arrival of 7 Bren guns and 24 Thompson sub-machine guns. Three armoured lorries, fitted with Bren guns, were also received. The
War Diary reveals some confusion over the exact defence role of these lorries. Given that the Battalion’s job was one of static defence of the coastal crust, this is not surprising. A useful scheme was organised whereby companies took turns to man defences, and those not involved were able to continue with their training. During Torquay War
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Weapons Week the battalion had a chance to show off.
Detachments from all companies, carriers and the aforementioned armoured lorries processed proudly through the streets.
The enemy was often active on the Battalion front. A tanker was torpedoed off Berry Head, and a second set on fire by a bomb with all hands lost. The
Luftwaffe bombed Paignton,
Torquay and Brixham on several occasions. In one attack on April
11 th 400 incendiary bombs were dropped on Paignton. Although the fires were all under control within 15 minutes, one ARP worker was killed and a further 6 injured. The fishing trawlers were machine-gunned by enemy aircraft and in May 1941 three trawlers were sunk and five damaged in the harbour at
Brixham. Corporal Edlin of ‘D’
Company exacted some revenge.
While on trawler duties aboard the ‘Victoire Roger’, he shot down and destroyed an enemy bomber fifteen miles off
Brixham. The bomber dived into the sea about half a mile away from the trawler with no survivors.
Elements of the Battalion had an interesting assignment when they were called upon to play the enemy in an exercise. No.2 S.S.
(Special Service) Commando practised a landing at Fishcombe
Point, and ‘The Buffs’ did their best to ‘repel’ the assault. This was all observed by the
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courageous and much-decorated
(V.C. and three D.S.O’s) General
Lord Gort, commander of the
B.E.F..
The battalion desperately needed time out for its own training as a whole unit, and the opportunity to do so came in
May 1941. Orders were to move to Newton Abbot for a month. It was an occasion marred by tragedy. In Brixham the battalion formed up and prepared to march out. A German plane spotting the khaki figures tightly packed together in the streets dropped two bombs and opened up with machine guns. Two houses were completely demolished and falling masonry killed Pte. Dodge of ‘Z Company’ and three civilians. Five civilians were also injured. The aircraft went on to strafe a parade at the Canadian
Convalescent Depot at St. Mary’s
Bay.
The following obituary appeared in the East Kent Gazette on 24 th
May 1941:
LOCAL BUFF KILLED
Three Days After Leave
After being home on leave,
Private Ronald Dodge, The Buffs of 65, Chalkwell-road, Milton, left on Friday in last week to rejoin his unit. On Monday his young wife was officially notified that he had lost his life as a result of enemy action.
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. I.
Dodge, of 32 Stanley Avenue,
Queenborough. Before joining the army last July he was employed as a conductor by the
Maidstone and District Motor
Services, and was well-known in this area.
Private Dodge had been married for six months, his wife being the only daughter of Mr. A. and the late Mrs. Godman. They made their home with Mr. Godman at
Chalkwell-road.
The funeral will take place tomorrow at the Sittingbourne
Cemetery at 2.15.
After Newton Abbot orders were to move to Falmouth in Cornwall to take on beach duties again.
This was to be a short stay. There was a small air-raid while the battalion were based here. Six bombs caused damage to property but there were no casualties.
Lt. Col. W.H. Rowe (who had taken over as commander 8 th
Battalion in late 1940), issued a
‘special order of the day’ on the
4 th of July.
Special order of the Day, by Lt.
Col. W.H. Rowe, D.S.O.
Commanding, 8 th Bn. The Buffs.
4/7/41
Today, 4 th July is a great day in the history of a young battalion, belonging to one of the oldest and most famous Regiments in
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the British Army – the 8 th Bn.,
The Buffs, to which we all have the honour to belong. It is the 1 st
Anniversary of our formation…..We can look back on the past year with some satisfaction and no little pride.
But it is to the future that I wish every officer and other rank in this Battalion to look……I can think of no better resolution than the one which follows, and which
I expect every one to do his level best to live up to during the forthcoming year.
“I am resolved to do my utmost to make myself better fitted, in every way, to carry out the duties which lie ahead of me, whatever and wherever they may be. I must not slacken, for one moment, my own efforts towards greater efficiency. Rather must I redouble them, if I am to be worthy of my King, my country, my Regiment and my fellow-men, and to take my full share in the defence of our Country and
Empire, and the Victory over our enemy in which we all profess to be so confident.”
FALMOUTH
Despite the stirring words the
‘forthcoming year’ saw the
Battalion returning to Torbay to take part in various interbattalion and brigade exercises.
Although Hitler had turned his attention to Russia, there was still doubt over his intentions. In
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA particular, a commando style raid to collect prisoners or attack an installation could not be ruled out, and indeed was anticipated by high command at a local level.
Therefore, the battalion trained with civil-defence to practise cooperation in the event of an attack; learned how to defend an aerodrome and took part in beach-manning exercises.
Denbury (still in Devon, and near
Newton Abbot) became the home of the Battalion for the first two months of 1942. A large number of new recruits arrived at this time from Infantry Training
Centres, some of them Danes.
There had been a long standing connection between the Buffs and Denmark going back to the seventeenth century. During the
First World War King Christian of Denmark was appointed
Colonel-in-Chief of the
Regiment, and worked tirelessly for Buffs prisoners of war. So in the Second World War Danes were welcomed into the ranks of the Buffs.
There followed a short return to
Newton Abbott where antiinvasion exercises continued, and a significant number of men began to be drafted overseas. A river crossing exercise took place which was aptly named ‘BATH’.
Further bombing raids were experienced. On the night of
Thursday, April 23-24 th the
Luftwaffe despatched 45 bombers to the Exeter area, dropping bombs wildly. Two
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men from the Battalion were injured by flying glass in Newton
Abbot. Shortly after, in the early hours of May 4 th fire fighting detachments were sent out from the battalion to put out heath fires caused by enemy incendiary bombs at Colleywell Bottom.
Nearby Exeter suffered badly on this night, experiencing its worst raid of the whole war.
Private Christiansen, one of the aforementioned Danish recruits, met an unfortunate end. Arriving back at camp very drunk after a night out, he fell from his top bunk. Some of his mates put him back to bed expecting him to sleep off the effects of the alcohol. However, in the morning they found him dead. He had broken his neck when falling from the bunk. Private
Christainsen’s funeral took place at Wolborough Cemetery, and was attended by the Danish
Minister’s representative.
Summer 1942 was spent at
Stover Camp (near Newton
Abbot). The threat of invasion was slowly beginning to recede.
Consequently, there was a shift in the training, which began to emphasise the offensive.
Exercise ‘Petertavy’ simulated a dawn attack with support from medium and field artillery. There were plenty of opportunities for sport, and leisure too. A sports meeting was held to celebrate the formation of the 8 th , 9 th and 10 th
Buffs Battalions. The battalion came second in the competition.
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Prizes were handed out by the
Divisional Commander, followed by a concert compered by
Captain Denham, who was shortly after appointed Battalion
Entertainments Officer.
Brigade sports were held at
Torquay cricket ground, which the Battalion won comfortably.
The band of the 9 th Battalion was in attendance to add a bit of pomp to the occasion.
‘Hell-fire Corner’
In late September 1942 advance parties left the West Country for
Dover. Dover was Britain’s front line town, and just 22 miles away from the enemy. The Battalion split up with elements stationed at St. Margaret’s Bay and
Battalion HQ and one company at the castle.
B Company, for example, settled into the Granville Hotel at St.
Margaret’s Bay; BHQ occupied a requisitioned house (much of the area had in fact been evacuated).
The Company stood to at dawn and dusk with all soldiers carrying 50 rounds. On one occasion, Lt. Gibson recalls, the sentries were slow in taking post, and Major Curry, who commanded B Company, decided to take immediate action.
He fired several shots into a pillbox from his revolver, which had the desired effect in encouraging the sentries to man the position very quickly!
The town suffered regular bombing and shelling from
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German heavy gun batteries near
Calais. Shortly after arrival the
Battalion experienced a cross channel gun duel. British cross channel guns opened up on a convoy, and within minutes the
German guns replied with 49 shells, most of which landed in the Dover area. Five civilians were killed and several houses demolished. A barrack hut near
Swingate was damaged but members of the Battalion were spared. The War Diary records further duels in November, causing damage in Dover and at
St. Margaret’s Bay. One shell landed in the grounds of the
Granville Hotel; a lucky escape for B Company. Lt. Hendley remembers that the shelling was much more frightening than the bombing, particularly the air bursts. Shells could arrive very quickly (time of flight from
Calais was about 58 seconds) and with little warning. Remarkably, there were no fatalities among the Battalion from enemy shelling during its stay in Dover.
Two years later they would have a chance for revenge, and played a part in the capture of these long-range enemy guns!
There was a lot of aerial activity.
Several aircraft plunged into the sea at St. Margaret’s Bay; the luckier pilots being fished out by the Air Sea Rescue craft; Fw
190’s and Me 109’s screamed in across The Channel, flying at low altitude on strafing runs. Coastal searchlights from the Calais area
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA swept the Channel, probably looking for shipping. This illuminated the whole front, and made everyone feel a little exposed and vulnerable. Sporting events gave some light relief, however. The battalion thrashed
RAF Dover (4-0) at soccer!
One job of the 8 th Buffs was to defend the harbour. Lt. Hendley had the most forward platoon. He held a position in a building that got the nickname ‘Pack of Cards’ because it shook so much from the shelling and bombing. On the eastern arm of the harbour a large wagon filled with explosive was part of the defences. It was
Hendley’s job to push this wagon into position and set off the explosives in the event of a successful enemy invasion.
However, the wagon proved to be rusted to the track and wouldn’t budge an inch! Hendley was thankful he never had to use this Heath Robinson device for real. Peter Howard (then a second lieutenant) remembers his time in Dover:
I had to be duty officer and do the rounds at night. It was very eerie going up to the lookout point at the top of the Keep. I wondered if the Jerries were climbing up the cliffs!
There were several famous faces in Dover during the battalion’s stay. Some soldiers caught only a glimpse of these visitors, but others came face to face. On
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October 23 rd the Prime Minister,
Field Marshal Smuts, Sir
Kingsley Wood, and Admiral
Harriman visited Dover Castle.
The Battalion formed a guard of honour. Captain Howard recalls:
I was nominated second i.c. of a
Guard of Honour to Mr.
Churchill. He asked me if I had read any ‘war books’ recently.
I’m afraid I said yes but was thinking of American Westerns and schoolboy horrors!
In the same month Eleanor
Roosevelt, wife of the US
President, paid an informal visit to the castle. Chris Wanstall was on gate, telephone and escort duties at the castle. A very attractive naval despatch rider caught his eye. She was, in fact, the daughter of J.B. Priestley.
A tragic accident also occurred.
After a trip to the NAAFI, Pte.
Emery and Pte.Curtis were cheerfully coming back to their hotel billet on the cliff-top at St.
Margaret’s Bay, when a nervous sentry challenged them: ‘Halt!
Who goes there?’ Their reply didn’t follow fast enough, and a burst of fire from the sentry’s
Thompson sub-machine gun killed Pte.Curtis instantly and seriously wounded Pte. Emery.
With the burden of guilt proving too much to bear, this unfortunate sentry tried to take his own life. However, little is known about his fate or what actions were taken against him.
8
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
In his defence, patrolling the cliff tops alone and in the dark, knowing that the enemy might raid the coast to take prisoners, must have been a very unnerving experience. Pte. Joe Johnson recalls that some men were
‘jittery’ and if the tin cans on the barbed-wire strung out along the cliff rattled they fired. For those men of the Battalion whose previous military ‘experience’ was in camps in Devon, Dover was a baptism of fire. Here, they really were in the front line. In contrast Lt. Gibson recalled:
‘Conditions did not worry me, as
I found them no worse than being in the Blitz in 1940- in some ways, less bothersome.’
Conversion to artillery
It was while stationed at Dover in December of 1942 that the news came that the Battalion was to be converted from infantry in a coastal defence role into artillery.
They were to lose their identity owing to the ever-increasing demands for men in the Royal
Artillery. There were mixed feelings about this change. Most men were reluctant to pick up the flag of the Royal Regiment.
Proud to belong to a famous
British Regiment (the Buffs were the third most senior infantry regiment) or mindful of their
Kentish roots some found the transition difficult. Others felt their infantry training had just been a waste of time. Lt. Gibson felt ‘desperate’ about this change.

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
To him nearly two years of soldiering had been wasted, and there was a great deal of apprehension about artillery training. Gunnery was something he had no experience of and as a young infantry officer he wondered whether he would be up to the challenge. When Pte.
Fred Humphrey, took this news home, his father’s reaction was one of relief. As a veteran of the
First World War (Gallipoli) he knew how the infantry suffered.
With hindsight, Peter Howard could see the advantage of serving in the artillery:
Officers were given the option: to remain as infantry or train as gunners. This was lucky for me as infantry platoon commanders did not last very long in action!
Despite the undercurrent of grumbling, Lt. Gibson comments that ‘a year later most of us found gunnery absorbing and did not want to return to the infantry.’
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Boston (Jan-April)
After leaving Dover, and the role of coastal defence behind them, the men of the 8th Battalion found themselves travelling to got on with learning new skills, and the process of conversion from infantry to artillery began in earnest.
February 1 st 1943 was an
Boston in Lincolnshire to begin a year of intensive training. They came under the tutelage of the
53rd Medium Regiment R.A., whose charter was the conversion of the 8th Battalion into the 9th
Medium Regiment R.A.. Officers of the 9 th and 53 rd interchanged for training. Lt. Col. W H Rowe took command of 53 rd Medium at
Culverthorpe, and Major J J
Corbett of the 210 Battery at
Sleaford. Lt. Col Brazier MC assumed command of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA. The 53 rd , an experienced T.A. unit, had seen action in France in 1940, and this arrangement worked well.
On the 8 th January the M.G.R.A., important date because the
Regiment fired its first shell. The
C.O., Lt. Col W.H. Rowe DSO, fired the first gun (‘A’ Troop) of the Regiment. ‘B’ Troop under
Captain W. M. Denham fired for the first time the following day as did C Troop (under command of
Captain C.F. Bailey), and D
Troop (under command Captain
T. Lemmon). This was supervised by Lt. Col Brazier and
T/Major H W Pyle (an IG attached to the Regiment for this period of training). First World
War, 6 inch howitzers (dated
1916) were used as the modern
5.5 inch guns were in short supply at this time.
Captain Maurice Denham,
Major General O M Lund CB
DSO visited and welcomed the
Regiment into the Royal
Regiment of Artillery. Also in
January the Regiment was officially designated as 81 and 82
Battery. Medium artillery incidentally, was one of the
Regiment’s personalities. He entertained fellow officers with his many character voices that were to make him famous.
During this period Denham compered the broadcast of ‘Ack-
Ack, Beer Beer’ at the BBC. He regiments were always made up of an RHQ and two batteries (see
Appendix 3 for details). All ranks later became a well known TV and film star.
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The Regiment receives its guns
Individual and troop training continued up to 23 rd April 1943 when all the Regiment moved to the Culverthorpe, Sleaford,
Ruskington area with RHQ based at Culverthorpe Hall near
Grantham, 81 Battery at
Ruskington and 82 Battery at
Sleaford. Here the Regiment finally received its own guns.
Sixteen 5.5 inch guns in all were delivered (8 to each battery). A few days later the Regiment packed out a local cinema in
Sleaford to watch a training film about the 5.5 inch gun. One distinguishing feature of this gun was the pair of horns, one on either side of the barrel (these cylinders contained spring balancing presses to counter the weight of the barrel during firing). The ammunition for the gun was of the type known as separate loading, which meant that the shell had to be first loaded into the breech followed by a bag containing a propellant charge. On closing the breech a special primer cartridge was inserted and fired by pulling a lanyard. With the greatest weight of charge and appropriate barrel elevation the gun could fire out to a maximum range of 16,500 metres (just over 10 miles). It was served by a crew of ten, and two rounds per minute of fire could be achieved. The 5.5 inch gun was a reliable and effective weapon.
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
At this time a new AGRA was formed, and designated 9 AGRA.
9 th Medium Regiment was placed under command along with 10 th and 11 th Medium Regiments RA, which had also been recently converted from infantry. Because of its inexperienced regiments, the AGRA was to be Home
Forces AGRA. If it was to join
21 st Army Group it would be necessary to prove efficiency. All regiments were determined to succeed, and reach the required standard.
On the 24 th May the Regiment marched by road to Otterburn practise camp, Northumberland: a lonely and empty stretch of country where the army maintained a firing range.
Several days were spent firing on the range, and participating in an exercise set by commander 9
AGRA (Brigadier Cleeve DSO,
MC). June saw the Regiment return to Culverthorpe area, but there was little respite.
Elements of both batteries took part in shooting at Hobson’s
Moss Dyke Range, near
Sheffield, using 75mm guns (on loan from 545 Coast Regiment
RA).
The next move was to Daventry in Northamptonshire where training, maintenance and firing practise continued throughout the next few months. Training consisted of using artillery instruments, humping heavy shells and charges, wireless drills, digging gun pits, orderly
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road moves, maintaining vehicles and guns, camouflage and track plans (learning not to leave a trail on the ground that might be spotted from the air). In
September, 9 AGRA complete took to the road for the first time in the strangely named ‘Exercise
Grand Cauliflower’.
In October (8 th -18 th ) the
Regiment took part in another exercise called ‘Scamper.’ This
Gallop (exercise over several days, which included firing on several ranges) again involved the whole of 9 AGRA, and took the formation to Westdown in
Wiltshire and by a series of night marches to Sennybridge in North
Wales (a round trip, covering a distance of some 800 miles).
Predictably the weather in Wales was grisly and rain had made the ground very boggy which meant it was difficult to get the guns in position. This training exercise replicated the movement, occupation of gun areas and firing of the Regiment in combat.
It was an exhausting and sometimes dangerous experience for all ranks. It is difficult to imagine the coordinated movement of thousands of vehicles at night without lights, and without the benefit of a modern road network (no motorways). In fact, when in column at night only the lead vehicle was allowed masked lights, and drivers were on the road for hours at a time. Tempers could become frayed. Lt. Gibson
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA recalls one such incident. Two pool petrol lorries were being held up by the Regiment’s vehicles. Their drivers were very unhappy and complained bitterly.
The Colonel took quick action and with great presence of mind threatened to inform the authorities that the drivers were causing trouble and that they should be called up immediately.
Mindful of their ‘cushy’ job, and realising that the Colonel meant business, they quickly quietened down!
At the conclusion of ‘Scamper’, the 9 th Mediums travelled to
Felixstowe (Suffolk) where the first job was to help gather in the harvest of sugar beet. This was not too bad as the men got extra pay, and contact with the
Women’s Land Army! Lt.
Gibson could see the funny side of this turn of events and made a joke to Major Yool about the ‘9 th
Agricultural Comedians’.
Unfortunately Major Yool did not share his sense of humour and was not amused!
Nonetheless, the formation was being taken seriously, as at this time the great news arrived that 9
AGRA would be part of the 21 st
Army Group (as GHQ, reserve
AGRA) and orders were to move to Hove (21-22 November 1943).
All ranks were proud to sew onto their battledress the crusader shield.
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Hove, and a visit from Monty
Billets were found in some large properties in The Drive, and
Willbury Road (see Appendix 6,
Map1). 82 nd Battery also occupied Cottesmore School.
Guns and vehicles were parked in the road. Life was very agreeable in Hove and there was plenty to do with a cinema and some pubs were open. Brighton and Hove was full of men collecting together for the invasion, and on the whole they got on well.
However, Lt. Gibson recalls seeing a group of Canadians involved in a brawl. One soldier fell to the ground and was brutally beaten and kicked in the head. This incident took place close to the Regiment’s billets and Gibson wondered whether to intervene but thought better of it not wanting to provoke an international incident. The only other friction was caused by local residents who objected to having their kerbstones torn up by heavy military vehicles. The
Covenentor tank issued to the
Regiment as an armoured OP
(with a dummy gun) could cause considerable damage to road surfaces and pavements, particularly when turning.
Being close to the south coast an enemy raid could not be ruled out. Therefore, defensive posts were set up, patrols and AA positions organised. Each Battery split into sections of 9 men and an NCO, equipped with 5 rifles,
1 Bren gun and four Sten guns.
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Each section had responsibility to defend an area, building or road in the event of an enemy attack.
However, training occupied most of the Regiment’s time, and there was an intensive drive on individual and Troop training.
This was greatly assisted by the close proximity of Alfriston
Ranges and the South Downs. A lot of firing practise took place on the ranges in the next few months. Orders for mobilization were received around Christmas, and the feeling was that the
Regiment, as part of 9AGRA, would be assured a place in the expeditionary force about to invade France. Throughout the early part of 1944, further steps were taken to get the Regiment ready for battle. The War Diary records AA LMG firing, vehicle waterproofing courses, and vehicle wading at Eastbourne and
Maresfield (East Sussex). Of course, these activities were vital and taken very seriously as everything would depend on the
Regiment getting its guns ashore and into action quickly.
However, anti-tank shooting is something of a surprise. You don’t visualise medium guns doing this kind of shoot, but for the forthcoming operation it was vital that every precaution was taken against the enemy breaking through and getting tanks up to the gun positions. The Regiment successfully completed its antitank training at Belle Tout Range
(Beachy Head) in March.
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Unfused shells were used during this training as solid shot (to penetrate tank armour) and fired out to sea.
During this practice an aircraft crashed into the side of a hill about a quarter of a mile away from 82 Battery wagon lines. Pte
Curtis of the Army Catering
Corps, who was cooking at the time, went off to the scene of the crash to see if he could help. He found the aircraft well ablaze and ammunition was exploding all around. Pte Curtis went closer to the wreckage and succeeded in rescuing two of the crew who were lying unconscious in the aircraft. This brave and selfless act was recognised by the award of the British Empire Medal.
On February 4 th the Regiment, along with the rest of the AGRA, attended a parade in Battle, East
Sussex, which was inspected and addressed by General
Montgomery, Commander of the
21 st Army Group. This was one of the great series of parades held up and down the country to let the troops see and listen to him for themselves and so gain added confidence in their leader before the battle. After waiting for some time in a snowstorm, the AGRA was marshalled fifteen deep in a hollow square to receive the
Army Group Commander. Monty eventually stepped out of his car wearing the inevitable beret, battledress and a pair of golfing trousers! After being introduced to the CO’s of the regiments, he
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA walked among the men. Then, clambering onto the bonnet of a jeep, he put it to the troops that some of them must be descendants of those who fought the Normans at this historic spot.
Whether or not it boosted morale, it was no doubt an unforgettable experience for all who were there.
4 th March is an important date because a special exercise was set for the AGRA by 12 Corps. It was to be watched by
Montgomery and the CCRA
(Elliot). The object of this was to decide on the fitness of the formation for war. From this exercise (called ‘Febmar’) the
AGRA emerged with flying colours.
At the end of April 1944 the
Regiment moved north to
Bingley, Yorkshire to make way for formations with a higher priority for concentration than the Regiment. Before leaving for the north AGRA decided to inspect the billets in Hove. 9 th
Medium received a rocket for the state of their accommodation!
Albert Docks
In the middle of Exercise Bonzo, came an unexpected and sudden message to end exercise. The code word ‘Cornelius’ was received, meaning that the
Regiment was to concentrate for
Operation Overlord. The invasion was underway. Thus, between June 1 st and 5 th the
Regiment moved to a
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concentration area in New
Milton, Hampshire. During the long drive south (with a stop at a staging camp at Lutterworth) members of the Regiment saw the extent of the invasion preparations: miles of piled up bombs and ammunition, other convoys of trucks, tanks and guns. This was a most impressive sight.
On arrival the necessary waterproofing of vehicles took place, and driver’s practised embarkation on ‘mock-up’ landing craft. These events suggest that the AGRA was to land on D-Day or more probably shortly after, but changes of plan
(reasons for which are unknown) meant that this was not to be as we shall see.
Whatever decisions the top brass were making, Bdr. Bernard
Lambert and other drivers made their own preparations for their departure. Not wanting to be without a regular brew in France they raided the kitchens for tea, milk and sugar. These essential ingredients were placed in biscuit tins and waterproofed for the journey!
It was at this time that the
Regiment received a message from Montgomery, which began as follows: ‘The time has come to deal the enemy a terrific blow in Western Europe…’ The date was June 6, D-Day. However, the
9 th Medium Regiment’s time had not come yet. The Regiment spent the next few weeks
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA experiencing toughening up parades, route marches, and map reading exercises. Everyone was wondering when they were to go.
Firing practise took place again on Alfriston ranges, and it seemed that ‘the day’ would never come.
On July 6 th Peter Lawrence
Birkin (of the Birkin Lace firm in
Nottingham) joined the
Regiment. He had already had an eventful war. At the battle of
Knightsbridge (North Africa)
Birkin commanded 425 Battery,
107 Regiment, South Notts.
Hussars, Royal Horse Artillery.
In this battle he was taken prisoner by the Italians, escaped, and spent six months on the run, before returning to England. For his efforts in North Africa and for his escape he was twice mentioned in dispatches. He rose to second in command of the 9 th
Medium Regiment in the campaign in North West Europe.
It wasn’t until July 8 th that the
Regiment moved in a night march to a Marshalling Area on
Blackheath in London. One assumes this was with waterproofed vehicles! This would, therefore, have been a very slow journey as waterproofed vehicles overheated if they exceeded 25mph!
Members of the Regiment witnessed the doodlebug attacks on London, which were at their height at this time. The first week of July saw the flying bomb attack reach its zenith. Peter
15

Howard remembers how close they dropped:
I had a motorcycle accident whilst at Brighton and was sent on convalescent leave. However,
I rejoined the Regiment moving to the docks – we were dispersed on Blackheath whilst waiting to embark. During our stay on
Blackheath the doodlebugs were dropping on London. I’m sure one came through the door of my tent and out the other side!
This experience made everyone the more determined to hit back
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA at the enemy with all his might at the first possible opportunity.
The paraphernalia needed for the journey to Normandy was issued:
French phrase books, water purification tablets, 24-hour ration packs, vomit bags, ‘tommy cookers’, fuel tablets, life belts and cigarettes compliments of
‘His Majesty’. On the 10 th the
Regiment embarked at Albert
Docks, London, ready to sail for
France. As L/Bdr. Alan London comments, it was ‘a well-trained and confident’ Regiment that joined the battle for Normandy.
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Landing and baptism of fire
The 9th Medium Regiment began its journey to Normandy on the
11th of July, moving in two US
Liberty Ships (one was called
‘Ocean Vigour’). The Regiment beached north of Graye-sur-Mer on the 14th of July without any casualties. Chris Wanstall (81 with sock and boot still attached.
Lt. Jack Hendley recalls how well organised the beaches were, and the reaction of the French:
‘The French were very friendly- considering how damaged their houses and farms were…they were always offering us cider…. Battery) recalls:
‘
I remember waiting for my lorry to be lifted by crane from the hold and when my number was called had to climb down a rope ladder on to the landing craft to await its arrival.’ we dug slit trenches to sleep in and all woke covered in mosquito bites.’
After concentrating in
Manvieux, the Regiment moved to an area near Sequiville-en-
All vehicles were successfully waded. Bill Abel remembers the competition between himself and his co-driver as to who was to take the wheel in the drive up the
Bessin. These locations were cramped, the area being packed with troops and vehicles from various units. Although the
Regiment was not under direct attack, it was quite a frightening beach. Each man has his own memory of initiation into the realities of warfare. L/Bdr.
Bernard Lambert remembers driving off a Landing Ship Tank into 5’ of water, which was ‘quite an experience.’ While sorting scene, which left nobody in doubt that they had entered the battle. At night searchlights swept the sky, and a stream of tracer rounds kept away any marauding aircraft.
There followed a move to St. themselves, and their vehicle out, a soldier from a first aid tent came nearby with a spade and started digging a hole. He showed the Lance-Bombardier the grisly contents of a sandbag
Manvieu where the Regiment relieved the 61 st Medium
Regiment, and prepared to fire its first shots in anger. This area, some four miles west of Caen, was not pleasant. It stank, for it sack: a leg cut off below the knee was liberally bespattered with
17

dead animals, and shell holes were numerous.
The Regiment was under command of 12 th Corps whose strategy, at this time, was to maintain pressure on the grisly
Hill 112 and surrounding area.
This was designed to keep
German reserves tied down and distract attention from the area where Operation Goodwood was to be launched (to the east of
Caen). Veterans remember vividly the speed at which the guns were brought into action for the first time against enemy targets ‘near Caen’. There was no gradual introduction to battle.
Representatives of the Regiment went off to various locations in order to coordinate artillery support. One Troop Commander went to a tank OP with 4RHA, one Battery Commander went to
112 Field Regiment RA, and another Troop Commander was attached to HQRA 43 Div.. The business of ‘repping’ or representing the Mediums needs a little explanation. At the field regiment’s HQ, an officer from the 9 th with his signaller, and
NCO assistant would be in touch by wireless with RHQ. He could, therefore, relay requests for fire to his guns. If several ‘reps’ from different regiments were present then the fire of hundreds of guns could be switched onto a target from there.
Captain Lemmon (82 Battery) manned an exposed OP at this time in front of the infantry
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
FDLs. The OP had protection from two infantry soldiers but little could be done about the enemy snipers who hid the cornfields, and were a constant source of danger. The OP was also regularly stonked by mortar and shellfire. Captain Lemmon stayed in these frightening and dangerous conditions for 5 days ensuring that the infantry got the fire support they needed.
The War Diary reports that the first targets for the guns were chiefly hostile mortars. Predicted and observed tasks were fired.
For the infantry, mortars were very troublesome, and accounted for around 70% of all casualties.
Indeed, much of the work given to the Regiment was counterbattery. Medium regiments tended to specialise in counterbattery work because of their longer range and heavier shell.
For example, on the 20 th eight bombards (engagement of enemy batteries by predicted fire) were fired on information received from 7 th Survey Regiment, and
181 Field Regiment’s OP’s. A
German prisoner taken at this time stated that six of his guns had been destroyed by our CB fire, which “was very accurate, and which knocked the hell out of us.”
The enemy made some attempt to hit back at the gun positions with aircraft. Night time could get a little ‘hot’, and gunners crawled under their vehicles for protection or got underground
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quickly. Bombs were dropped into the surrounding countryside.
Ack-Ack hammered away, coloured tracers lighting up the night sky. The Regiment received its baptism of fire proper, however, when A Troop was shelled during the night of the
19/20 th of July. Fortunately, the shelling caused no casualties or damage.
At this time the Regiment suffered its first fatal casualty (a signalman from the Signals
Section, attached to RHQ).
Signalman Warner met an unfortunate end when he was accidentally shot by a sentry. It is likely that this signaller was fatally wounded whilst going about his duties, which were very important, as the Regiment depended at all times on good communications by telephone and radio.
There was also a sudden change in the weather and torrential rain fell for a few days; slit trenches and gun-pits were flooded out.
This delayed major offensive operations for a couple of days.
On July 22 nd , with the weather improving, the Regiment played a role (firing timed concentrations) in ‘Operation
Express.’ Captain Lemmon of 82
Battery went forward as a FOO for this attack. The plan was for the 4 th and 5 th Wiltshires (43 rd
Division) to take the village of
Maltot. Objectives were thoroughly pounded by the power and fury of two AGRAs.
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
At 1955 hours the enemy attempted a counter-attack on
Maltot with a large group of tanks (about fifteen in total). Six medium regiments (including the
9 th ) were laid in front of the tanks, which would not advance in the face of this awesome fire.
Tanks feared medium and heavy artillery as a shell of this size could easily knock out a tank. On several occasions in the campaign the 9 th proved themselves as good ‘tankbusters’. The Wiltshiremen held on to their hard won gains and the Maltot battle ranks high on the battle honours of this regiment.
In these early days there was sufficient enemy activity to keep the guns of the 9 th Mediums and other regiments of the AGRA firing around the clock, which meant a lot of hard work, especially for the gun crews.
Over the next few days numerous enemy targets were successfully engaged and harassed. For example, an AOP shoot engaged a target for 43 rd Division, and on the 25 th OP’s directed fire on
German tanks and infantry digging in.
Giberville (the left flank)
On the 28th July orders were received to move to the left flank of the bridgehead, through the
Stalingrad of Caen, to a desolate place called Giberville. The village was deserted; its church and graveyard ruined by the
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ravages of battle. Below the church ran a high railway embankment broached by craters with tangled rails sprawling all over it. Completing this depressing scene was the remains of a factory at Mondeville, about a mile or so distant.
Here support was given to
Canadian attacks against enemy strong points of Tilly la
Compagne, Roquancourt, and
Verriers. These villages had been fortified by the Germans, and blocked the route south to
Falaise. The Regiment fired many counter battery and harassing fire tasks in support of
2 nd Canadian Corps. HF and DF tasks were also fired for 4 th Cdn.
Armd. Div. whose attack on the fortified hamlet of Tilly (2 nd
August) had been unsuccessful.
Defended in strength by elite S.S. troops this failure was hardly surprising.
OPs spotted a group of around
100 enemy infantry digging in, and they were dispersed by all the guns of the AGRA. An AOP shoot (3 rd August), also by the whole AGRA, engaged a fire burning in enemy territory, which resulted in a huge conflagration with smoke rising hundreds of feet into the air.
In the fields and orchards around
Giberville the 9th Medium
Regiment occupied the slit trenches and dugouts left by the retreating enemy, and by 77 th
Medium Regiment who had previously occupied this position.
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
These holes were to prove useful as the Regiment was again subjected to spasmodic enemy shelling over several days. This fire was rumoured to be from enemy SP guns. The distant
‘boomph’ of the gun gave a little warning to get underground.
However, it wasn’t long before somebody got caught out. There was one fatal casualty from this shelling (Bdr. Rickson) and one vehicle was also destroyed.
Indeed, it was difficult for the enemy to miss because at this time the bridgehead covered a fairly small area, and the fields around Giberville were packed tight with vehicles and men from a variety of units, including the
Guards Armoured Division, waiting for orders to move forward into the battle.
It is as well to remember that sometimes the wagon lines were as vulnerable as the gun positions themselves. Wagon lines, a term that harks back to Horse Artillery days, describes the area a few miles in the rear where all motor transport not required on the gun position was kept, until the next move forward. Veteran Ronald
Discombe and ‘Joe’ Johnson, with the wagon lines in nearby
Blainville, recall a mortar bomb striking a 15 cwt truck. The round burst on the engine of the vehicle. In the back of the truck a signaller was busy at his 22 set, which dropped into his lap with the force of the explosion. He walked away completely
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unharmed, but somewhat dazed!
A few men climbed the trees to see if they could spot the culprit, but saw nothing. The mortar is a fairly close range infantry weapon (range between 500m and 1200m) so it is surprising that the Regiment’s wagon lines were targeted.
More misfortune was to befall the Regiment on the 2nd of
August when during a night firing Counter Battery task, No. 2 gun, A Troop, exploded, igniting ammunition and creating an inferno in which six men were killed. There are different theories put forward, but it is thought that the gun loader had removed the fuse cover from a shell, and placed it too near to the gun. When the gun recoiled it struck the waiting shell, which exploded. L/Bdr. Lambert recalls the unpleasant task of clearing up the following morning. The largest piece of body collected was only about two feet square.
Gunners Charles Shipley and
Alan Oakley, Bombardiers
Leonard Meredith and Geoffrey
Tribe and Lance-Bombardiers
James Ashdown and Leslie
Horton were all killed. This was the blackest day for the Regiment in Normandy. All the dead are buried in a collective grave in
Ranville War Cemetery.
A tribute to Charlie Shipley, one of the Regiment killed in the aforementioned incident, appeared in the local press of his home-town, Lichfield, in
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Staffordshire. At only 20 years of age he was the youngest member of the Regiment to be killed in the campaign.
‘This week his parents received a letter from the platoon (battery/ gun) sergeant expressing deep sorrow and adding: Charlie came to me almost a year ago and since the time he joined us he proved himself a fine friend as well as a gunner. He was very popular and had made many friends in a short while, and with myself and his officers I include their very deep sympathy for you in your sorrow and loss. His character was beyond any reproach and he set himself a high standard of efficiency of which he was duly proud.
Everything that was at all possible was done at his burial with a service and particulars were placed on a cross made by the regiment.’
Bill Abel had played football with Les Horton, who perished in the explosion, and he remembers that members of 81 Battery were deeply shaken by this tragedy.
However, for one soldier this was a story of a lucky escape.
Because the guns had to be manned at all times the detachment split into two groups, which worked in shifts. Just before the explosion Sergeant
Bignall went to change his boots.
He was replaced by Bdr. Tribe while he did so: a split second
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second decision to which he owed his life.
On this day the Regiment also lost the 2 i/c, Major Hingston, who had to be evacuated to hospital. Whilst instructing a group of men in the P.I.A.T., he sustained a facial injury. The
P.I.A.T. had a tendency to kick violently when fired.
Ammunition was also considered unreliable as the fuse of the warheads had a habit of detonating prematurely. One might speculate whether this weapons training, with a close range anti-tank weapon, was going to be of much practical use to the personnel of a medium artillery regiment.
Rather more worrying than enemy tanks, were the nightly visits from the Luftwaffe. Enemy aircraft were still often active at night, flying in low and usually managing to hit something. On the 3 rd of August the Regiment took its turn to be attacked by the
Luftwaffe. Flares were dropped and gun positions strafed and bombed at night. One detachment had a surprise when a UXB was discovered in their gun pit! Once again, there was intermittent enemy shelling. 2 nd Canadian
Corps war diary reported that some stored ammunition ‘was hit’ in 9 AGRA ‘area’ during this attack. Incredibly, there were no casualties or damage to the guns.
Guns were protected by their pits and detachments sheltered in dugouts within a few feet of the
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA gun pits, which helped to minimise casualties. Nonetheless, it was perhaps with some relief that the 9 AGRA war diary reports that two troops of 112
LAA were expected to move into the area offering some protection.
At this time the AGRA was allocated a Mobile Bath Unit. It had set up in a nearby industrial area, which was under spasmodic shell fire. So, feeling a little vulnerable, the men stripped off for their first proper wash since landing in Normandy (about 20 days). Clean underwear was also obtained, and everyone felt a little more civilised.
Totalize
9 AGRA was one of four
AGRA’s allotted to Operation
Totalize, a complex two phase operation designed to break through the German defences south of Caen, and reach the high ground that dominated Falaise.
350 rounds per gun were dumped on the position so this was going to be a big attack. There was an air of excitement in the gun pits.
As zero hour drew near everything went quiet. When the order ‘Fire!’ came through the tannoy the night sky was lit by hundreds of flashes like lightening. It was 2345 hours,
August 7 th , and phase one had begun with a massive barrage fired by all regiments in 9
AGRA. This creeping barrage, was to take forward the 51 st (H)
Infantry Division riding on tanks.
It stretched across a frontage of
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4050 yards, to a depth of 6000 yards and advanced over 100 yards a minute. Firing this sort of barrage took great care, and the
NCOs concentrated hard on their gun programmes giving the elevation and line alterations to be applied to the gun by the layer.
9 Medium Regiment had representatives up with the infantry of 154 Brigade who were spearheading the advance.
Their task was to punch a hole in the forward enemy positions, penetrate to a depth of some
5000 yards, occupy and hold the area of Cramesnil – St Aignan –
Garcelles Sequeville.
Under the eerie glow of ‘artificial moonlight’ 154 Brigade’s column of vehicles rumbled forward, four abreast.
Somewhere in this column,
Captain Clayton and Gunner
Smith, both of 82 Battery, manned a tank OP, and were ready to call in artillery support as needed. The night advance went well with only small hold ups due to sunken roads, high embankments and small pockets of enemy resistance. By light the infantry were on their objectives, and dug in.
Heavy German artillery and mortar fire signalled the start of a counter attack. A number of infantry around Captain
Clayton’s OP quickly became casualties. Under fire from small arms and 88mm guns, Gunner
Smith helped to dress wounds
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA and comfort the wounded. Once the counter attack was over and successfully defeated, Captain
Clayton ordered his tank to take the wounded back to the
Battalion RAP. Part of the way back they met up with soldiers from the battalion who took off all the wounded except for one man who was bleeding profusely from a serious leg wound, whom
Captain Clayton decided to take right up to the RAP.
Unfortunately when the RAP was located the approach was over an open stretch of ground covered by hidden 88mm guns. It was far too risky to proceed, except perhaps on foot. Gunner Smith immediately volunteered to take the wounded infantryman to the
RAP himself. With the help of another infantry soldier and a stretcher Gunner Smith scurried across the open ground as bullets buzzed like wasps above him and
88mm HE shells crashed into the ground all around. The wounded man was delivered safely to the
RAP: an action that undoubtedly saved his life.
Friendly Fire
For Phase Two 9 th Medium
Regiment switched support to the
4 th Canadian Armoured Division, which advanced alongside the
Route Nationale 158. The
Division had given the Regiment a list of targets for ‘concs on call.’ It began, however, with a heavy air attack to soften up the
German positions. All went well
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until allied aircraft became disorganized in heavy flak and dropped short. At 13.30 on the 8 th silver B-17’s of the US Eighth
Air Force (351 st Bomber Group) jettisoned their fragmentation bombs on 9 AGRA HQ, which was located in a large manor house on the outskirts of
Vaucelles, and near the gun positions.
The officers had just begun their dessert of prunes and custard when an almighty explosion brought the ceiling down and shattered the windows. One officer was killed by a bomb splinter, and one mess waiter had a huge piece of bomb through his calf, which stuck out both sides.
As more bombs exploded, the survivors were ushered into the cellars.
This caused some disorientation for a few hours whilst casualties were evacuated, and damage repaired. 9 AGRA was temporarily not able to accept any fire orders from the regiments. AGRA HQ was, therefore, transferred to HQ 9th
Medium Regiment which had been lucky and not suffered too badly in the bombing. A frank and rather cold report appeared in the AGRA HQ War Diary: ‘This
HQ bombed by allied aircraft, 1
Offr. and 4 OR’s killed, 1 Offr. and 7 OR’s wounded. 2 nd
Canadian Corps ammunition dump hit and set on fire (300 yds away).’ A number of HQ
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA vehicles were also destroyed (one estimate suggests 75%).
The spearhead units for this second phase of Totalize were criticized for their lack of dash, and the limited artillery support due to ‘friendly fire’ incidents may have been just one factor in this. Gnr. Ronald Discombe:
‘The guns of the Regiment were firing from near Giberville when we observed what appeared to be a returning American Flying
Fortress drop bombs on an ammo dump near Caen. I recollect seeing a huge explosion. Thankfully we were a few miles away.’
A popular saying at the time was:
‘When the British come over, the
Germans take cover, when the
Germans come over, we take cover, and when the Americans come over everyone takes cover!’
The Regiment moved forward to follow up the breakthrough to a position in Verriers. From here it could more effectively support the Canadian armoured units, of the 4 th Armoured Brigade, at the front. The next day a further move brought the guns of the
Regiment to the village of
Cintheaux on the Caen ‘plain’ (a wide, open area of cornfields).
Operation Totalize had ground to a halt at a new German defence line, with Quesnay Wood as one of its key bastions. This wood sat astride the RN 158, and was
24

stubbornly defended by elements of the 12 th SS, a company of the
102 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion with Tiger tanks, and anti-tank guns. It became a focus of the
Regiment’s attention. The 3 rd
Canadian Infantry Division put in an assault under the cover of a heavy artillery barrage laid down by 9 AGRA. The attack was a terrible failure, however, with the leading battalions suffering heavy casualties. The fire plan had been arranged in haste without detailed knowledge of enemy positions, and it proved impossible to provide accurate artillery support.
Subsequently, as part of the effort to reach Falaise from the
West, an attack was put in by 2 nd
Canadian Division across the
Laize River. 9th Mediums sent representatives to 27 th Canadian
Armoured Regiment, and 4 th
Brigade. Support was duly given, but these attacks were overshadowed by the next ‘big push.’
A second great armoured assault on the enemy defences north of
Falaise began on August 14 th . It was called Operation Tractable.
Unlike Totalize it took place in broad daylight. 9 th Medium
Regiment were in support of 4 th
Canadian Armoured Division.
C.O.’s reps were out with S.A.R.
(tanks) and an infantry battalion of 10 th Cdn. Inf. Bde. (lorried).
While the battle raged Bomber
Command struck Quesnay
Woods and targets around
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Potigny. However, 77 of the 811 bombers misidentified their targets, and dropped bombs into the rear areas. It was a bright, sunny afternoon, and the gunners strained their eyes to look at the vast armada of black planes with bomb bays open. To their utter surprise bombs started to fall on and around their position. Several bombs crashed into the railway embankment just ahead of the
Regiment’s guns. Haut Mesnil located a few hundred yards away up the hill (gun areas for
Canadian field regiments) was plastered with bombs, and a huge dust cloud rose into the blue sky.
A stick of bombs also thudded into the slope leading down to the tunnel through the railway embankment. The earth shook violently like an earthquake, and shrapnel whizzed viciously through the air. Gnr. Ronald
Discombe (RHQ) gives his view of the disaster:
‘It appears the Polish armoured division were in position in a wood some miles from us, waiting to advance on another wood where the enemy were well dug in. A large bomber raid was laid on to soften them up, it seemed the orders were to bomb the smoke. Unfortunately the wind blew it back over the Polish line, you can imagine what happened then, another sad mistake. As the planes came over us we actually saw the bombs leaving the aircraft. Then soon
25

after we witnessed many frightened troops in various forms of transport fleeing back to the rear.
ORSM Harry Kemp also recalls the traumatic experience of being bombed by ‘friendly’ aircraft.
His account also suggests the chaos and confusion caused by such an attack.
I was one of those who lay in a small slit trench about four feet long and two feet deep that had previously been dug by the
Germans when they were there.
Lying there for what seemed like hours on end, watching the bomb doors of those planes open up and the bombs falling out all around us, why we were not killed I shall never know. The
Poles did evacuate their forward position and left our regiment in the front line. If the Germans had made an attack at that time I am sure we would have been pushed back to the coast. To me this was the worst experience I had ever had in my life.
It was recorded that 661
Squadron AOP sent up tiny
Auster planes in a brave attempt to stop the bombing. Veteran Bill
Abel remembers a spotter plane buzzing around the huge bombers ‘like a little fly.’ These courageous pilots fired red Very lights in an attempt to indicate that something was wrong.
L/Bdr. Lambert remembers that a
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Spitfire also tried to distract the raiders. Futile messages were sent to AGRA HQ and passed onto 2 nd Canadian Corps HQ saying that bombs were falling in map square 0854 (virtually on top of the Regiment) but it was too late.
The details of what happened on the ground in the vicinity of the
9 th Mediums on this day are a little unclear, as one might expect. Naturally eyewitnesses interviewed had different stories to tell, which depended on their location at the time. The
Regiment and its different elements covered quite a wide geographical area so each man had a different perspective. At any rate, the history of 9 AGRA states that several men were wounded in the bombing.
As if this day hadn’t been trying enough, the War Diary records that Gunner Arthur Heap was killed, and one 5.5 in. gun was put out of action. No explanation was given, and one might have concluded that this was a result of the ‘friendly fire’. However, veteran Joe Johnson recalled that during one of the fire programmes a gun in B Troop split open due to a premature explosion of a shell. Gun Layer,
Arthur Heap, was hit in the back by metal fragments as he turned away, fingers in ears, to protect them from the noise of the gun firing. He was killed instantly.
Shells, mosquitoes and dysentery!
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Most Normandy veterans have their own ‘shell story’ to tell, and here are couple from members of the Regiment. The first takes place when the Regiment was located near Giberville. Lt.
Hendley, 81 Battery Asst. CPO, recalls coming under counter battery fire while visiting RHQ.
On the arrival of an 88mm shell some 50 yards from his party Lt.
Hendley dashed forward, without a thought for his own safety and compass in hand, to get a bearing on the fall of the shell! He was immediately recalled and received a verbal lashing from
Lt. Col. Wade (Commander 9 th
Medium Regiment, nicknamed
‘Bongo’). On this occasion the
Germans were only 50 yards away from a lucky shot, and the
Regiment came close to losing its commander! Ronald Discombe
(RHQ), who was with the wagon lines at Roquancourt, also recalls a lucky escape. A shell landed 20 yards from him. In his own words:
‘I remember talking to Sergeant
Campbell near to the cook’s truck when we heard one coming.
Both of us diving together for a small slit trench which was really a hopeless cause, luckily for ourselves and the rest of the chaps around it did not explode.’
Driver Chris Wanstall (81
Battery) had a very similar experience:
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
I remember being parked in a field with about twenty others nose to tail…there was a small gap between each lorry with camouflage netting for cover and we drivers used the space to eat our meals…Jerry decided to wake us up with a few shells, one shell fell under the wheel of the lorry by which we were sitting but it failed to explode. We made a hasty retreat!
Dud shells were not uncommon in Normandy, and there are many miraculous-escape-from-death stories. Slave workers in Nazi factories often sabotaged shells, and hundreds of allied soldiers no doubt owe their lives to these brave people.
Shells were not the only problem in Normandy. Life was made uncomfortable by the intense heat and dust and also by a plague of wasps, mosquitoes and flies. According to 9 AGRA magazine the mosquitoes were
‘as formidable an enemy as any
S.S. man!’ Captain Denham was stung in the mouth by a wasp, which resulted in an agonising swelling. At Cintheaux many men in the 9 th suffered from dysentery brought on by the myriad of flies, poor diet and inadequate hygiene. Bill Abel recalls the frequent shout,
‘Where’s the shovel?’
Fortunately, this problem could be fairly quickly cured by a dose of Chlorodine from the M.O.
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The Falaise Pocket
With Operation Tractable sputtering to a close on the high ground north of Falaise, the job of taking the town itself was given to 2 nd Canadian Infantry division. The 4 th Canadian
Armoured Division was ordered to the south east to secure a crossing over the Ante River at
Damblainville and take Trun to cut off one of the escape routes out of the developing pocket. The
Regiment supported both these formations. The first move was to Tornebu on the 15 th of August, but due to rapid advances the enemy were too far to the east and therefore out of range. After the area had been recced, the
Regiment occupied fields surrounding Villers Canivet, and came into action in support of the
4 th Canadian Armoured Division.
This once picturesque village was blighted by SS graves and grotesque, bloated Norman cows.
Fortunately, this position was only occupied for a short time
(16 th -17 th ).
A gun area followed in Perrieres, near to a quarry, and just outside the village (or what was left of it). With fourteen, instead of sixteen guns in action, tasks were fired to support 2 nd Canadian
Infantry Division still mopping up pockets of resistance in
Falaise and also for 4 th Canadian
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Armd. who were trying to close the pocket. Evidence of a
German collapse in Normandy started to come into the Regiment
HQ. A 9 th Medium Regiment officer with the latter division at an OP overlooking Damblainville had a grandstand view and reported seeing through his field glasses groups of enemy surrendering and waving white flags. During the night the
Luftwaffe was active in the vicinity, dropping flares, bombing and machine-gunning at low level. This was another
(unsuccessful) attempt to re-supply troops in the pocket with food and petrol rations.
After two days in Perrieres the
Regiment moved again to
Norrey-en Auge, where for a short time 9 th Mediums came under the command of 2 nd
Canadian AGRA, and fired their shells into an enemy that was desperately trying to escape encirclement. Roads in the pocket were littered with burnt out tanks and vehicles and thousands of dead horses and men: an unforgettable sight and smell for all who witnessed it.
The battle for Normandy was over and this short period of rapid advances for the Regiment had come to an end. In AGRA column the Regiment moved to a concentration area at Livarot.
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
OP’s, were fired at the opening
Le Harve
While Second Army hurried northwards from the Seine, the
First Canadian Army, with 1st
Corps under command, was given the task of reducing some of the strongly defended Channel ports. After a short period in harbour (i.e. out of action in a of each phase of the attack, in particular during the gapping of minefields and anti tank obstacles. Thereafter CB was on call from 661 and 652 AOP static position), while it was decided where the AGRA was most needed, the guns moved to take part in the battle for Le
Harve (Operation Astoria). Le
Harve was one of the strongest fortresses of the Atlantic Wall. It had a garrison of 12,000 and was protected on the east by an antitank ditch and extensive minefields and wire obstacles. Of enemy guns capable of use in the ground role there were 108 of 8.8
Squadron. ‘V’ and HF targets were also fired. At 11.30 on the morning of the 12 th of September the Garrison Commander surrendered after only 48 hours of fighting. He later stated that 75 per cent of his guns had been put out of action or prevented from firing by the Counter Battery fire of the British guns. In fact, no
CB fire was attempted by the enemy guns in this operation. cm calibre and over. 9 AGRA, including the 9 th Medium
Regiment, were responsible for
Counter Battery fire before H hour and during the operation.
CB neutralization programmes, observed and corrected by air
Boulogne/Calais
“Operation Wellhit,” the battle for Boulogne, was joined on the
17 th of September from positions near Bellebrune (behind Mont
Lambert and the Foret de
Boulogne). It was thought that
29

some 90 enemy guns of 75mm calibre or greater were in
Boulogne. To this end a comprehensive CB fire plan was organised by 2 nd Canadian Corps
- probably the most detailed of its kind ever produced. Included in this was a counter-flak programme (called ‘Apple
Pie’ in artillery speak) against hostile heavy AA guns, whilst our own aircraft flew over their targets. Every known strong point and gun position was included in the list of artillery concentrations. The six day operation was successful although the defences proved more difficult to crack than at first anticipated. Heavy shelling held up the infantry, suggesting that the fire plan was not as successful as at Le Harve.
Incredibly, enemy batteries appeared to have withstood our artillery and air attack (80,000 rounds fired on CB tasks and
3000 tons of bombs). Of the 600 casualties suffered by the
Canadians during this operation, the majority were caused by enemy shell-fire.
While this operation continued new gun areas were ‘recced’ for
Operation Undergo, the attack on
Calais. 200 rounds per gun were dumped at the new positions in
Audembert, and holding parties awaited the arrival of the
Regiment. Planning for this assault followed the pattern of the previous operations with heavy bombardment from the air
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA and all available artillery. 9 th
Mediums supported 8 th Canadian
Brigade in their attack on the
Sangatte and Cap Blanc Nez batteries. A representative was sent to their HQ.
The Regiment moved to
Audembert on the 21 st of
September. The Dover coastline looked very close, and yet at the same time so impossibly far to the men. Ominous sound of heavy gunfire was heard in the direction of Cap Griz Nez, and the Regiment braced itself for the inevitable. The mighty German batteries at Cap Griz Nez began to cause trouble over the next few days, as they were able to fire in enfilade into the gun areas.
Particularly troublesome were the huge 28cm guns of Batterie
Grosser Kurfurst- The Great
Elector- named after Frederich
Whilhelm (1640-1688). Often called the Framzelle battery from the name of the little village nearby, it was unique amongst all the cross-Channel big guns in that the four emplacements had a
360 degree arc of fire. This was made possible by mounting standard naval turrets on top of concrete casemates. Grosser
Kurfurst turned its turrets inland and slammed shells into the gun areas of 9 AGRA at the rate of 10 per hour. There were fatal casualties in other regiments of the AGRA but 9 th Medium was spared.
Two other incidents occurred during these battles, and were
30

reported in the War Diary. There was a premature on one gun, splitting the barrel, which totally destroyed it. It will be recalled that the Regiment had been
‘unlucky’ with prematures, but fortunately, there were no casualties this time. A Signals
Officer and NCO were also blown up on a mine whilst travelling in a jeep. Neither were seriously hurt.
Fire support switched to 7
Brigade in its assault on Calais.
The garrison resisted fiercely, and concentrations were engaged by the whole of 9AGRA in the area of the Citadel where a group of enemy machine-gunners were putting up stubborn resistance.
On the 28 th of September the guns of the 9 th Medium Regiment were ordered to turn around to engage the batteries at Cap Griz
Nez, which continued to make a considerable nuisance of themselves. It is unlikely that this shelling had any physical effect because the Germans had thick concrete shelters, but it no doubt dented morale. With the support of the medium guns, the 9th
Canadian Infantry Brigade put in an attack, and winkled out the
German garrison. An OP was established with Captain Howard in charge, and he was able to watch the action unfold from a
German pillbox on a hill overlooking Framzelle village.
AVRE’S, flail tanks, crocodiles and infantry cleared the trenches and bunkers providing Howard
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA and his party with a cinematographic picture of a modern battle. Although it was difficult to get down fire, as friend and foe were locked in close quarter fighting, the
Regiment fired some concentrations successfully. On the 29 th the guns of Cap Griz Nez fell silent forever. Peter Howard recalls an amusing incident that happened at this ‘pill-box’ OP:
We had been living off bully-beef and biscuits for some time and were often thinking of fresh meat and rabbit pie (just like my mother used to make). L/Bdr.
Hilliard, our bren-carrier driver
(and cook) rang up to the OP to say he had caught a rabbit and would we like it for lunch. The answer was of course “Yes please! But do you know how to deal with it?” “I think so,” was his reply. A little while later he rang again to say “I’m not getting on too well with the rabbit – it keeps looking at me out of the billy-can and all its fur is coming to the surface of the stew.” My answer was fairly unprintable. However, a short time later a beautiful stew arrived in our mess tins with tinned potatoes and carrots. I apologised!
Lt. Hendley recalls being told to interrogate prisoners from the
German batteries at Cap Griz
Nez. This assignment led to the acquisition of a nice trophy.
Hendley spied a large flag, and
31

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA felt that it ought to be his, especially since the Buffs had been on the receiving end of the
German batteries fire while in
Dover.
The focus of the fighting shifted then back to Calais itself, and both batteries moved forward
1400 yards to engage Calais town.
With the civilians evacuated a fire plan could be arranged on an unprecedented scale in support of the assaulting units of the 3 rd
Canadian Infantry Division. At
1845 hours on the 30 th resistance ceased.
‘Operation Switchback’
On the 1 st of October the whole of 9 AGRA moved to a harbour area near Ypres, and stayed there well-earned rest and to seize the opportunity to clean clothes and equipment. An added attraction was the opening of a train service to Ghent and a number of men for two days before moving on to the area of Eecloo, not far from the Dutch border. It was here that the Regiment became the victim of friendly fire for the second time when rocket-firing availed themselves of the
Typhoons attacked vehicles.
There were some injuries but luckily no fatalities. It is worth noting that their own side in one way or another caused 62% of the Regiment’s fatalities!
Anticipating that the AGRA opportunity to buy gifts to send home.
Following the recce and digging parties the Regiment established itself in new gun areas at
Kaprijke, and prepared for
Operation Switchback, the would be in this vicinity for the next two or three weeks a rest
Centre was set up in Eecloo. The centre was in part of a factory building where good sleeping accommodation was available, a well lighted dining room, and a canteen with reading and writing rooms. 12 men per regiment were allowed to stay at this centre for a period of 48 hours each to take a clearing of the so called Breskens
Pocket on the south bank of the
Scheldt. The Breskens Pocket was defended by over 10,000 well equipped soldiers under the command of the experienced
Major General Knut Eberding.
This was to be a tough battle for the artillery as well as the infantry. Conditions were
32

unpleasant. It was wet most of the time, mud clung to everything and boots weighed pounds more. In order to give accurate support to the Canadians it was necessary during the battle for the guns to change position several times within the Troop area. On one occasion a move of just 100 yards (!) was required.
Gun pits had to be re-dug, and this was no easy task at night and in poor weather. It took a supreme effort from all those involved. Detachments well deserved their rum ration in these circumstances!
Support was given to the 7 th
Canadian Brigade in their attack across the Leopold Canal, and later the 9 th and 8 th Canadian
Brigades in their action at the rear of the Breskens Pocket. For the attack across the canal the
Regiment shelled 64 th Infantry
Division HQ in Oostburg, the village of Aardenburg, key road junctions and enemy AA and machine gun positions that threatened the Canadian advance.
There was no shortage of targets because an enormous quantity of guns and ammunition had been left in the pocket by formations which had been evacuated across the Scheldt. A tough battle ensued in which the Canadians made continuous calls on the artillery for help. HF and CB tasks were fired by the Regiment, and some hostile batteries were engaged by AOP observation (B
Flt, 661 Sqn). Progress was slow,
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA and the enemy remained very aggressive. On the night of the
8/9 th of October enemy fighting patrols were even reported in the vicinity of the gun areas! The attack by 7 Brigade was halted just 400 yards north of the canal.
Given the tenuous nature of the situation civilians were evacuated from St. Laurens, Kaprijke, and the houses in the vicinity of the gun areas.
The Regiment was kept very busy over the next few days with more harassing fire tasks, concentrations and counter battery tasks to assist the infantry
(on 7 and 9 Brigade fronts) in crushing the pocket. By the 14 th of October the War Diary reports proudly that their fire had been
‘very effective’ and the Canadian infantry brigades that they were supporting had made
‘considerable progress’.
On the 16 th the 9 th Medium
Regiment took over close support of 9 Brigade from the 10 th
Medium Regiment. Mike targets were fired as the Canadians fought their way into the hamlets of Slijkplaat and Sasput.
The focus now became the attack on Breskens itself. The Regiment moved forward to a new gun area in Ijzendijke. On the 20 th of
October an elaborate set-piece attack was put in and the 9 th
Mediums supported the leading brigade. Mike targets were again fired in close support of 9
Brigade. An OP deployed with
14 Field Regiment RCA in
33

support of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders
(SDG’s) of 9 Brigade. This unit reported that our artillery fire was very effective, and POW’s were very shaken. Nonetheless, heavy guns on Flushing brought down accurate fire onto the attackers, and OP parties from the
Regiment came under very heavy shell-fire.
In an attempt to disrupt vital supplies, the enemy’s main ammunition dump was given
Scale 10 by the Regiment, and the rest of the AGRA (all guns firing 10 rounds). In addition, 9 th
Medium Regiment with the Air
OP took on an enemy oil tank, and scored a direct hit! During the Breskens battle the Regiment engaged a GNF (Guns Now
Firing) target using 3 rd Division’s
AOP. Three active hostile enemy batteries were shelled with excellent results.
Getting ammunition up to the guns during this battle proved very difficult. The roads were usually narrow and bordered by deep ditches. In some cases the roads were under water, and distances from the wagon lines to the guns were considerable. To make matters worse the use of lights was impossible due to the nature of the country. That ammunition always came up to the guns was a credit to the drivers and their NCOs who worked extremely hard, and in no small way contributed to the
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Allied success in crushing the enemy pocket.
South Beveland and Walcheren
Island
Klousterzande was the next gun area for the Regiment, from which support could be given to the 2 nd Canadian Infantry
Division for a new operation: an attack on South Beveland and the causeway (a narrow strip of land that connected Walcheren and
South Beveland). This move was carried out at short notice and via roads, which were in very poor condition. The effort to clear the
German forces from South
Beveland and Walcheren was vital. As the advance continued eastwards into Germany and north through Holland it became increasingly clear that the port of
Antwerp was essential for the unloading of supplies. This port could not be put into operation until Walcheren and South
Beveland had been cleared of the enemy. Walcheren was the key to the Scheldt but its capture depended on the conquest of the neighbouring peninsula of South
Beveland. With the support of the 9 th Medium Regiment, the 2 nd
Canadian Division probed along the Isthmus of South Beveland.
Major Paterson was sent to HQ
4/5 battalion RSF with two FOOs
(Captain Howard and Captain
Rowland-Jones) for the next phase of the operation. Both
FOOs had the authority to shoot the whole AGRA if necessary.
34

All three men were to move with the infantry in the first wave of the seaborne attack on South
Beveland.
On the 26 th of October seaborne landings by the 52 nd Lowland
Division took place on South
Beveland (codenamed Operation
Vitality). Tasks were fired by the
Regiment for 156 Brigade, and many observed targets were engaged in close support of 4/5
RSF. This dramatic episode in the history of the 9 th Mediums is worth re-telling in detail.
At 02.45 hours the flotilla set off from the little port of Terneuzen, and headed for two beaches on the south-eastern corner of
Beveland, code named Amber and Green. Travelling in
Buffaloes from 5 th Assault
Regiment RE, The Royal Scots
Fusiliers with Captain Howard,
Captain Rowland-Jones and
Major Paterson were headed for
Green Beach. The Buffaloes would swim eastwards up the
Scheldt for three miles then turn to cross it diagonally making for
Green Beach another four miles away. Ingenious precautions were taken to ensure that the flotilla would not stray from its course. Bofors guns on the
Ossenisse Peninsula fired tracer shells across Green Beach to prevent craft from going too far north. Marker shells were also fired from time to time onto the beaches direct. Since it was a very dark night with no moon these showed up well. The
35
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA historian of the 52 nd (L) Division comments that this all added to the tension of strain on the troops in the tight packed and heaving
Buffaloes, most of whom were going into action for the first time.
Fifteen minutes before the
Buffaloes were due to arrive, the
Regiment shelled the beach area.
Commander R.D. Franks RN who navigated the flotilla paid tribute to the artillery fire which was ‘most accurate and heartening’. This fire lifted after ten minutes and concentrations on call were then fired when needed.
Despite all the precautions Major
Paterson was to have quite an eventful trip. The Buffalo in which he was travelling became separated from the assault force, and drifted dangerously off course. Paterson took charge of the situation and guided the
Buffalo to a successful landing.
Despite difficult conditions of mud and enemy shell and mortar fire the Buffalo got over the dyke and re-joined the Battalion.
Captain Howard, with B
Company, had a less eventful landing on the mud, silt and sand of the Beveland beach. There was no serious opposition to the initial landings, but there was some shelling and inaccurate machine gun fire from the
Hoedekenskerke area. As dawn broke, Howard and his OP party could see the familiar Dutch pattern of flat green fields,

isolated farmhouses, windmills and much water! Howard was forced to site his OP on a dyke embankment given the open, flat nature of the terrain. Then, the enemy began to retaliate. The OP was shelled and mortared throughout the day, but they continued to offer valuable support to the infantry by shelling suspected enemy positions. Just before dusk the
Germans counter-attacked.
Howard immediately called for fire support from the guns while he and members of his OP party engaged the enemy with small arms. Howard killed one German soldier with his Bren gun at only
30 yards range. In fact, the
Germans got so close to the OP party that use of the wireless became dangerous as their voices could be heard by the enemy.
Captain Howard was awarded the
Military Cross for his part in this action. His citation reads: ‘With his coolness and disregard for his own personal safety he set a first class example to those around him (most of whom were in action for the first time).’ Peter
Howard gives his personal view of the attack:
My OP party (Bdr. Hilliard,
L/Bdr. Hennesey, L/Bdr.
O’Death) supported the
Walcheren attack. We sailed with the infantry in Buffalos. A Bofors gun, firing tracer every approximate 30 seconds, kept us in line on the sea. We landed
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA easily with no casualties. The next evening there was a counter attack and we brought down a lot of fire (the whole AGRA at one stage) and broke up the attack.
We also had to dispose of an enemy mortar, which was getting too close. I did not know I was being put in for a medal until some time later and explained to my party it was for a joint effort.
Not very satisfactory. They were not honoured.
Like Howard, Rowland-Jones who was with A Company 4/5
RSF, directed fire onto enemy counter attacks, bringing shells down onto his own position, which was within yards of the enemy. His actions, and the firstclass shooting by the guns of the
9 th Medium Regiment and the
AGRA had helped to save the situation. Rowland-Jones was also awarded the Military Cross.
The bridgehead on South
Beveland was slowly but surely expanded with continued close support being given by the
Regiment to 4/5 RSF. Each moving along their allotted axis, the Canadians and the
Lowlanders successfully cleared
South Beveland. For the
Regiment a short period of harbour in Lovendegem, near
Ghent followed.
Operation Infatuate
In the next phase of the operation against Walcheren itself the
Regiment was in action in
36

support of 155 Infantry Brigade landing at Flushing (Operation
Infatuate1) and the 4 th Special
Service Brigade landing at
Westkapelle (Operation Infatuate
2). Captain Lemmon (of D
Troop) was sent to Battalion HQ of 4 KOSB, 155 Brigade, as the
C.O’s representative at the sharp end. New gun areas were established for this operation, codenamed ‘Infatuate,’ at
Slijkplaat. This position was very near to the water of the Scheldt
Estuary. Only the murky waters of the Scheldt separated the
Regiment from a vigilant enemy in Flushing, which made everyone feel a little uneasy. The weather on the 31 st October began damp and misty, but as it cleared it was possible to see across the estuary to the German held side. It followed that the
Germans could see the British guns and began to try to pick them off with their 88’s. Gnr.
Frank White was killed in this confrontation and six others wounded. Casualties suffered in this position by the Regiment were the heaviest of the campaign from enemy fire, and it was the only time they were engaged over open sights, and at such short range.
Despite this setback the
Regiment got into action to support the landings on
Walcheren. At H-70 on
November 1st some 300 guns that had assembled in the fields on the south side of the estuary
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA opened fire. This was the biggest crash of artillery since Caen, with an allocation of 275 rounds per gun. The gunners working hard to maintain this barrage would not be able to see the dramatic scene visible to the men on landing craft crossing the estuary.
The southern coastline was silhouetted by hundreds of muzzle flashes, while on the northern side sudden bright pinpricks of light showed where the shells were exploding. Soon
Flushing was alight, and its windmill stood out defiantly against the orange flame.
The enemy positions on
Walcheren were coded by the
RAF, and each numbered target prefixed with a letter W. The
Regiment fired on W209, a road dyke and enemy machine-gun positions on the outskirts of
Flushing. For Infatuate 2 the guns also ranged on W11, a battery of four 150mm guns in bunkers (located in dunes high above the hamlet of Dishoek), and W265B, a section of dunes containing enemy mortars and machine-gun nests.
It was important that these positions were suppressed as they could fire on the landing beaches, and cause considerable disruption.
Captain Lemmon and his small party of signallers, landed on
Uncle Beach (Flushing) with
Battalion HQ of 4 K.O.S.B., which followed the Commandos who had already secured the
37

beach area. However, by the time the LCA s carrying HQ arrived, the Germans had recovered from the initial shock of the assault and machine gun fire and mortars raked the beach. Fortunately, suffering only light casualties, the battalion immediately became engaged with the Commandos in clearing the town and dock area.
HQ, along with Captain Lemmon and his party, set up in an old air raid shelter in Grave Straat, and did what they could to offer support. Some pillboxes and gun emplacements proved obstinate.
So as well as firing a timed programme at the start of the operation the Regiment was kept busy thereafter with concentrations on call and stonks
(linear targets usually ordered to several regiments at once). W1
(anti-aircraft battery) and W211
(fortified buildings) were among the targets engaged. Slowly but surely white flags began to appear as each enemy strongpoint gave up the fight.
On November 2 nd 5 K.O.S.B. landed on Uncle Beach at
0500hrs, and passed through 4
K.O.S.B. Captain Lemmon and his party were ordered to join them as advanced northwards, and swung east to reach the
Middelburg canal. They made steady progress but the dock area to the east of the canal remained in enemy hands.
The 3 rd was a day of consolidation for 155 Bde.. The
Borderers received fire support
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA from the Regiment as they hunted out the remaining fanatics still hiding among factory buildings. The oil refinery, codenamed ‘Haymarket’ (W213) which had been harassing the
Scots, was treated to an artillery shoot.
Next, under cover of artillery, 5
K.O.S.B. crossed the canal and entered the eastern dock area where it found the Germans still holding out. The war diary for 9 th
Medium Regiment states that the dock area was eventually reported to be ‘in our hands’ at
8:10am on the 4 th . Elements of 5
K.OS.B. and 4 K.O.S.B. then turned north and advanced up the banks of the canal towards
Middelburg. Strongpoints facing the Scots were shelled, and subjected to a Typhoon rocket strike.
Meanwhile, on the eastern corner of Walcheren, 157 Bde were attempting to cross a cement causeway from the peninsula of South Beveland (the only way onto the island), and thus cut off the Walcheren garrison. A Fire Plan Task was fired by the regiment to help the
Scots of 157 Bde., but it wasn’t until November 6 th that they finally joined 155 Bde troops in
Middelburg.
At 2345 hrs., during the night of
November 5 th (whilst engaged in firing HF on Middelburg) the
Regiment was stood down. Their battle for Walcheren was over.
With only mopping up to do on
38

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA the island, they moved to Budel and went into harbour for a period of rest and maintenance.
The Divisional Commander of the 52 Lowland Division (Major
General Hackwell-Smith) expressed his appreciation of the efforts of the Regiment and its sister regiments, in 9 AGRA, during the Scheldt battle.
Hackwell-Smith wrote:
We were fortunate in having the support of the 9 th AGRA for the
ZUID BEVELAND, and both the
9 th AGRA and 2 nd Canadian
AGRA…for WALCHEREN. Both were quite first class but 9 th
AGRA were magnificent. They did everything and more that I asked and there is no doubt that the fire of their guns was the major factor in breaking the
Bosche morale.
A close friendship had also built up with the Canadians over the past months. Major General D.C.
Spry, commanding 3 Canadian
Infantry Division wrote to
Brigadier Crosland at HQ 9
AGRA:
As you leave us to go away in support of another formation, I wish to take this opportunity on behalf of all ranks of 3 Canadian
Inf. Div. to thank you and all those who serve with you in 9
AGRA for splendid fire support and very close and friendly cooperation which you have given us, not only in the current operation but also during the battles for Boulogne, Cap Griz-
Nez and Calais. I am sure that there is not one single soldier in the Division that is not aware of how much our recent successes have been the results of your support.
39

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Venlo/Roermond Pocket
A German counter-attack
(launched while the Regiment was still in the Scheldt area) created a bridgehead over the
River Maas, which became known as the Venlo-Roermond
Division. Opposition was described as ‘slight.’ Regimental representatives Clayton, Howard and Rowland-Jones and their OP parties were sent to 81, 83 and
133 Field Regiments RA respectively for close support of
53 rd Welsh Division.
The Regiment moved again on the 15 th to gun areas at Ell, Gom
Pocket. As long as this pocket remained any attack into the
Rhineland was clearly unsound.
Thus, the 51 st (Highland)
Division and the 53 rd (Welsh)
Division were earmarked to clear the pocket. 9 AGRA were to give and Hunsel in order to support 71
Brigade of the 53 rd (W) Division in its attack on Horn. RHQ was located close to the village of Ell, while the guns were positioned in their support. From battle positions at Weert ‘Operation
Mallard’ was joined on the 14 th of November, and went very well from the start. Timed programmes were fired in support of 51 st Highland
Division and 53 rd Welsh flat, open fields between Ell and
Hunsel. The locality was under spasmodic 88mm fire during the afternoon, and following day from a few
German artillery pieces lurking in woods near Heijthuijzen, a few
40

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA miles away. Most shells landed in the village of Ell itself, and some on the road bordering D and C Troop positions.
The infantry moving up in TCVs to attack Horn had to stop in Ell,
Gom and Hunsel for two hours due to engineering problems with bridges they had to cross.
However, they did get forward and tasks were fired by the
Regiment to support the attack on
Horn. By nightfall the whole area was liberated. The Regiment continued to fire during the night to harass the enemy in this sector.
In the morning there was some excitement at RHQ when soldiers of the Belgian Brigade, who were patrolling the Wessum Canal, brought in six German POW’s.
The Belgians were due to move from this sector on the 17 th , and perhaps this is why they handed over their ‘prize’ to the 9 th
Medium Regiment. On this day a move was made to Heuthhuijzen to support an attack on
Roermond, and fire a bombard fire plan for 49 th Division. The
Regiment now occupied a densely wooded area. 88mm guns, located in positions across the Maas, lightly shelled gun areas of the AGRA at 2300 hrs..
The Regiment did try to silence these, and other enemy guns shelling the front; CB tasks were fired for CBO, 12 Corps over the next few days. Although these enemy guns often only operated in ones and twos they could do considerable damage and sap morale.
Also, at this time a very unfortunate accident took place as the guns were moving position, which resulted in the death of Gunner Cecil Aldridge
(from 81 Battery). He was helping to push a gun (weighing some six tons) out of the mud, when he slipped and fell under the wheels. He was first buried in
Hunsel, but his body was later moved to Nederweert War
Cemetery.
On the 19 th the guns were tested out by firing into Germany for the very first time. The 9 th
Medium Regiment was the first
Regiment in the AGRA to fire onto German soil. Brigadier
Elliot DSO of 12 th Corps visited the Regiment to observe
Germany from a tower in the grounds of RHQ.
At this point 81 st Medium Battery had fired 34,552 rounds, and 82 nd
Medium Battery 36,329 rounds.
That is equivalent to 7,000,000 lbs of iron. If all of these rounds were fired at once the total lethal area would be 27 square miles! If all these shells were laid end to end they would cover a distance of over 32 miles!
On the 21 st 71 Brigade was again given close assistance to attack what remained of the enemy bridgehead on the west bank of the Maas. This area was stubbornly defended by units of the Fallschirmjager, and retrained infantry elements of the
41

German Air Force Regiment.
Fire plans were fired (at 1930 hrs and 0430 hrs) with 81 Field
Regiment (5 rounds per gun) in support of 4 RWF, and 1 Ox and
Bucks. A German Company
Sergeant Major from his position in the bridgehead near a brickworks gave his account of being on the receiving end of this fire.
On the night of the 21/22 nd
November, there was an hour long artillery barrage directed on our positions and I ensured that the perimeter defences were fully manned. There were several casualties, including Captain
Paul with concussion, and a new
Captain took over as leader of the Battalion.
The History of the 53 rd Welsh division states:
Undoubtedly the most intimate cooperation between arms was between the Artillery and the infantry. Not only was it essential to success in any undertaking; but unless liaison was very close and very careful arrangements made, the consequences could be serious - for the infantry…support given by the
Army Artillery should not be forgotten – the 3 rd and 9 th Army
Groups Royal Artillery…and others.
New gun areas were recced for an attack on Venlo, and on the
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
24 th two incidents are worth reporting. The Regimental
Survey Officer (Lt. K. D.
Banyard) was wounded by a wooden box mine whilst driving in his jeep. His wounds were serious and he was evacuated to
England. Two of the C.O.’s representatives went to 5RHA for the purpose of destroying two towers being used as observation posts by the enemy. Shooting triumphs included one tower successfully demolished, and a
Tiger tank knocked out by the fire of the guns. This was no easy task. Our OP directing the fire would need to take up a vulnerable position, such as a church steeple, in order to see the enemy, and then attempt to hit a small target with indirect fire at some 12,000 yards range! The
Regiment also engaged hostile batteries, which replied by shelling 9 AGRA gun areas in the late afternoon, and early evening of the 25 th .
On the 26 th the Regiment moved to Rinkesfort for the attack on
Venlo where a small pocket of enemy were holding out. This location will be remembered for during the night the gun areas were bombed and shelled. It was a rare appearance by the
Luftwaffe, and planes dropped anti-personnel bombs and flares in this sharp attack. Fortunately, there were no casualties, although other regiments of the
AGRA reported casualties (11 th
Medium Regiment had one
42

driver killed by an anti-personnel bomb). However, the Regiment never actually supported the attack on Venlo, and were relieved by 72 nd Medium
Regiment RA (3 AGRA).
‘Holding the line’ with the 52nd
(L) division
A move to 30 Corps area followed on the 28 th of
November and the Regiment remained in harbour at Bilsen
(near Maastricht) for the next week. Men could get a little rest and guns and vehicles could be cleaned and maintained. Good accommodation was found here.
However, the war was never far away. The population were worried by flying bombs, and several V1’s were observed flying over, some being spectacularly destroyed by AA fire.
At new battle positions in
Grotenrath (Germany) the
Regiment came under the command of 5 AGRA. RHQ set up in the village itself, and the guns were dug in and camouflaged in a nearby forest.
Chris Wanstall (81 Battery) recalls:
‘We were on the edge of a forest… and we had to dig slit trenches and erect tents over the top and sleep the best we could.’
The first target was aptly named
‘Operation Wallop’. 5 AGRA
Operational Order No. 23 stated
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA that the aim was to ‘…kill as many Bosche artillerymen as possible.’ In total, the Regiments involved, fired some 12,000 rounds onto all known enemy batteries. You could think of it as an early Christmas present!
The 52 nd (L) Division were holding the line between
Geilenkirchen and Hastenrath in front of the Regiment’s guns.
Major Yool motored down to their HQRA located in a school in Brunssum to control fire in their support.
On the 17 th of December news arrived of a large German counter-offensive, which had started against US Armies in the
Ardennes. Diaries report that there was much aerial activity on this day in the skies over the area occupied by the AGRA. A glance at a map will show that the
Regiment was positioned at the extreme right of the British line, and German thrusts were effectively in the rear of the regiments of the AGRA. The deeper the enemy drive the more important became the bridges at
Maastricht, and it was considered that an attack might come by way of nearby Geilenkirchen or
Sittard. Elements of the 6 th
Panzer Army were in Munchen
Gladbach, as well as the 15
Panzer Grenadier Div.. There were numerous reports of enemy paratroop landings and rumours abounded. It was thought that it might be necessary to defend the guns from infantry attacks. Of
43

course, these fears were not realised, but at the time it seemed credible. Lt. Hendley (whom we last met in the Cap Griz Nez battle) was sent to the Fire
Direction Centre of
X111 US Corps to maintain a close liason with the American flanking artillery and cooperate against enemy targets where necessary.
The Regiment spends Christmas
‘in action.’
The Regiment settled into a defensive role, harassing the enemy and breaking up counter attacks when they developed.
CB, DF, and HF tasks were fired for the 52(L) Division. Single guns shot up specific enemy targets spotted by the AOP.
Here, at Grotenrath, the guns were protected by ‘F’ Troop, 359
Battery, 109 LAA Regiment.
They did good work in keeping at bay any marauding enemy aircraft. On the 27 th they fired several rounds at an ME
262 (jet aircraft) passing over the regimental area.
Christmas day was spent in action, and men took turns to eat dinner as the guns had to be attended at all times. A visit by
Brigadier Crosland, Commander
9 AGRA, and by Sergeant
Midgley, official Army photographer, made this day a memorable one. The photographs are something of a sham as they show 82 nd Battery preparations for a Christmas dinner that was
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA just not possible in the conditions faced at the time. One photograph shows the cook (Bdr.
Jack Ward) preparing a
Christmas pudding mixture
(reputed to be sand and water)!
This was pure theatre, propaganda for the folks at home.
The weather at this time, freezing cold and snow, did nothing to lift spirits. The ‘official’ and amusing caption to accompany
Midgley’s set of pictures reads:
R.A. MEN’S XMAS IN
GERMANY
Many British soldiers will celebrate Xmas in Germany, and here are some positions of gun emplacements in the centre of a
‘Christmas Tree’ forest where much felling has been necessary.
Much to the troops’ delight three fat geese strayed into the gun area yesterday. They did not halt for the sentry, and so they paid the penalty. But they still have a date with the Artillerymen on
Christmas Day.
In Brunssum, a nearby coalmining town, the men of the
Regiment could obtain some recreation, and respite. A shower unit was set up in a coalmine complex, called Prinz Hendrik.
There was a cinema, NAAFI, a photographer’s studio, and a theatre was found to stage a show put together by the ‘9 AGRA
Concert Party.’ All Regiments of the AGRA were entertained at
44

some point over the festive period.
Several small enemy counter attacks along the front, held by
52 nd Lowland Division, had to be broken up. On the 28 th , for example, an attack developed at
Kifuelburg and Tripsrath (1
Glasgow Highlanders locality).
At 06.00 hours German infantry attacked through a snowstorm, yelling and shouting as they came (no doubt the partial successes of the Ardennes offensive had heartened them).
The attack was made from the rear after clever infiltration. Fire from the Regiment’s guns helped to restore the situation. Blind DF tasks were called for until the Air
OP could take off! Thereafter, harassing fire at key locations ensured that the enemy were not able to build up a larger attacking force.
At one minute past midnight on the first day of 1945 the command ‘Fire!’ came across the tannoy, and all guns fired one shell at enemy positions: a New
Years Day gift! A move to the south of Brunssum took place on the 1 st of January. From the 1 st to the 11 th targets were engaged in support of 52 nd (L) Division, interspersed by the odd ‘quiet day.’
Enemy OP zones were targeted.
The Germans had set up an OP platform in Straeten church tower. A destructive shoot by the
Regiment registered four direct hits on the tower, and no doubt
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA made the enemy think twice about occupying this position again!
A company attack by 7/9 Royal
Scots was supported by the
Regiment with a timed programme and concentrations at call. The aim was to clear the enemy defended area near
Kraudorf on the Geilenkirchen-
Randerath road. It was also hoped that a particularly unpleasant group of German mortars would be wiped out at the same time. Operation Joyful began on the 8 th in perfect weather, as a snowstorm was blowing in the enemy’s faces. D company 7/9 RSF achieved complete surprise, and brought back a number of prisoners.
Notably, during this period
General Ritchie, commander of
X11 Corps visited 82 nd Battery, and Field Marshal Montgomery came to the area to present medal ribbons to Captain Rowland
Jones and Captain Howard who had distinguished themselves back in the Scheldt Pocket. 9
AGRA and 12 Corps Troops shared in 52 Lowland Div’s investiture parade at the Casino in Treebeek. Monty gave a little speech about Brussels and UK leave schemes, about German
POWs (900,000 since D-Day), but mainly about the Ardennes
Offensive. He commented on how the fighting had been ‘very interesting’ to him.
45

Battle of the Roer Triangle:
back on the offensive.
The Regiment re-deployed for
Operation Blackcock, an offensive operation to clear the enemy from between the Maas and the Roer. In freezing cold weather they moved to positions in Schinveld near Brunssum. The attack was to consist of three thrusts with 7 th Armd. on the left,
52 nd (L) Div. in the centre and
43 rd Div. on the right. The plan was divided into phases, and the following were the main phases supported by the Regiment:
1.Phase ‘ANGEL’ during which the 7 th Armd. were to capture
Dieteren, and then advance to
Schilberg and Echt.
2.Phase ‘BEAR’ 8 Armd. Bde., and 155 Bde. to advance South
East and capture Waldfeucht,
Bocket, and Koningsbosch.
3.Phase ‘CROWN’ 52 Div. to break through enemy forward localities at Hongen.
4.Phase ‘HART’ 43 Div. on the right to capture Langbroich,
Waldenrath, and Straeten.
Each Phase was to be supported by the Corps artillery, which meant a move forward for the
Regiment during the operation.
This it did after Phase ‘HART.’
The Regiment mainly supported their old friends in the 52 nd
Lowland. A representative from the Regiment went to HQ 52 nd
Lowland Div. to help coordinate fire from the AGRA. This HQ
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA was set up in a school in Munster
Geleen, near Sittard. It made quite a good HQ until a V1 flying bomb blew out all the windows, and let in the cold!
D-Day for Blackcock was
January 15 th . The Regiment fired a preliminary bombardment on hostile enemy artillery and then tasks on call for Phase ‘ANGEL’.
An Arty/R sortie was also taken on with 3 AGRA. It went well, though slowly. A Task Table was fired for Phase ‘CROWN.’ A 30 minute preliminary bombardment was fired and concentrations on the flanks of the break in.
Unfortunately, due to a sudden thaw which slowed the rate of advance, this fire plan had to be repeated. From the 18 th – 20 th
January the Regiment continued to support 52 (L) Div, and 43 rd
Div. in their advance, and harassed enemy communications during the night.
Early on the 21 st 155 Bde. (52 nd
Div.) were ordered to capture
Waldfeucht and Echterbosch.
Fire support was duly given, and both places were captured without much difficulty. The enemy objected strongly to this and counter attacked with a strong force of tanks (including
Tigers), and infantry. It was difficult to give direct artillery support in this confused fighting but air OP’s (little Auster planes) directed guns onto individual tanks when they gave themselves away by fire or movement in the open. The Regiment engaged 2
46

tanks in this way, and thus made an important contribution to victory. Harassing fire was once again kept up on the enemy axis of advance.
A CB programme and a Task
Table were fired on this day in support of 130 Brigade, 4
Dorsets (of 43 rd Div.) who attacked Schier Waldenrath, moving forward in kangaroos.
Opposition was light as the enemy had been hammered by the bombardment (only 12 prisoners were taken). This was a typical action in Operation
Blackcock: the great weight of infantry and armour, with artillery support, pushing slowly forward over bare snow covered fields to capture the next enemy held village.
On the following day, one section of 81 st Battery, with AOP observation, fired successfully on an enemy Battalion HQ. In addition, fire plan ‘HART’ was fired at 0530 hrs. in support of
43 rd Div..
In order to keep pace with the advance, new gun areas were established at Langbroich on the
23 rd of January. A Task Table was fired for the attack on
Straeten by 4 Wilts of 43 rd Div..
The troops, clothed in their snow suits descended on their objectives before the enemy had time to put their heads up.
Meanwhile 4 Somerset Light
Infantry attacked Scheifendahl.
Encouraged by their success they decided to push on to the next
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA enemy held village of Erpen.
This location was given Scale 1
(each gun firing one shell) ten times by the Regiment, and not surprisingly its garrison quickly collapsed. 150 enemy prisoners were taken, as well as several field guns.
The Regiment then became engaged once more in support of the 52 nd Division as they surrounded Heinsberg. Fire was brought down on the community trench in the opening barrage; it then lifted to screen the flanks of the attack. By the morning of the
24 th the Germans had given up this last important position in the
Ruhr Triangle.
Enemy artillery was still troublesome, however. So with
Arty R. observation a ‘V’ target was fired onto four enemy guns, and two direct hits were registered. 43 rd Div advance continued with shells from the
Regiment helping to sap enemy morale. Utterath, after heavy bombardment, fell to the 5 Wilts. without a struggle.
By the 26 th the enemy was nearly completely withdrawn from the west of the River Roer.
The overwhelming strength of artillery in Operation Blackcock proved a major force, and saved many infantry casualties. The guns of the Regiment had given continuous support over the last
14 days in harsh winter conditions. This was achieved through a lot of hard work, especially on the gun positions.
47

The enemy did, however, try to hit back. Shells from super-heavy guns, probably on the Siegfried
Line, fell a thousand yards west of the gun areas during the night of the 28 th -29 th . Recce parties in position in a new gun area (4 miles north of Langbroich, near
Echterbosch) also reported enemy shelling.
Enemy mines
The weather at this time was intense cold and snow. The men crammed on as many layers as possible under the battledress, with leather jerkins and woollen scarves. Greatcoats were not so popular as they restricted movement. On the 31 st , however, a thaw began and caused its own problems. Enemy mines that had been frozen were released by the thaw, and several vehicles fell victim. Bill Abel and Joe
Johnson recall clearly one such incident. A Matador, driven by
Gnr. Green, exploded a teller- mine, which blew the front wheel off. Fortunately Gnr. Green suffered only minor leg wounds, which were ‘patched up.’ Many vehicles had passed over the same spot without trouble, and this is probably explained by the recent thaw.
Operation Veritable
After a short, but welcomed period out of action (harbouring in Moll) the Regiment was ordered to take a long night march and deploy for Operation
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Veritable, which was designed to break through Hitler’s West
Wall, and clear the enemy up to the River Rhine. The guns and vehicles were moved into position in extremely difficult conditions with some roads and tracks being signposted
‘impassable’. The mud and sludge caused by the thaw was appalling. Water filled shell holes dotted the roads, and banks weakened by the rain collapsed under the weight of heavy military traffic. At one point it appeared that the Regiment would not make the deployment area in time. There were several accidents and lots of winching and towing was necessary to extricate vehicles from the clinging mud. Lt. Hendley, referring to moving the Regiment in the dark and along bad roads, comments: ‘We felt lucky to be alive after 6-7 hours of this’.
To make matters worse, strict orders were received concerning movement to the gun areas. In order to conceal the build up, vehicles were allowed sidelights until crossing the canal at Beek, after which axle lights only could be used. All movement was to be completed by first light, and guns concealed close to their final positions in hedges, farmyards or barns and where necessary covered with nets, tarpaulins and brushwood.
In fact, the Regiment had been warned that the position they were to occupy was very near to
48

the enemy, and overlooked by high ground in the Reichswald
Forest, close to the German
FDLs. This forward deployment was necessary as the Corps
Commander had dictated that the maximum fire support should be available to cover a deep penetration without involving the
AGRA’s in any major moves.
Veritable commenced on the 8 th of February at 0500 hours.
Against the odds, the Regiment had successfully made it to their deployment area at Haps and became occupied bombarding localities west of the Reichswald
Forest: HQ s, communications and enemy gun batteries were neutralised with 91 rounds being allocated per gun. Post action reports (issued by XXX Corps,
CBO) reveal damage to targets engaged by the Regiment’s fire.
In one position an 88mm had received two direct hits from medium guns. In another, containing Russian 122mm guns two pits had received direct hits and the position was strewn with bodies. Enemy artillery activity was officially described as
‘slight’ after this retribution.
A huge amount of ammunition was expended (over 400 rounds per gun allocated for 9 th Medium
Regiment alone). This was the heaviest barrage employed by the
British Army in the European
Campaign, and the Regiment’s
16 guns were joined by hundreds more of various calibres. The noise was deafening, the ground
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA shook, buildings vibrated and loose tiles on the roofs of the farmhouses clattered to the ground. Waves of concussion whipped tent walls in and out, and speech was almost impossible.
The Regiment shifted fire onto the forward enemy positions facing the 51 st (H) Division as they went into the attack at 1000 hrs.. This division elected not to use a barrage, but to rely on a series of precisely timed concentrations of fire on specific targets to blast them onto their objectives. This was because enemy localities in this sector were thought to have been accurately located, and the
Divisional Commander preferred to have all available fire directed on these selected targets. Two hundred rounds per gun were allocated for this phase of the operation.
The operation started well as the
Germans were dazed by the weight of fire. Surprise was achieved in the concentration and concealment of so much artillery on the Corps front. Captain
Howard and his OP party were up with the infantry moving through the Reichswald Forest.
I got rather badly lost but eventually returned to the infantry HQ. It was very difficult map reading because all the
‘rides’ through the forest looked the same. On one occasion I left my carrier and OP party to
49

respond to a call of nature. Just got my trousers down when a jerry came in sight through the forest. I buttoned up very quickly, collected my OP party, and captured him. I think he was more scared than we were.
Operations continued on the 9 th
February when support switched to the 15 (S) Division whose task was to breach the Siegfried defences north of the
Reichswald, capture the
Materborn ridges, and sweep onto Cleve. The Regiment fired a task table in support. During the morning an attack went in on the twin knolls of Wolfsberg and
Hingstberg which were peppered with artillery concentrations.
Targets on call were also fired for 15 (S) Division: artillery targets had been selected in the area of advance. Targets were grouped and given code names so that fire could be called down on a whole group or on individual targets by the FOOs with the leading troops. As our troops attacked the Materborn ridges and closed on Cleve - the guns moved 3000 yards, to an area north-east of Oeffelt - in order to reach the railway line running south-east from Cleve.
During the next day the
Regiment answered a multitude of calls for fire, mainly from the
51 st (H) Division. Once through the trees of the Reichswald, this division’s task was to clear the well defended area between the
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA southern edge of the forest and the Mass. 153 (H) Brigade made substantial gains along the
Mook-Goch road, and 152 (H)
Brigade continued its advance along the southern edge of the forest, and came up against the defences of Hekkens. A key road junction, it was essential that this village be reduced, in order to secure an axis of advance for the
Corps. General Rennie (51 Div.) arranged for the whole of the
Corps artillery to concentrate on
Hekkens, and it gave no further trouble after this. On the 12 th
Gennep was also taken by a successful assault across the river
Niers by 5 th Black Watch. A regimental fire plan was laid on for the attack. Other battalions
(of 154 Brigade) crossed the
Niers on the 13 th /14 th and there was feverish activity as CB Tasks and fire plans were worked out for this action. As the bridgehead expanded and Kessel was captured a steady stream of requests for fire came in.
Churchill tanks of 32 Gds. Bde. arrived to reinforce 51 (H) Div. and the 5 th Coldstream Guards put in an attack on a section of the Siegfried defences around the villages of Mull and Retut. The attack against light concrete casements and enemy trenches was successfully supported by a regimental Fire Plan codenamed
‘Cold’.
152 Brigade now took the lead
(16 th February) and advanced down the main road to Goch to
50

clear the villages of Grafenthal,
Hervost and Asperden. Fire Plan
‘Apple’, ‘Banana’ and ‘Cherry’ were fired to soften up the defences.
Three notable incidents occurred in the vicinity of the gun areas during this part of the Rhineland battle. 81 st Medium Battery had another premature in a chamber of a barrel, which totally wrecked the gun. Three gunners were injured, though not seriously.
The enemy had started to use jetpropelled aircraft on hit and run raids. Trying to seek out the gun lines a Me262 dropped three medium bombs near to the
Regiment’s position. The enemy also reacted by mortaring the nearby village of Oeffelt.
Nobody minded much, however, in view of the quantity of ammunition put into the enemy lines! German patrols were sent into Oeffelt. At this time there was only a thin screen of Recce troops holding the line in front of the Regiment, and the enemy could cross the river Maas, and penetrate well behind the front line. In fact they had boobytrapped houses in Oeffelt and
Hoogeind. AGRA felt it necessary to order each Regiment to set up a rota of patrols and protection of forward areas with an alarm system. It also began to rain heavily; a cold, penetrating rain fell for several days almost without let up, and created miserable conditions.
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
52 nd (L) Division joined the
Veritable battle on the 16 th and were given a tough nut of their own to crack – the extreme hinge of the German left flank near Afferden, a village about 2 miles due south of Gennep. Just beyond Afferden were a wide anti-tank ditch and a most stubborn point of resistance in the form of Kasteel Blijenbeek, a medieval Dutch frontier castle, to which the Germans were clinging with all the tenacity German troops can command. On the 16 th and 17 th 157 Bde (of 52 nd (L)
Div) advanced through the
Broederbosch forest and targets on call were engaged by the
Regiment. The attack was not immediately decisive and the enemy held the Division on the line of the anti-tank ditch for some days to come. 9 th Medium
Regiment continued to offer support when they could, and harassed German positions and communications at night.
On the 18 th a new phase of the operation began with orders to seize the strongly fortified town of Goch. Goch was shelled ruthlessly without let up; 15 (S)
Div attacking from the east and
51 (H) Div clearing the part of
Goch that lies south of the River
Niers. On this day the Regiment fired in support of all three separate Scottish divisions that were fighting side by side!
Sufficient progress had, however, been made by the 19 th to allow the Regiment to cross
51

over the River Maas, and occupy new positions in South Gennep.
The guns arrived on position at
09:15 and were ready on theatre grid at 10:55 hrs.. Troops of 153
Bde., 51 (H) Div were assisted in mopping up pockets of resistance in the suburbs of Goch. The enemy counter-attacked southeast of Goch on the 21 st , and this was successfully broken up with the assistance of the Regiment.
15 (S) Div took Buchholt, a village about two and threequarter miles east of Goch. Fire
Plan Thistle was the Regiment’s contribution to this attack. CB programmes and Arty/R engagements also added to the
Regiment’s work.
A preliminary bombardment was also fired for ‘Operation Leek,’
53 rd Welsh Division’s attack on
Weeze. Twelve field regiments,
64 medium guns and 6 heavy guns backed up this operation.
This attack provoked considerable hostile shelling (the most accurate since Normandy noted the historian of the 6
RWF). The church tower at
Weeze made a perfect enemy
OP. 9 Medium Regiment engaged two enemy batteries by
Arty/R observation in an effort to assist the hard pressed Welsh infantrymen. There followed a short, and well-deserved regimental rest period of 24 hours.
On the 26 th the Regiment was back in action to complete
Veritable. 51 (H) Div were now
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA advancing south of Goch, beyond the River Kendal (a tributary of the Niers) to open up the road network which was to be the
Corps’ next axis. German positions were bombarded by the
Regiment for 154 Bde. attack during the night of 26 th /27 th .
The death of Lieutenant Moore
On the 27 th February a reconnaissance of new gun areas two thousand yards west of Goch took place. The Regimental
Survey Officer Lieutenant Moore
(known as ‘Pundit’ to his friends) left his party at a farmhouse giving instructions for the work in hand, and saying what were to be his last words ‘Be careful of the mines around here. I must be careful too because I’m going on leave in a fortnight.’ Two minutes later at a distance of forty yards from his party
Lieutenant Moore met his death on the corner of the road. The corner was mined, and it was estimated that dozens of vehicles passed over this spot before.
Sadly in just two weeks time
Moore was due to join his wife and two children in Devon. This obituary appeared in 9AGRA magazine.
‘Lieut. Moore has been with the regiment almost since its infancy and the men who will miss him most will be the men of ‘D’
Troop. He was extremely popular in this troop and since he has been at RHQ it has been heard
52

on more than one occasion during visits to the guns “We still want you back in ‘D’ Troop,
Sir”.
Lieutenant Moore is buried in
Milsbeek cemetery, Holland.
The Regiment moved into action west of Goch (near Hassom) on the 1 st of March, neutralising enemy guns with the morning
‘milkround’: that is, engaging hostile batteries one at a time by all guns that could bear. Goch, part of the Siegfried line defences, was now a pile of rubble, having been pounded by shells and bombs. The whole front now rapidly folded up and the enemy quickly became out of range to all but super-heavy batteries. Notably on the 4 th the
Prime Minister visited the area and inspected the super-heavy guns of 9 AGRA. He chalked a message on a shell, ‘To Hitler
Personal’ and fired it towards the
Rhine.
Operation Plunder
The Regiment went into harbour at Meerhout, and made careful preparations for what was to be the last major action fought by them: Operation Plunder, the crossing of the River Rhine. The plan was for an assault crossing by ground forces of 12 Corps, followed by an air landing once the initial crossing had been effected.
Holding parties moved to new gun areas, south of Xanten;
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA ammunition lorries reported to the new gun areas for the dumping and camouflaging of large quantities of shells, while the guns were calibrated on
Lommel Ranges.
Calibration requires a little explanation for the non-technical.
The guns of the Regiment had fired a lot of shells in the campaign so far. Each time a gun fires a tiny fraction of metal is removed from the bore so that after a few hundred rounds the bore will have increased in size.
It follows from this that the shell will not be as tight a fit when placed in the gun, therefore when the charge is exploded some of the force of the explosion will be wasted up the space between the shell and the bore. As a consequence the shell will not travel as far as it used to. This could result in shells falling amongst our own troops.
Calibration means firing a number of rounds on a range to see how far short they fall, and adjusting the angle of the barrel accordingly to prevent this from happening.
To return to the narrative, an extremely forward deployment of artillery in the flood plain of the
Rhine was adopted for Operation
Plunder, in order to obtain maximum range on the far side of the river. This forward deployment presented problems of concealment, since some positions were in full view from enemy observation on the
53

Diersfordter Wald high ground.
Strict instructions were therefore given to the Regiment concerning the preparation and concealment of the gun areas.
Guns and towing vehicles were put into local hides and camouflaged carefully. Slit trenches were only to be dug on
D minus 2, and gun pits on D minus 1. The Regiment occupied the gun area at Veen before first light on D minus 1. Veen had been the site of a vicious battle and was criss-crossed with
German trenches and littered with abandoned equipment.
Knocked out Canadian tanks and abandoned equipment showed that the struggle to take Veen had been brutal. However, day after day was warm and sunny and the trees had started to come out, softening these gaunt outlines of destruction.
Orders were issued not to move around the guns until it was necessary for the final preparation for the first fire programme. The civilian population was cleared to a depth of 6000 yards from the Rhine.
Finally, a thick smokescreen was laid over the entire front of the assault (some 50 miles). Not surprisingly this had a disagreeable effect on the men working in the gun areas. Major
Yool of 82 Battery was sent to
HQRA 7 th Armd. Div as the
CAGRA’s representative. The 7
Armd. Div. RA Group was a mixture of artillery regiments put
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA together to support Operation
Widgeon, the assault across the
Rhine by 1 Commando Bde.. 9 th
Mediums were chosen as the one medium regiment from 9AGRA to be in close support after the river had been crossed.
Operation Plunder opened at
18:00 hours on the 23 rd of March with a massive barrage. 250
Lancaster and Mosquito bombers dropped over 2,000 tons of HE on Wesel. The battle for the
Rhine crossing was on. For the first phase the Regiment was concentrated on hostile battery locations (Operation Blotter).
Some 90 hostile batteries were engaged on the now customary
‘milkround’ system. Thereafter, fire support was given to the 1 st
Commando Brigade in their crossing of the Rhine near Wesel
(Operation Widgeon). Their objective was to take and hold a compact area of Wesel; the intention being to deny the
Germans the routes through the town and hence disrupt any counter-attacks on the bridgehead. At 2030 hrs. the 9 th shelled the landing zones around the mud flats of Grav Insel, a little to the north of Wesel. After that the Regiment remained on call to help the Commandos as they consolidated their positions in Wesel, and attempted to fight off any counter-attacks. The
Signal Log of the 7 th Armoured
Div RA, records the messages to and fro between the Regiment
54

and HQRA 7 Div. in the early hours of the 24 th :
To 9 Uncle Target 5303 MR
21754307, scale 3
From 9 Shot U5303
To 9 Target 5117 TOT immediate, scale 3
From 9 Shot 5117
To 9 V Target 5200, MR246416, scale 2, TOT 0650, infantry counter-attack.
From 9 Shot
Next, the Regiment fired a counter-flak bombardment (Fire
Plan Carpet) timed to stop just before the leading aircraft carrying the 6 th Airborne and the
17 th US Airborne Divisions passed over the gun areas
(Operation Varsity). 12 Corps observers behind the gun areas, and another in an observation tower in Xanten woods, gave warning of the approaching aircraft. In the event the order to
“STOP” came eight minutes early. Once they stopped all guns were to remain silent until authorised to start shooting again by CCRA 12 Corps. In this period of silence the men of the
Regiment had a grandstand view of this great air armada as it flew directly overhead at 600ft on route for dropping zones east of
Wesel. It was a most impressive sight. The figures are staggering: over 1,700 aircraft and 1,300 gliders delivered 14,000 airborne troops to the battle area. First came the Dakotas in formations of forty at a time, carrying the parachute regiments, then more
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Dakotas towing gliders and finally Stirlings towing a heavier type of glider. Despite intense
AA fire they landed and achieved their objectives, successfully linking up with the ground forces.
During the early hours of the
25 th a strong enemy counterattack, accompanied by continuous shelling from SP guns, developed in the north-east sector of 1 Cdo. Bde. positions in
Wesel. This was repulsed by 45
(RM) Commando and by accurate artillery fire. The
Regiment fired two Victor targets, and the enemy sustained considerable casualties from this shelling. Enemy armour was very cautious as there was doubt over the level of artillery support the
Commandos could bring to bear.
The Regiment was then ordered to move to new positions closer to the river (near the hamlet of
Werrich), where they could more easily support the 15(S) Division in its continuing advance into enemy territory. 15 (S) Div had successfully crossed the Rhine in the early hours of the 24 th . ‘V’ and ‘Y’ targets were fired on call on the 26 th . The following day
Mike, Yoke and Victor targets were fired to deal with small groups of determined enemy soldiers, and stem the flow of reinforcements to the front. A counter-attack by 15 Panzer
Grenadier Division around
Haldern was held up by a Yoke target (all the AGRA guns firing
55

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA at once) at 1736 hours. DF target
‘Curlew’ was also fired in support of 15 (S) Division. Major
Yool and Captain Lemmon were out as CO’s representative and victory was near, and resistance against attacks of the 15 th (S) Div began to fizzle out as the enemy weakened.
FOO with 131 Field Regiment
RA to be in close support of 227
Bde., 15 (S) Division. Yoke targets were fired on call. By the
28 th the feeling was that final
‘The end’ and occupation duties
On the 29 th March the Regiment ceased firing as there was no further targets in range. On the
30 th it came out of action and was officially ‘grounded.’ The
Regiment concentrated at
Ginderich. Much to the annoyance of those drivers now sunning themselves on the banks of the Rhine, the majority of 3ton lorries and other vehicles formed the No.9 RA Transport
Platoon, with Captain Howard in command. It was to help
R.A.S.C. companies in the task of carrying forward supplies necessary to maintain the general advance of the columns penetrating deep into the heart of the Reich. Captain Howard recalls:
After the breakout our tanks were moving so fast so that our guns were taken out of action, and all available transport was used to ferry petrol up to the armoured divisions. On one occasion, when we were returning from one of these missions I led the convoy down a mined road ( you will realize we had no lights and the night was pitch black). My jeep escaped damage but the second lorry from me blew up. I tried to take the wounded driver in my jeep across the fields but unfortunately we got stuck because the fields were so wet
56

and soggy. I had to wake a local jerry farmer up and persuade him at gun point to harness a horse and pull us out. I dropped the wounded driver off at a First
Aid Post.
Howard returned to the scene with BSM Mott the next day and managed to recover one of the 3 ton lorries from the mined road.
By April the Regiment became fully occupied, under the command of 1 st British Corps, with various ‘line of communication’ duties such as road maintenance and battlefield clearance, initially in the Aalten -
Groenlo - Winterswijk area (then later Vreden – Stadholn – Ahaus area). The Regiment also guarded frontier control posts on the
Dutch-German border, and provided train guards. There was a lot of trouble from displaced persons (D.P.s). A German farmer was murdered at
Ammelos, and numerous violent robberies were reported. Patrols were established by Batteries to tour the regimental area after the curfew. Lt. Veugen of A Troop caught three Russian DPs stealing bicycles and arrested them. One German farmer, fearing for his life after threats from DPs, had to be guarded by a group of men from the Regiment under the command of an NCO.
There was time, however, for more pleasurable pursuits. The
Regiment played football against a team of Russians, and won, of
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA course, 3-2! Skill in improvisation was demonstrated at Vreden, where a ‘bath unit’ was set up by Ronald Discombe and Sid Mayblatt. Ronald
Discombe recalls:
We organised it in a small village called Vreden just after the war ended. There was plenty of timber around for heating the water in a large copper. With two baths in the tent we were charging one mark, sixpence in old money, that was capitalism, but much appreciated by the other chaps!
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Bdr. D.A. RICKSON, 1075143, 29 th
July 1944. Age 33.
(Buried Ranville War Cemetery,
France)
Sgt. E.H. SAMPSON, 6294356, 11 th
April, 1945. Age 32
(Buried Kleve War Cemetery,
Germany)
Gnr. C.H. SHIPLEY, 14301825, 2 nd
August 1944. Age 20.
(Buried Ranville War Cemetery,
France)
Bdr. G.C. TRIBE, 6293625, 2 nd
August 1944. Age 24.
(Buried Ranville War Cemetery,
France)
Sgr. A.G.E. WARNER, 14353494, 21 st
July 1944. Age 33.
(Buried Bayeux War Cemetery,
France)
Gnr. F.B. WHITE, 6412126, 31 st
October, 1944. Age 22.
(Buried Adegem Cdn. War Cemetery,
Belgium)
A note on casualties: most of the 8 Buffs fatalities were the result of accidents. For example, L/Cpl Gabbatiss was electrocuted,
Pte Barrier died from injuries sustained in a road accident in Dover and Pte. Sullivan died in a motorcycle crash. In North West Europe fatalities were caused, as far as can be ascertained, by prematures, mines, enemy bombing and shelling, and accidents. This is typical of the medium regiments serving in
North West Europe at the time. However, it must be said that the campaign was not as costly as the regiment’s adventures might suggest (the Regiment being in action almost continuously from arrival in France in July
1944 until after the Rhine crossing in March
1945). In addition, it was officially recorded that 1 Officer and 14 other ranks were wounded.
APPENDIX 2
Decorations and Awards
Military Cross
T/Capt. T.G. Clayton
For calmly efficient and consistently successful work as a C.O. or CAGRA representative both in OP’s and at HQ’s in a succession of important operations in
Normandy, Channel Ports, Holland, Belgium, and Germany. His work in the OP has always been of the highest order. He has never spared himself and has shown cool courage throughout. After one tank action he dismounted and supervised evacuation of wounded infantry from a heavily shelled area. In the Battery position he proved to be an outstandingly capable officer being able in emergency to take over the job of any other officer and carry it out successfully. By his never failing cheerfulness and zeal he has been an example to all ranks under him for whom he has obtained the very best possible service.
T/Capt. P.J. Howard
He landed as a FOO with the assault wave 4/5 RSF on South Beveland. The OP had to be sited on a dyke embankment in flat country. The OP was shelled and mortared through the day. Valuable support was given by shelling suspected enemy positions.
Just before dusk an enemy counter attack was launched. Howard immediately called for fire while he and the OP party engaged enemy with small arms. He showed coolness and determination as he directed the fire. Whilst controlling the fire he killed a German with his sten gun at 30 yards range.
His quick action without regard for his own safety saved the situation for the counter attack broke up and the enemy retired. He continued to give support in exposed positions, as no field artillery FOO was available. With his coolness and
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA determination and complete disregard for his own personal safety he set a first class example to those around him (most of whom were in action for the first time).
T/Capt P. Rowland Jones
On October 26 th
1944 he acted as FOO for ‘A’ Coy. 4/5 RSF and landed with the assault wave on South Beveland. Soon under heavy mortar and artillery fire a counter attack was launched. With cool determination he directed fire on enemy positions and broke up the attack. Just after dusk the forward platoon was driven back to Coy. HQ by a counter attack of 150 men. Though in an exposed position he directed fire onto it and brought it close to his own position. His action saved the situation.
This officer was elected to go back to battalion HQ, but he decided to stay with company overnight to offer any further help. Further counter attack was broken up and all enemy officers were killed and 85 OR’s and NCO’s surrendered.
Major D.L.E. Paterson
Major Paterson has commanded his battery since its conversion from infantry in
January 1943. Throughout the early days of training and since the regiment landed in
France in July 1944 Major Paterson has worked with tireless energy. At all times during the campaign whether acting as a CAGRA representative visiting his OP’s or controlling the fire of his battery he has displayed a gallant disregard for his personal safety and his personal bearing has been inspirational to his men.
At the assault on South Beveland (20 th
October 1944) Major Paterson was CAGRA representative with Bn. HQ of 4/5 RSF. During the crossing several of the craft, including Major Paterson’s, became separated from the main body and were drifting dangerously off course. Major Paterson then took charge and guided them to a successful landing. Once on the beach conditions were difficult due to mud, shellfire and mortaring but with disregard for himself and by great resource Major Paterson was able to get his vehicle across the dyke and rejoin his battalion where by his quiet unconcern, efficient communications and skilful control of fire he was able to give excellent moral and material support to troops in action for the first time.
Major G.C. Yool
Major Yool has commanded his battery since July 1943. Since landing in Normandy in July 1944 until after the crossing of the Rhine in March 1945 his battery has been in action almost continuously. Throughout this time Major Yool has displayed the highest qualities of leadership, unselfishness and devotion to duty. He has personally manned OP’s and served as the CAGRA’s representative with the leading Brigade of the 2 nd
Cdn. Inf. Div., crossing the causeway to South Beveland with the 15(S) Div., in the Reichswald and with 7 th
Armd. Div. and in support of Commandos on the
Rhine Crossing. But his own exploits apart Major Yool has consistently put himself forward to visit his officers in forward OP’s under heavy fire and in the gun area to hearten and encourage his men under the most trying conditions of enemy shelling and bombing and weather. His spirit and enthusiasm and disregard for personal danger have been a source of inspiration to his battery.
Croix de Guerre
T/Capt. T. Lemmon (Croix de Guerre with Vermillion Star)
During the period 18-22 July 44, before the capture of Maltot, Capt. T Lemmon manned an OP in front of the infantry FDLs. The OP was protected by its own
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA personnel and two infantry soldiers. The area was repeatedly subjected to mortar and shell fire, and unlocated snipers in the cornfields to his front were a constant source of danger. For five days Capt Lemmon manned this OP capably and cheerfully. He finally went forward as a FOO in support of the successful attack on Maltot.
Bdr. J. F. Peck (Croix de Guerre with palm)
Bdr. J. Peck was senior GPOA in C Troop 82 Bty. 9 Medium Regiment RA for the first 6 months this regiment was in action. This included the support of the crossing of the Leopold Canal and the subsequent operations to clear the sea route to Antwerp.
Owing to a shortage of officer replacements he took over the duties of Troop Leader and shared the responsibility of shooting the Troop with his GPO. He showed himself fully capable of doing this, and carried out his job with great drive and initiative, though only a Lance-Bombardier at the time. His cheerfulness, often under very difficult conditions has at all times been an inspiration to the remainder of the Troop and has shown himself to be a thoroughly capable and fearless NCO.
WS/WO II (BSM) G.W. Mott (Croix de Guerre with palm)
This WO has throughout the campaign in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany shown the highest degrees of efficiency and endurance and has been an excellent example to all the drivers and others under his supervision. He has never failed to bring up ammunition when required, no matter what conditions of enemy activity, darkness or roads prevailed. In particular, during the weeks in October/November
1944, which the Bty. spent in the North of Belgium assisting the opening of the
Scheldt and the opening of the port of Antwerp, he had a particularly difficult job to do, which he performed in an exemplary manner. The roads were narrow and bordered by deep ditches and were in some cases under water, and distances from wagon lines to gun positions were considerable. Owing to the nature of the country, the use of lights was impossible and a daily supply of ammunition had to be maintained, under these conditions. BSM Mott never relaxed his high standard of personal example, hard work and careful surveillance during this protracted battle and so contributed materially to the heavy fire that the Bty. maintained on the enemy, which had considerable effect on the ultimate Allied success.
Gnr. V Smith (Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star)
On 7 Aug 44 at St Aignan de Cramesnil the a/m OR was acting as W/T operator to
Capt T. G. Clayton RA in his tank OP. The enemy put in a determined counter attack, which failed, but in which a considerable number of casualties were inflicted upon the infantry with whom Capt Clayton was working. Gnr Smith showed great coolness in dressing and tending the wounded, the whole time under fire from small arms and
88mm guns. When the danger from this counter attack was over Capt Clayton took most of the wounded back in the tank to find the Bn. RAP. About halfway back men from the Bn met the tank and took off all the wounded except one who had a serious leg injury, whom Capt Clayton decided to take right up to the RAP. When the RAP was finally located Capt Clayton decided he could not take his tank up to it, as that would mean crsooing an open stretch of ground under fire from 88mm guns. Gnr
Smith immediately volunteered to get out and reconnoitre a route to the RAP. This he did, and with the help of an infantry soldier and a stretcher, succeeded in getting the wounded man to the RAP. Both on his way there and returning he was sniped by small arms and shelled by 88mm HE. Gnr Smith’s action undoubtedly saved the life of the wounded man who was losing blood fast.
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Gnr. H. Johnson (Croix de Guerre with palm)
Gnr. H. Johnson performed the duties of OP signaller during the campaign in France,
Belgium, Holland and Germany. Throughout this period he performed his duties with outstanding efficiency frequently under very heavy enemy artillery fire. Notably in the operations around Breskens undertaken to open the port of Antwerp, his coolness and devotion to duty under fire from enemy guns at Flushing, and in a heavily mined area were an example to those around him, and his efficient maintenance of communications played a large part in enabling the Battery to bring down heavy and accurate fire on the enemy.
Lt. A. H. Veughen (Chevalier of the Order of Leopold II with palm, and Croix de
Guerre with palm).
This officer served as GPO throughout the campaign in France, Belgium, Holland and
Germany and at all times he showed the highest standard of technical knowledge, endurance and personal disregard for all risks and unpleasant circumstances. In addition he bore throughout a considerable amount of responsibility, both in regard to the men, guns and equipment. In particular his leadership of his troop in
October/November 1944, when in action in the North of Belgium during the opening of Antwerp was outstanding. General conditions were extremely unpleasant, and in spite of this, by his unfailing good humour, he kept the spirits of the men at a high level. Tactical and technical considerations made the control of the guns extremely difficult and necessitated many changes of position within the Troop area, but at no time did Lt. Veughen fail to surmount all difficulties of bad visibility, difficult country or physical hardship, and thus contributed in no small way to the heavy volume of fire which the Bty. brought to bear on the enemy during this important battle.
Knight of the Order of Oranje Nassau with Swords
Lt. G.L. Harmsworth
Lieutenant Harmsworth was CPO of 81 Bty., 9 Medium Regiment RA during the liberation of Holland. During the attack on the Breskens Pocket and the subsequent liberation of Walcheren and South Beveland and also during the clearing of the area west of the River Maas up to Venlo and Roermond he worked tirelessly, cheerfully and accurately under very trying conditions, and always ensuring that the Bty. could answer calls for fire with promptitude. He was frequently called upon to recce fresh gun positions in very exposed areas before mines and similar devices had been lifted.
Throughout the campaign his devotion to duty and his standard of hard and accurate work were of a high order and together with his unfailing cheerfulness, were an example and inspiration to all who worked with him.
Silver Star
L Bdr R. Graham
L Bdr Graham has been an OP Wireless Operator throughout the campaign in NW
Europe. He took part in the operations in Normandy, the channel ports, the Scheldt, the Roer Pocket, the Reichswald, and the Rhine Crossing. During the assault in South
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Beveland on 26 October 44, Graham went forward with his officer, an FOO, carrying his 19 set, which he later set up and maintained as a ground station under heavy and continuous shell and mortar fire. So close was the fighting that at one time the attacking enemy infantry were engaged by the small arms fire of the OP Party of which Graham was a member.
L Bdr Graham distinguished himself by gallantry in action by his tireless efforts which ensured that communications never failed. During the later part of the day his ability under extremely trying conditions enabled him to pass fire orders to his regiment so that prolonged and accurate fire greatly assisted breaking up a counter attack. His coolness and efficiency throughout the day were a source of inspiration and encouragement to all around him, and a notable contribution to the success of the battle.
M.B.E
WS/WO II (ORS) H.S. Kemp
In December 1942 the Regiment converted from infantry to artillery. Sgt. Major
Kemp was faced with the task of reorganising the documentation of the regiment on
RA lines and making himself familiar with new terms and new outlook.
He has worked with outstanding zeal and ability to ensure the smooth running of his department, so vital to the success of the regiment as a whole. After taking part in nearly all major operations across the continent the regiment was ordered to take a long night march and deploy in support of the attack on the Reichswald Forest. This march was carried out under the most appalling conditions of sudden thaw and rain.
At one point it appeared doubtful if the regiment would reach the deployment area in time. Sgt. Major Kemp displayed the highest qualities of leadership and initiative in organising the winching, towing and driving of vehicles. It was very largely due to his untiring efforts and excellent example that the regiment command vehicles were finally got into action. During subsequent moves of the regiment the same conditions pertained with intermittent shelling. Sgt. Major Kemp continued to show outstanding qualities of leadership and example throughout. Although by trade an orderly room clerk his initiative and example in the field has always been a most valuable asset to the regiment and an inspiration to all around him.
T/Captain J.M.Sim (Adjutant)
Captain J.M.Sim came to this regiment as Adjutant in July 1943, shortly after it had been converted from infantry. Throughout the following period of intense training, when few of the officers and OR’s knew anything of the technical and administrative details of a gunner regiment, his patience and perseverance played a very large part in making the unit fit for battle.
The regiment was in action almost continuously from its arrival in France in July
1944 until after the crossing of the Rhine in March 1945. Throughout this period
Captain Sim has shown great skill and quickness of decision both in the many
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA problems that have had to be faced and in the successful coordination of the fire of the regiment. Short handed at headquarters due to casualties has for long periods caused additional strain and exhaustion but by his example of unfailing energy and enthusiasm Captain Sim has at all times been master of the situation and an inspiration to those with whom he worked.
O.B.E.
Lt. Col. R.S. Wade (Commanding Officer)
Lt. Col. Wade has commanded this regiment for the last 8 months and was largely responsible for the conversion of the 8 Battalion The Buffs East Kents to the 9
Medium Regiment RA. His tremendous perseverance in instructing the regiment has resulted in producing a fundamentally sound organisation in all respects.
During the last four months this officer’s loyal and efficient command of his regiment, and the thorough determination with which he tackles every task, he has been a great inspiration to all around him. The regiment which has been in action continuously since its arrival in this theatre has proved itself a first class fighting machine, which is entirely due to the tremendous enthusiasm, methodical approach to all problems, and loyal example of service which is set by its commanding officer.
B.E.M.
Private R. Curtis, Army Catering Corps
On the 9 th
February, 1944, during practice at an anti-tank range in Sussex, Private
Curtis, who was cooking in the battery wagon lines, saw an aircraft crash into the side of a hill a quarter of a mile away. He went to the scene of the crash, and although the aircraft had caught fire and ammunition on it was exploding, he succeeded in rescuing two of the crew who were unconscious and lying in the burning aircraft.
Commander-in-Chief’s Certificate
ORSM W.O.II H S Kemp
W/Bdr. W. Barker
L/Bdr. J. Berger
(Every attempt has been made to make these lists complete, and any omission is regretted).
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
APPENDIX 3
The deployment and structure of a medium regiment in action
Commanding Officer (C.O.)
Holding the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, he would go to the HQ’s of the Brigade or
Division of the unit that the regiment was supporting; giving fire orders if necessary but normally collecting information and passing it to and from the regiment. He would be accompanied by a group of assistants and signallers. Commander of 9 th
Medium Regiment was Lt. Col. R.S. Wade.
Second in Command (2 i/c)
Holding the rank of Major, he would normally be at the gun position end. He was responsible, through the battery C.P.O.’s for the deployment and recce of new gun positions for the two batteries of the regiment.
Regimental Headquarters (RHQ)
This would be just behind the gun positions. It would comprise of : a) Adjutant – ‘general dogsbody’ who could control the fire of the regiment, administer counter battery fire (C.B.) and regimental fire plans through the
C.P.O.s. b) Survey Officer – he would be responsible for ensuring that all the regiment’s guns had an accurate grid reference and were firing on the same bearing.
There was a high casualty rate among the survey party as they often travelled
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA to areas where mines and similar devices had not been removed. The
Regiment lost two survey officers (Lt. Banyard who was seriously wounded and Lt. Moore who was killed) during the campaign, both falling victim to enemy mines. c) Signals Officer – with his team he would be responsible for communications
(both radio and telephone) up to higher HQ’s and down to battery level. This would be a Royal Corps of Signals Appointment. d) Light Aid Detachment (L.A.D.) – Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
(R.E.M.E) would provide a recovery vehicle and a team responsible for repair of the regiment’s guns, vehicles and equipment where possible. If local repair was not possible they would send equipment back to better equipped workshops in the rear. e) Quartermaster (Q.M.) - responsible for indenting for all ammunition, clothing, weapons, vehicles etc.. f) Medical Officer (M.O.)- doctor, orderly and sanitary man, forming a small
Regimental Aid Post for treating sick or wounded men.
Battery Commander (B.C.)
Holding the rank of Major, he would go to Battalion H.Q.s of the infantry (or
Regimental H.Q.’s of the armour) who were being supported at that time. He would be in touch with the C.O., both his troop commanders and all guns in the regiment.
Alternatively, he could form an O.P. of his own. He would be ably supported by a small group of assistants. There would be two of these per Regiment (one in each battery).
Troop Commander (T.C.)
Each Battery had two Troop Commanders (one for each troop). Each would be deployed by the B.C. to an O.P. or in direct contact with the infantry company commanders during an attack, where as well as impromptu targets they would be responsible for D.F. S.O.S (Defensive Fire) bringing down fire on pre-arranged targets in support. During the night the guns could be laid (i.e. set on a bearing and range) on an S.O.S. target, so that all the gun detachment had to do was ‘pull the trigger’. The T.C. (rank of captain) was assisted by a driver (L/Bdr.), a signaller and an Observation Post Assistant (O.P.A) capable of all the O.P. officer’s work. As they were often in direct contact with the enemy they travelled around in a bren gun carrier.
The Gun End
Battery Command Post Officer ( C.P.O.) and Assistant Command Post Officer
(A.C.P.O.)
Along with a group of technical assistants they controlled the fire of the two troop’s guns when firing on battery or higher targets; arranged gun programmes for a setpiece attacks, and C.B. work. The C.P.O. would deploy both troops after instruction from the 2 i/c. In addition, he would arrange battery survey and administration. The command post was often a Bedford three-ton truck, but sometimes, if occupying a position long enough, it might be set up in a house or farm.
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Battery Captain
Responsible for supplies to the battery, and its administration e.g. ammunition, fuel, and food. With the B.S.M. (Battery Sgt.-Major) he would get these supplies to the gun positions, and organize the Wagon Lines (a throw back to horse artillery days, like the expression ‘Stables’ for vehicle maintenance). All supplies would be drawn from the
R.A.S.C at the rear.
Gun Position Officer (G.P.O.) and Troop Leader (his second in command for each troop)
He would recce. with the C.P.O. their future gun positions and allocate each gun its position, arrange troop survey, decide on digging in and camouflage, control the gun fire of the troop, and arrange local defence. The G.P.O. and Troop Leader were interchangeable and normally the G.P.O. would recce. new gun positions while the
Troop Leader would lead the guns to that position.
Gun Sgt.
Each Gun Sgt. or No.1 would be responsible for his detachment of ten men, his gun, and towing vehicle (Matador). He would also check that fire orders given by the
GPO/Troop Leader were carried out. There were four guns per troop.
The Gun Team
A gun team is ten men numbered 1) The gun sergeant 2) The limber gunner who looks after the loading breech mechanism, and pulls the lanyard to fire the gun 3) The layer who lays the gun on target using Dial Sight, Range Scale Plate and Sight
Clinometers 4) and 5) are loading numbers who lift the metal loading tray, put it on the runners behind the breech 6) is the charge man who puts the propellant charge (a long bag of explosive nitro cellulose) in the breech behind the shell 7) 8) and 9) are ammunition numbers who take the plugs out of the nose of shells and put in fuses 10) is a bombardier who covers for the No. 1 and otherwise looks after the ammunition and takes a spell at laying. Most crew members would be able to do each other’s jobs.
Troop B.S.M. (Troop Sgt.-Major)
He would be responsible for liason between wagon lines and the guns. He would be capable of taking over from G.P.O. or a No. 1 if necessary, and was instructor on the guns and gun drill.
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Regimental deployment in action
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
APPENDIX 4
Artillery Methods and Fire Planning
Defensive Fire: used against troops actually attacking and fired on a pre-arranged signal.
Harassing Fire: used to reduce morale by hampering the movement of reinforcements, food and ammunition to the front.
Counter Battery Fire: neutralize or destroy enemy artillery. This was often carried out with air observation (Air OP or Arty/R).
Artillery Preparation: fire intended to damage enemy defences, inflict losses or impair morale prior to an attack.
Covering Fire: put down while our troops are moving to assault enemy positions. It might be a barrage (e.g. Operation Totalize) moving ahead of the advancing troops or concentrations in which the fire of a number of guns is concentrated on a target or location. One technique was to group these concentrations in an area under a single code-name (see Appendix 6, Map 7). Some supporting artillery might be placed directly under the commanders of leading units in order to deal quickly with opposition which the pre-arranged covering fire did not overcome.
The Fire Plan
‘Fire Plan’ was a term used in a broad way to describe any artillery fire that was coordinated with the actions of the supporting arm. The Fire Plan could be small to support the attack of a single company of infantry or very large to support the attack of a whole Corps, and involving days of pre-planning (e.g. Rhine Crossing). Targets could be ‘on call’ or scheduled on a timed programme.
Fire Plan orders were issued to the Regiment as map traces annotated with the times and rates of fire or as task tables. Task tables gave target map references with engagement details (times, rates of fire, ammunition supplied for each target). Battery
CP s often needed to make further calculations based on the position of their own guns and issue Gun Programmes. The Gun Programme form was completed and issued to each individual gun (the No. 1 would be responsible for this).
Quick Fire Plans
Quick Fire Plans were sometimes used. This is when orders were sent via wireless from a senior officer of the regiment well forward with the supported arm. No hard copy target lists, traces or schedules would be issued. This sort of Fire Plan was very useful when operations turned to the pursuit or when an advance was made against light opposition. FOO s often used the quick Fire Plan technique.
Counter Battery
The Corps Survey Regiment was the primary artillery target acquisition element for
CB. They used techniques such a sound ranging and flash spotting to locate hostile batteries (HB s). Each Corps also had a CB Staff (with a Major as the CBO) who collected intelligence about enemy artillery and issued orders to attack HB s. CB Fire often used a special type of Fire Plan called the ‘Bombard’. CB Staff prepared lists of
HB s and issued them to the artillery batteries. The ‘Bombard’, which might be on call or scheduled, used this HB List. Air OP s, as previously mentioned, could also be used for observed CB fire. Many times in the campaign the Regiment took on an HB using the Air OP as ‘its eyes.’ Arty/R (RAF tactical reconnaissance aircraft with fighter escort) was also used, which had the advantage that it could search much deeper into enemy territory.
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Example of a Task Table issued to 9 th Medium Regiment RA for Operation
Veritable (WO 171/5038). It shows timings, targets for each Regiment, type of ammunition and rate of fire (rounds per minute). For medium artillery rates of fire were as follows: Intense 2, Rapid 1 ½ , Normal 1, Slow 2/3, Very Slow 1/3.
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
APPENDIX 5
Complete list of locations from July 1944 to March 1945
Location
Graye sur Mer (14/7/44)
Manviuex (15/7/44)
Sequeville en Bessin (16/7/44)
Remarks/Battles
Beaches
Concentration area
Harbour
St Manvieu (16/7/44)
Giberville (28/7/44)
Verriers (9/8/44)
Cintheaux (10/8/44)
Tornebu (15/8/44)
Hill 112 and Operation Express
Operation Totalize
Operation Tractable
No shooting
Villers Canivet (17/8/44)
Perriers (18/8/44)
Norrey en Auge (20/8/44)
Louviers en Auge (22/8/44)
Livarot (23/8/44)
Liseaux (25/8/44)
St. Nicola du Bosc (31/8/44)
Limesey (4/9/44)
Tanville (7/9/44)
Bellebrune (13/9/44)
Audembert (21/9/44)
Nachtegaal (1/10/44)
Kapryke (4/10/44)
Ijzendijke (19/10/44)
Kloosterzande (23/10/44)
Lovendegem (30/10/44)
Slijkplaat (31/10/44)
Budel (7/11/44)
Weert (11/11/44)
Ell, Gom, Hunsel (15/11/44)
Heuthuijzen (17/11/44)
Rinkesfort (26/11/44)
Bilsen (29/11/44)
Grotenrath (6/12/44)
Brunssum (11/12/44)
Schinveld (14/1/45)
Langbroich (23/1/45)
Moll (3/2/45)
Haps (4/2/45)
Oeffelt (9/2/45)
Gennep (19/2/45)
Goch (28/2/45)
Meerhout (13/3/45)
Veen (22/3/45)
Werrich (26/3/45)
Falaise
Falaise
Concentration
Harbour
Harbour
Harbour
Operation Astoria (Le Harve)
Operation Wellhit (Boulogne)
Operation Undergo (Calais)
Concentration
Operation Switchback
Breskens
Operation Vitality
Harbour
Operation Infatuate
Harbour
Operation Mallard
Roermond and Operation Turf
Harbour
Operation Blackcock
Operation Blackcock
Harbour
Operation Veritable
Operation Veritable
Operation Veritable
Harbour
Operation Plunder
Operation Plunder
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APPENDIX 6
Maps
History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Map1: Local defence responsibilities of 81 Battery in Hove, A-G Sections. Shaded areas are 81 Battery’s accommodation (WO166/11366).
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Map 2: From the beaches to Falaise.
74

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Map 3: The Channel Ports
75

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Map 4: The Scheldt
76

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Map5: The Maas and the Roer.
77

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Map 6: The Reichswald Forest and the Rhine.
78

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Map 7: Artillery fire plan for Operation Veritable. Targets for 9 th Medium
Regiment included several on 51 (H) Div front and for Phase 2 (15 (S) Div)
‘Robeson’, ‘Ambrose’ and ‘Gibbons’.
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
APPENDIX 7
Glossary
AA
LCA
LMG
MGRA
MIKE Target (M)
MO
NCO
OP
OR
ORSM
PIAT
POW
Premature
UXB
RA
RCA
RHA
RHQ
RSF
RSO
RWF
SAR
SOS
SP
Task/Task Table
TCV
TOT
VICTORY target (V)
YOKE target (Y)
AGRA
AOP
ARP
Arty/R
AVRE
Barrage
BEF
Buffalo
CAGRA
CB
CBO
CCRA
CO
Concs on call
CPO
DCLI
DF
DP
Fallschirmjager
FDL s
FOO
GPO
H-Hour
HF
IG
Kangaroos
KOSB
LAA
Anti-Aircraft
Army Group royal Artillery
Air Observation Post (usually little Auster aircraft)
Air Raid Precautions
Artillery Reconnaissance (ranging by RAF aircraft)
Assault Vehicle Royal Engineers (Churchill tank with mortar instead of a gun)
Moving or stationary line of shells (e.g. as fired by the Regiment for Op. Totalize)
British Expeditionary Force
Tracked lightly armoured amphibian
Commander Army Group Royal Artillery (Brigadier Crosland for 9 AGRA)
Counter Battery
Counter Battery Officer
Commander Corps Royal Artillery
Commanding Officer
Concentrations (of shells) on call on a particular target
Command Post Officer
Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry
Defensive Fire
Displaced Persons
German Paratroops (fighting as infantry in North West Europe)
Forward Defended Localities
Forward Observation Officer
Gun Position Officer
Start time of an operation or attack
Harassing Fire (shells fired deep into enemy territory at crossroads, HQs etc.)
Instructor of Gunnery
Armoured Personnel Carrier (a Canadian improvisation, like a turret less tank)
Kings Own Scottish Borderers
Light Anti-Aircraft
Landing Craft Assault
Light Machine Gun
Major General Royal Artillery
Target engaged by the whole Regiment
Medical Officer
Non-commissioned Officer (e.g. Bombardier)
Observation Post
Other Ranks (not officers)
Orderly Room Sergeant Major
Projectile Infantry Anti-Tank
Prisoner of War
A shell that explodes before reaching the intended target.
Unexploded Bomb
Royal Artillery
Royal Canadian Artillery
Royal Horse Artillery
Regimental Headquarters
Royal Scots Fusiliers
Regimental Survey Officer
Royal Welch Fusiliers
South Alberta Rifles
Save Our Souls (DF target fired to protect an objective from enemy counter attack)
Self Propelled gun
List of targets to be engaged
Troop Carrying Vehicle
Time On Target
Corps Target
AGRA Target
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History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
APPENDIX 8
Sources and Bibliography
PUBLISHED SOURCES
History of 9 Army Group Royal Artillery (October 1945)
The Diary of 85 (Essex) Medium Battery, Royal Artillery (W.J. Parrett Ltd., Margate ,
1947)
-The History of Headquarters, Royal Artillery, 52 nd
Lowland Division (Delbruck,
Germany 1945)
- British Army of the Rhine Battlefield Tour Operation Plunder (Germany, 1947)
- British Army of the Rhine Battlefield Tour Operation Veritable (Germany, 1947)
Barclay, C.R., The History of the 53 rd
Welsh Division in the Second World War
(William Clowes and Son Ltd., London, 1956)
Blackburn, George, The Guns of Normandy (Constable and Company Ltd., London,
1998)
Blackburn, George, The Guns of Victory (Constable and Company Ltd., 1996)
Blake, George, Mountain and the Flood, The History of the 52 nd Lowland Division
1939-45 (Jackson, Son and Company, 1950)
Copp, T. and Vogel, R., Maple Leaf Route: Scheldt (Maple Leaf Route, 1985)
Couldry, Charles, Memories of a Soldier (Proprint, Peterborough, 1998)
Essame, Major-General, H., The 43 rd
Wessex Division at War 1944-45 (William
Clowes and Sons Ltd., 1952)
Hart, Stephen, Road to Falaise (Sutton, 2004)
Hogg, Ian, Great Land Battles of World War 2 (Blandford, 1987)
Moulton, J.L., Battle for Antwerp (Book Club Associates, 1978)
Pemberton, A.L., The Development of Artillery Tactics and Equipment (The War
Office, 1950)
Rawson, Andrew, Walcheren (Leo Cooper, 2003)
Salmond, J.B., The History of the 51 st
Highland Division 1939-45 (William
Blackwood and Sons Ltd., 1953)
Thompson, R.W., The Eighty-Five Days, The Story of the Battle of the Scheldt
(Hutchinson, London, 1957)
Wolfe, Celia, Summon up the Blood, The War Diary of Corporal J A Womack, Royal
Engineers (Leo Cooper, 1997)
Newspapers and Magazines
-The Nine AGRA magazine (produced by members of the Regiment, 1945)
New Milton Advertiser (2/9/44)
The East Kent Gazette (24/5/41)
UNPUBLISHED SOURCES
Public Record Office
WO171/1049 War Diaries 9 th
Medium Regiment RA, 1944
WO171/5015 War Diaries 9 th
Medium Regiment RA, 1945
WO166/7230 War Diaries 9 th Medium Regiment RA
WO166/11366 War Diaries 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
WO166/4169 War Diaries 8 th
Battalion, The Buffs, 1941
WO166/8615 War Diaries 8 th
Battalion, The Buffs, 1942
WO171/2535 War Diaries 738 Company RASC, 1944
WO171/6355 War Diaries 738 Company RASC, 1945
WO171/911 War Diaries 9 AGRA, 1945
WO 171/4746 War Diaries 9 AGRA, 1944
81

History of the 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
WO171/315 War Diaries 12 th
Corps CBO
WO171/4087 War Diaries 30 th
Corps CBO
AIR14/861 Operation Tractable
AIR14/862 Operation Tractable
AIR37/766 Report on Bombing of Own Troops
Correspondence, interviews
Howard, Capt., P. M.C., 81 Battery, 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Hendley, Lt. J., ACPO, 81 Battery, 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Abel, W., 81 Battery, 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Lambert, L/Bdr. B., 81 Battery, 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
London, L/Bdr. A., RHQ, 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Gibson, Maj. E., 8 th Battalion, ‘The Buffs’
Discombe, R., RHQ, 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Kemp, ORSM. H., RHQ, 9 th
Medium Regiment RA.
Morgan, G., RHQ, 9 th Medium Regiment RA.
Wanstall, M.G., 81 Battery, 9 th
Medium Regiment RA
Johnson, G.J., 81 Battery, 9 th
Medium Regiment RA.
Bramley, G.M., 8 th
Battalion, ‘The Buffs.’
Veugen, Lt. A.H., GPO, 81 Battery, 9 th
Medium Regiment RA.
82